In honor of today, here are some photos I took on a trip to Lake View Cemetery over the summer. This is Cleveland's most famous cemetery, sitting on 350 acres, with views of Lake Erie. It was founded in 1869 and houses over 108,000 souls. Anyone can be buried in Lake View next to the rich and famous of Cleveland, such as John D. Rockerfeller.
 |
The cemetery has lots of rolling hills, with great views.
Many names you would recognize, such as this one . . .
and possibly this character. Other names are more well-known in this area for things like manufacturing and department stores. It was fun to see how many business names we recognized.
Some memorials were just fascinating, like this one . . .
and this one. I loved that you could learn all about this young man from his tombstone. |
 |
| This is the inside of Wade Chapel, where funerals and weddings are held. Jeptha Wade was the founder of Western Union Telegraph. It is one of the most beautiful rooms I've ever stepped foot into! |
 |
| The window and entire interior of the building were created by Louis Comfort Tiffany. |
 |
The side walls feature thousands of cut pieces of mosaic glass in two murals, 'River of Life' and 'River of Death.' Tiffany declared it the 'work of his life.'
|
 |
| This is the Garfield Memorial, dedicated in 1890 to President James A. Garfield. |
 |
| His statue stands in the center on the main floor. Thirteen stained glass windows surround him, representing the 13 original colonies. |
 |
The ceiling was nothing short of magnificent!
Oddly enough, his and his wife's casket (and urns of their children) are in the basement, next to the bathrooms! We found this to be both disturbing and sad.
You can ascend a spiral staircase to an open air balcony on top of the memorial for a great view of the city, and of course, the lake. |
The stained glass windows are spectacular. And I like the bench with the guitarist on it. Who is the musician?
ReplyDeleteI love it when I chance on something extraordinary like that way off the beaten track and the usual tourist meccas. Like the Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.
I didn't recognize the name of the guitarist. If I ever make it to Boston, I will check out that museum!
DeleteWow, there were some neat tombstones. 108,000 is a ton. I guess many of the big wigs wanted to be buried with plenty of fans near? They sure went all out with the President's one too.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why the big wigs all ended up there except that Millionaire's Row is on the east side, same as the cemetery.
DeleteI like the Garfield memorial, but that is sad about the kids being stuck in the basement. Nice photos!
ReplyDeleteIt is the only President's casket in full view like that. The story is that the memorial was publicly funded and ran out of money before the basement was completed.
DeleteWow, you guys in Ohio really go all-in with your presidential memorials. I mean, Garfield was president for all of 6 months or so. . .
ReplyDeleteBack when I was more intensely into genealogy than I have time for lately, we used to visit a LOT of cemeteries. If we were driving some distance away, and I knew we'd be passing close to where one of my ancestors had lived, it wasn't a big deal for me to plan in a quick detour to tromp thru the local cemetery and snap a photo of the ancestor's grave. So my kids, when we'd pass by some random cemetery out in the countryside, would often ask, "Are any of our relatives buried there?"
And you know, in recent years, All Saints Day has taken on a sadder significance for us. . .
I've been interested in ancestor's graves as well, but have never traveled to find any. There's a website now that does it for you!
DeleteAlso, I love the juxtaposition of 'Beloved Husband' and 'Life is About Women' [ie, plural] on the same stone. 'Course, if yer name is Harvey Pekar. . .
DeleteHe was quite a character.
DeleteNext to the bathrooms? That would scare the beep out of um... anyone? Yes, very disturbing not to mention disrespectful on many levels.
ReplyDeleteIt was truly bizarre.
DeleteWow! What a beautiful cemetery! Thank you for sharing it with us. Some of those graves are amazing, aren't they? Old cemeteries amaze me. I love wandering around reading gravestones. Sounds a bit creepy of me, I suppose, but I grew up near a beautiful cemetery (where my sister is buried, and now my grandparents, father and father in law) so it is just something I always did.
ReplyDeleteAlso, um, in the basement next to the bathrooms? Like just inside those caskets? Not even buried? That is creepy. And seems disrespectful. Where is Garfield buried? Is he buried in his memorial? I'm confused.
Garfield's casket is the one with the flag!
DeleteCemeteries are great places for walking and taking pictures! Glad you shared your photos with us. That last one from the top of the memorial shows a great view of the city!
ReplyDeleteI had to brave my fear of heights to get the picture. I don't do well on balconies.
DeleteThis is very impressive, Bijoux. I once took a tour of Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn and it was fascinating--some many famous people, so many incredible stories. Great post!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you can go back and do a post!
DeleteLooks like a fascinating cemetery! I like when there is a variety of headstones/monuments/grave markers; like when they aren't restricted by what they look like, etc. I could spend hours exploring cemeteries; no one else in my family does so I often have to quickly go through them. Where hubby's parents are buried and we would go and visit, I made a note of who was buried to the right and left of them (it is a military cemetery, the spouses are buried on top of each other). Each time I would look to see if the spouses have joined their respective spouses to the right and left of his parents.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your trip with us :)
betty
It is really quite interesting, especially when personal details are shared about the departed.
DeleteWow... These are haunting yet altogether beautiful. I'm so happy that you're one of those people who know celebrate the true meaning of yesterday's festivities.
ReplyDeletexoxo,
www.thefrugalblogger.net
Thanks so much!
DeleteHey there Bijoux!
ReplyDeleteI am slowly making my way back to blogging, so I wanted to stop by and say HI! Faaaaaaaaabulous photographs! One of my favorite things to do is visit cemeteries and read the names and dates on the tombstones. I find cemeteries very peaceful and beautiful.
"Some memorials were just fascinating, like this one . . ."
Yes, I found that one fascinating as well because to me it actually looks like a real person sitting there. Great shots of the chapel too!
I've never been to Cleveland but one of my blogging friends lives there, and any time she posts photographs of the area, it looks like such a cool city!
Have a great week, my friend!
X
Welcome back, old friend!
DeleteI love a good cemetery! Which seems like a really odd thing to say, but so be it. A cemetery with a view is even better! Next time I'm in Cleveland....
ReplyDeleteIt will be here!
DeleteThat sure is some cemetery!! Wow! I have been to a few much smaller ones, taken photos of old gravestones, never visited any so interesting though. Cool photos!
ReplyDeleteThanks and welcome back!
DeleteWow, I never seen grave stones or memorials like those in the cemeteries around here anymore. Maybe the really old ones but now a days most cemeteries here only allow small flat grave markers. So those were really interesting to see.
ReplyDeleteYes, there are definitely a lot of different styles of cemeteries. All are interesting to me.
DeleteBuncha scenic, stately old cemeteries out there worth a visit. I'm always curious to see what folks thought and are thinking about where they'll end up. Incredible views from that graveyard for sure.
ReplyDeleteI tend to not think about it!
DeleteInteresting but also sad to see the young guy's gravestone. Young people's graves always makes me think about how much of their lives they missed.
ReplyDeleteVery sad. I always think about those left behind.
DeleteWOW that camera tombstone! I've never seen anything like that. And the Tiffany windows! I can't wait to visit Lake View when we make our way there to pay our respects at the grave of Baby Noah. Maybe you and I can walk it together! Wouldn't that be fun? xoxo
ReplyDeleteIt’s a very beautiful site! Thanks for visiting this older post!
Delete