Lillian Russell Moore Mausoleum, Allegheny Cemetery


Lillian Russell Moore mausoleum

This is the Lillian Russell who was widely considered the most beautiful woman in the world in the late 1800s and into the 1900s. Her fourth and last husband was Alexander Pollock Moore, who owned the Leader in Pittsburgh. When she died unexpectedly in 1922, he gave her this tiny but tasteful mausoleum; he was buried with her later, but her name is the one above the columns, and the epitaph is hers: “The world is better for her having lived.”

Lillian Russell and Alexander Pollock Moore

Mrs. Moore’s opinion as “Immigration Inspector” was that Europe was sending us its worthless dregs; she is sometimes blamed for the restrictive immigration policies that followed, but it is very likely that the Harding administration appointed her to reinforce and not to create anti-immigrant prejudice. She injured herself in a very minor way on the trip back, but died unexpectedly from complications.

Initials in bronze

The initials of both residents are rendered in bronze on the doors.

Stained glass in the mausoleum

The simple stained glass has suffered some damage, which should be fairly easy to repair.


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