Yet another silent-movie-set Egyptian temple, but this one unexpectedly delights us with a stained-glass window that looks like a poster for the movie.
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Stimmel Mausoleum, Homewood Cemetery
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James H. Wallace Monument, Allegheny Cemetery
An imposing and convincing bronze portrait of Mr. Wallace tops this monument, erected in 1900. It is a great pity that no one seems to know who the sculptor was, but it is cheering to see that he or she remembered to provide Mr. Wallace with a stack of books to take with him into the afterlife. He was a contractor, and that may be a set of blueprints in his lap.
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Butzler Monument, Union Dale Cemetery
Another zinc monument, imitating the forms of stone in what the monument marketers called “white bronze.” It was a cheap alternative to a stone monument of the same size, but it has actually lasted better than many stone monuments of the same age, looking almost as fresh now as it did when it was installed, probably in 1890 or shortly after.
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Graham Monument, Allegheny Cemetery
The sculptor is not known, but deserves to be; this scene of mourning and consolation is one of the most moving in the cemetery. The monument dates from 1890.
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Charles Brewer Mausoleum, Allegheny Cemetery
There are two distinct periods of Egyptian architecture in our cemeteries. The first, which has left few remains, came in the early and middle nineteenth century; the second, whose remains are abundant, was mostly in the early twentieth century. Here is a rare example of the earlier period, a mausoleum dating from about 1850. It is very different from the Hollywood-set Egyptian of the later period. Like most of the earliest mausoleums in the Allegheny Cemetery, it is dug into a hillside. The tapering pilasters and flanking obelisks mark the Egyptian character. Names and death dates of various Brewer family members are engraved on the bases of the obelisks.
