Pittsburgh Cemeteries

Author: Father Pitt

  • McCune Mausoleum, Allegheny Cemetery

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    This extraordinarily tasteful Renaissance octagon (built in 1925) is so unusual that Father Pitt suspects it may be based on a historical model. He would be delighted if one of his readers could find the original and point it out to him. John Robison McCune III was a banker, head of one of the biggest banks in the city (Union National, which after being devoured by Integra and National City is now part of PNC).

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    The interior is as elegant as the exterior. McCune took nothing of his private life with him to the grave—no Masonic or even religious symbols. His mausoleum, including the exceptionally fine window, is dedicated solely to beauty.

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  • Mourner on the Braun Mausoleum, South Side Cemetery

    2013-08-10-Carrick-cemetery-10-bwThe South Side Cemetery in Carrick does not have monuments by famous architects like the ones in the Allegheny Cemetery, but some of its residents did have good taste in sculpture.

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  • Stained Glass in the Wittmer Mausoleum, Allegheny Cemetery

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    A fine piece of glass, though the symbolism may be a bit muddled. The parting of the clouds and the heavenly radiance suggest that the dove represents the Holy Spirit; the leaf in its beak suggests Noah’s dove (Genesis 8:10-11).

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  • Joseph Horne Monument, Allegheny Cemetery

    Joseph Horne, the department-store baron, certainly had enough money for a mausoleum, but chose to be remembered by this beautiful monument instead. A mourning woman lays a wreath on the grave; she is consoled by an angel who points the way Mr. Horne is presumed to have headed. Just to make the message clear, the angel also bears a palm, emblematic of victory.

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  • Stained Glass in the Shields Mausoleum, Homewood Cemetery

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    Mr. Shields decided to take his favorite pinup girl with him to the grave. A stout wooden beam apparently holding up the ceiling of the mausoleum stands in the way of the view of this window; Father Pitt has therefore stitched this picture together from two separate pictures, and the seam is obvious. But the window is unusual enough that we can tolerate a substandard photograph. —UPDATE: Old Pa Pitt has accidentally found out quite a bit more about this window. It is called “The Spirit of the Water Lily,” and it was designed by the famous stained-glass artist William Willet for the home of one of Pittsburgh’s rich industrialists, George I. Whitney. How it came to be in this mausoleum Father Pitt does not know. The design for the window was printed in the February, 1904, issue of the Booklovers Magazine, and we note that, if this drawing is accurate, the window is currently installed backwards:

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