Pittsburgh Cemeteries

Author: Father Pitt

  • Steen Vault, Chartiers Cemetery

    Steen name over the vault

    A unique Victorian interpretation of the Baroque style—unique in Pittsburgh, at any rate, as far as old Pa Pitt knows. The date of the mausoleum is 1874, which is the year of the first interment there.

    Steen vault
    Steen vault
    Plaque on the vault

    The front probably had bronze doors, now stolen. This plaque, however, should last a good long time. It records that the first interment was David C. Steen, who died the year the mausoleum was built (according to the date over the door). He was probably the son of David and Mary Dickson Steen, who may have built this extravagant vault in mourning for their 21-year-old son.

    It would be interesting to know how the Reeds and the rest came to be in this vault.

    These were families who were no strangers to tragedy. Of eleven names recorded here, six—a majority—died before the age of thirty.

    Steen vault
    Rear of the Steen vault

  • Grimm Monument, Chartiers Cemetery

    Grimm monument

    A fine zinc monument with only one panel inscribed, for Caroline Grimm. She died in middle age; perhaps her husband remarried and is buried elsewhere. As is usually the case with zinc monuments, it looks almost as fresh as the day it was erected.

    Inscription on the Grimm monument

  • 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.

  • Obelisks in Allegheny Cemetery

    Obelisks in Allegheny Cemetery

    Above, a forest of obelisks before a forest of forest; below, a pleasant stroll among the mausoleums and monuments.

    Stroll past the Flower mausoleum

  • Stanley Zaksesks Cross, St. Anne Parish Cemetery

    Stanley Zaksesks cross

    Stanley Zaksesks died in 1920 when he was eleven or twelve years old. Perhaps his father worked in the construction business; this monument appears to have been cast in concrete. The name and date are painted.