A Romanesque cube with an unusual apse in the back. The decorations in relief are particularly fine. The effect would have been better with bronze doors, but bronze doors tend to go missing, and their place has been taken by concrete.
-
McKeown Mausoleum, Calvary Cemetery
-
Michael F. Maloney Mausoleum, Calvary Cemetery
Domed mausoleums are relatively rare in Pittsburgh. Here is one that Thomas Jefferson might have approved of—but the cross, which would not have been found in a Protestant mausoleum in this style, lets us know that Mr. Maloney was a good Catholic. If that was not enough of a clue, we have the artificial flowers.
Addendum: It seems this mausoleum was designed by the famous ecclesiastical architect John T. Comès.1
- Source: The Construction Record, December 9, 1911: “Architect J. T. Comes, 1005 Fifth avenue, is taking bids on erecting a one-story limestone mausoleum in Calvary cemetery for M. F. Maloney, to cost $15,000.” ↩︎
-
Pollard Mausoleum, Calvary Cemetery
A Gothic mausoleum that the jungle seems intent on reclaiming. Perhaps the groundskeepers had some agreement to let the family maintain the landscaping; at any rate, the landscaping is taking over. There was probably a pair of bronze doors in the front, but it has been filled in with concrete.
-
Catanzaro Monument, Calvary Cemetery
Perhaps Dan Brown could recommend a Harvard symbologist to unravel the strands of symbolism here. Christ (holding a bouquet of artificial flowers, because he stood still too long in a Catholic cemetery) is stepping down from a ruined Ionic temple, his left hand seeming to gesture toward the ruins behind him, as if he has something to tell us about them. We could say that the ruined temple represents shattered and broken paganism, and Christ shows the way forward. Or perhaps, in spite of the Greek style, the ruins represent the Temple in Jerusalem, where not one stone was left upon another, and Christ emerges fresh from that ancient tradition, stepping forward to bring the real Temple to us.
-
Friday Mausoleum, Calvary Cemetery
Everything seems a bit louder and more obvious in a Catholic cemetery. Here the name of the family is very large; the cross decorations are big (you would not find crosses at all on a Doric mausoleum in a Protestant cemetery), and even the cornices are fat and obvious. We should also mention artificial flowers even on the most expensive mausoleums, because nothing can discourage the faithful from leaving artificial flowers.
The shape of this particular mausoleum is interesting. The details are classical and the decorations are Christian, but the shape is much more like the shape of the Egyptian temples Masons liked to build for themselves. We almost never find the Egyptian style in a Catholic cemetery, but we find echoes of it in the forms of some mausoleums.
Statues of Hope (with anchor) and Faith (with book) guard the entrance. Faith has grown a good crop of shield lichens.
Obviously old Pa Pitt likes this mausoleum. He took quite a few more pictures, but most of them are variations on the same themes. These should be just about enough to convey a good impression of the style and decorations.
