Pittsburgh Cemeteries

Category: Homewood Cemetery

  • Robert Pitcairn Mausoleum, Homewood Cemetery

    Robert Pitcairn, for whom the borough of Pitcairn is named, was head of the Pittsburgh Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It sounds like a mid-level management position, but in fact it was more like a viceroyalty. This elegant Corinthian temple demonstrates how wealthy such a position could make a man.

    This particular picture has been donated to Wikimedia Commons under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication, so no permission is needed to use it for any purpose whatsoever.

  • Eaton-Brown-Fleming Mausoleum, Homewood Cemetery

    A lavish Doric temple, a miniature Parthenon or (even closer) Temple of Hephaestus, this mausoleum manages to convey the two often-conflicting messages “I had good taste” and “I was rich.”

    KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

  • John Worthington Mausoleum, Homewood Cemetery

    Mr. Worthington, an oil baron, chose to be buried in an unusual Gothic tower, more castle-like than chapel-like. It is particularly notable for its inscription, which is nearly unique in using quasi-medieval letters on quasi-medieval architecture. (Most Gothic monuments use plain “gothic” characters like the ones used in advertising signs of the era.)

    Addendum: The architect was Louis Stevens, who also designed Mr. Worthington’s mansion on Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill (now part of Temple Sinai).

    More pictures of the John Worthington mausoleum.

  • Ford Monument, Homewood Cemetery

    An upward-pointing angel bears a palm frond, symbol of victory. The angel confidently points the direction in which the victorious Fords are headed.

  • McKay Mausoleum, Homewood Cemetery

    A somewhat unusual interpretation of the Egyptian temple, though it does not abandon the three requisites: sloping sides, lotus columns, winged scarab. The front is a very close scale model of the front of Trajan’s Kiosk at Philae (now moved to Agilkia Island) in Egypt.

    Here are two more pictures, these from July of 2022.

    The original pictures in this article disappeared with the server that hosted them. These pictures are from October of 2022.