The extra width gives the mausoleum room for more inmates, but it does not seem to have been worked into the design well. It looks as though the Franks and Klees ordered a standard Doric temple, quite correct in its proportions, and then as an afterthought added wings.
The stained glass is very pretty.
A splendid Egyptian mausoleum with a fine view of the Pyramids out the back window.
The West View Cemetery is notable for a number of tasteful modernist mausoleums. On this one, note how the etched decoration is repeated in the bronze doors. The landscaping in front is very unusual, and in fact almost unique in Pittsburgh, where cemetery groundskeepers usually expect to be able to mow right up to the steps of a mausoleum.
An odd mixture of styles: the base is a sort of medieval-classical fantasy, from which sprouts a column with an Egyptian-style lotus capital, and on that stands an allegorical figure of Hope.
Considering that the Exodus is the central event in Israel’s sacred history, Egyptian Revival has always struck old Pa Pitt as an odd choice of styles for a Jewish cemetery. But with this particular mausoleum he can see the appeal. “You think you’re a god-king, Pharaoh? Well, how would you like to be a door handle for the rest of eternity? What do you think of that, Mr. Bricks-Without-Straw?”
A thorough history of the Sunsteins and Speyers is in the Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania.
