Pittsburgh Cemeteries

Tag: Allegorical Figures

  • Louis Knoepp Monument, St. Paul’s Cemetery (Mount Oliver)

    Either Louis Knoepp made quite a bit of money in a short time (he died at forty), or he had a rich family who remembered him fondly. This monument towers over everything else in this little Lutheran cemetery; in scale it resembles some of the grander monuments in the Allegheny or Union Dale cemeteries. The statue on top, however, is not of the first quality; in fact, its proportions are a bit odd. The head is large and broad, and the neck is unnaturally thick.

    The style of the base is a bit hard to describe; it is classical with elements of Gothic.

    As if it were not enough to be more magnificent than anything else in the cemetery, the monument is also surrounded by an elegant stone wall to separate Mr. Knoepp from the riffraff around him.

  • Martin Lappe Mausoleum, Allegheny Cemetery

    A small rustic Romanesque mausoleum made almost top-heavy by the large statue of Hope holding her anchor. Father Pitt knows nothing about Martin Lappe except that he died in 1896 and his name is on this mausoleum.

  • Shanor Column, Union Dale Cemetery

    The more one looks at this column, the odder it seems. One can only describe the style as “Egyptian Gothic.” The main column has an Egyptian capital, as do the smaller columns at the corners of the base; but the form of the base is Victorian Classical-Gothic. The statue on top holds the rope of Hope’s anchor in her left hand; she also holds something in her right hand, but Father Pitt has not been able to figure out what it is.

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  • Friday Mausoleum, Calvary Cemetery

    Friday mausoleum

    Doric in its details and very Christian in its symbolism, but the overall shape of this mausoleum is similar to that of many of the Egyptian mausoleums that were popular at the same time. The entrance is flanked by statues of Hope and Faith. [Update: The pictures Father Pitt took in 2014 went down with the image host where they were stored, but were later recovered; meanwhile we added some pictures from 2022. More pictures are at our more recent article.]

  • Wallace Monument, Allegheny Cemetery

    Daniel Wallace and Daniel Wallace are buried here. The monument carries a Star of David; the statue (by an unknown sculptor) carries a cross and Bible. We suspect that the Star of David, or Seal of Solomon, is a Masonic rather than Jewish symbol here.