Pittsburgh Cemeteries

Tag: Art Deco

  • Art Deco Devotion in Calvary Cemetery

    Franklin monument

    In the middle twentieth century, a certain style of monument that combined traditional devotional imagery with Art Deco streamlining became very popular in Catholic cemeteries. Above and below, St. Mary prays for the Franklin family.

    Mary with a Franklin tree
    Manculich monument

    A Good Shepherd relief adorns the Manculich monument, with the head of Christ coming out of the relief to be rendered in three dimensions.

    Aloe monument

    In many ways Art Deco is similar to Gothic styles in art, and here we have an incised Crucifixion that transports the medieval spirit to the twentieth century. Without diminishing the agony of Christ, the cross is beautified and adorned with passionflowers, so that the very moment of death is transformed by the beauty of redemption. The praying figures at the sides are models of effective simplicity, although old Pa Pitt can’t help worrying that their foreheads are too close to the candle flames.

    Casey monument

    The Casey plot is guarded by two Deco archangels dressed as medieval knights. The inscription—“I am the resurrection and the life,” etc.—runs all the way around the bottom of the monument.

    Casey monument
    John F. Casey

    Ledgers for John F. and Mary Lee Casey bear bronze inscriptions in lettering that matches the inscription on the main monument.

    Mary Lee Casey
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  • McKinney Mausoleum, Homewood Cemetery

    McKinney mausoleum

    Built in 1930, this mausoleum combines surprisingly disparate elements—Romanesque, Egyptian, Renaissance, and even Art Deco—and makes a harmonious whole out of them.

    Inscription: McKinney, Anno Domini 1930

    It would be hard to improve on this lush growth of lichens for picturesque effect.

    McKinney mausoleum from the front
    Bronze doors
    Lunette with cross
    Egyptian capital
    Ornaments around the entrance
    Stained glass with river and landscape at sunset
    McKinney mausoleum and pink azalea
    McKinney mausoleum

  • Armstrong Monument, South Side Cemetery

    Armstrong monument

    A moderately Art Deco interpretation of Gothic. In his brief visit, Father Pitt was not able to find any dated Armstrong headstones nearby, but the style would probably date this monument to the 1920s or 1930s.

  • Bald Mausoleum, Homewood Cemetery

    A strikingly dignified Art Deco mausoleum that adapts the setbacks of Deco skyscrapers to the classical formality of a cemetery environment.

    We have more pictures of the Bald mausoleum in an earlier article.

  • Blumenthal-Mendelson Monument, Tree of Life Cemetery

    Art Deco can be a very dignified style when applied with taste. The classical symmetry of this monument is combined with a streamlining that would look good on the front of a locomotive.