Pittsburgh Cemeteries

Tag: Doric

  • Berryman Mausoleum, Homewood Cemetery

    This mausoleum seems to have received its first burial in 1927; if Father Pitt were to take a guess, he might say it had been waiting around empty for some time before that. There are none of the quirks of the advancing twentieth century: this is a timeless Doric temple, simple but correct. The stained glass inside is modestly attractive, though the cross is a bit out of place—it does not seem to be a thing that could naturally exist in the landscape. Old Pa Pitt is also not sure why there is a cheese hovering above it. The bronze palms on the doors are also notable.

  • Barber Monument, Homewood Cemetery

    A sort of Potemkin classical façade is flanked by benches that embrace the family headstones below. To judge by the earliest burial in the plot, this monument was probably put up about 1917.

  • Selden Mausoleum, Homewood Cemetery

    This looks like a construction from the middle twentieth century, say 1930 or later; the imperfect on-line records for the cemetery have no dates for most of the burials in it.

    The polished granite is expensive, but resists the industrial grime that darkened other monuments in Pittsburgh’s hell-with-the-lid-off age.

  • Charles E. Golden Mausoleum, Chartiers Cemetery

    Father Pitt guesses from the style that this mausoleum is from the middle twentieth century. The cemetery records (volunteer-maintained) give us only a row of question marks for the death dates of Mr. Golden and his family. The polished granite is impressive, and there is a good stained-glass window inside.

  • Thorp Mausoleum, Homewood Cemetery

    A standard classical mausoleum of the 1920s or so (the earliest burial was in 1930). Father Pitt’s favorite detail is the giant acorns where we usually find urns for flowers.