Pittsburgh Cemeteries

Tag: Doric

  • Davis Mausoleum, Homewood Cemetery

    One is tempted to describe this peculiar construction as “Doric Romanesque.” The rusticated stone and ponderous style cry out for Romanesque details, but instead we get smooth Doric columns and a smooth arch that seems to belong to another structure altogether. In fact, Father Pitt, who seldom passes a negative judgment on anyone’s mausoleum, is compelled by sheer honesty to say that he does not regard this design as a success. It is a cacophony rather than a harmony of disparate ideas. The bronze doors, however, are splendid, and no one can take that away from them.

  • Fleming Mausoleum, Allegheny Cemetery

    A splendid Doric temple built in 1901 for a patent-medicine king. We tend to forget that, though steel made Pittsburgh’s reputation, throughout the nineteenth century the city was also a very important center of the patent-medicine business. Perhaps we’d rather forget it, but old Pa Pitt is here to remind us of the fact every once in a while.

  • 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.]

  • George Baum Family Monument, Homewood Cemetery

    A round Doric temple enshrines a book on which are written the names of the deceased.

  • Ward Mausoleum, Allegheny Cemetery

    The Ward mausoleum is tasteful but undistinguished on the outside. Inside, however, is an exceptionally fine stained-glass window. “Faith, Hope, and Charity. The greatest of these is Charity.”