Pittsburgh Cemeteries

Tag: Doric

  • Michael F. Maloney Mausoleum, Calvary Cemetery

    Michael F. Maloney mausoleum

    Domed mausoleums are relatively rare in Pittsburgh. Here is one that Thomas Jefferson might have approved of—but the cross, which would not have been found in a Protestant mausoleum in this style, lets us know that Mr. Maloney was a good Catholic. If that was not enough of a clue, we have the artificial flowers.

    Michael F. Maloney mausoleum

    Addendum: It seems this mausoleum was designed by the famous ecclesiastical architect John T. Comès.1

    1. Source: The Construction Record, December 9, 1911: “Architect J. T. Comes, 1005 Fifth avenue, is taking bids on erecting a one-story limestone mausoleum in Calvary cemetery for M. F. Maloney, to cost $15,000.” ↩︎

  • Friday Mausoleum, Calvary Cemetery

    Friday mausoleum

    Everything seems a bit louder and more obvious in a Catholic cemetery. Here the name of the family is very large; the cross decorations are big (you would not find crosses at all on a Doric mausoleum in a Protestant cemetery), and even the cornices are fat and obvious. We should also mention artificial flowers even on the most expensive mausoleums, because nothing can discourage the faithful from leaving artificial flowers.

    The shape of this particular mausoleum is interesting. The details are classical and the decorations are Christian, but the shape is much more like the shape of the Egyptian temples Masons liked to build for themselves. We almost never find the Egyptian style in a Catholic cemetery, but we find echoes of it in the forms of some mausoleums.

    Statues of Hope (with anchor) and Faith (with book) guard the entrance. Faith has grown a good crop of shield lichens.

    Hope
    Faith
    Friday mausoleum
    Friday mausoleum

    Obviously old Pa Pitt likes this mausoleum. He took quite a few more pictures, but most of them are variations on the same themes. These should be just about enough to convey a good impression of the style and decorations.

  • Frank-Klee Mausoleum, West View Cemetery

    Frank-Klee Mausoleum

    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.

    Stained glass in the Frank-Klee mausoleum

  • Weil Mausoleum, West View Cemetery

    Stained-glass menorah in the Weil mausoleum

    A simplified Doric mausoleum in the style of the early to middle twentieth century. The stained-glass menorah is doubtless a standard catalogue item, but it is well executed.

    Weil mausoleum

  • Schwartz-Black Monument, Homewood Cemetery

    Schwartz-Black Monument

    Here is a family plot that seems laid out for ancestor-worshiping rituals. The massive classical monument dominates the plot from the rear; in front of it is a classical altar where the descendants could kneel and offer their sacrifices. The older members of the family are named Schwartz; at about the time of the First World War, the younger ones adopted the easy Americanization of Black.