A good stock Pietà marks the grave of a soldier who died just a month and a half before the end of the First World War. The rustic stone with scroll that serves as a base does not match very well, and may have ben a replacement after the monument was damaged. LOUIS FOSTER DIED SEPT. 29, 1918.
CO. M. 319 INF. A. E. F.
A striking monument from about 1879 (when the first Glockner in this plot died), with the slightly chunky-looking details typical of the era.
Both the mausoleum and the statue on top are identical to the Braun mausoleum in the South Side Cemetery, suggesting that the mausoleum and statue came as a set. This one is missing its bronze doors.
The mausoleum and statue are both stock items, but good ones, although the mausoleum does give the impression of having been assembled from a kit of mass-produced parts. The same mausoleum (with statue) can be found in the Mount Lebanon Cemetery as the resting place of Christian Wilbert.
This mausoleum and its stone mourner are doubtless both standard catalogue items. But they are picturesque, and much more so because of the deep blackness of the stone. Most stone buildings in Pittsburgh used to look like this, but few of them have escaped cleaning.
The other thing that makes the mausoleum stand out, of course, is the delightful name “Sunshine” over the door.
