Tag: Stained Glass

  • Kamin Family Mausoleum, West View Cemetery

    Kamin family mausoleum

    A splendid Egyptian mausoleum with a fine view of the Pyramids out the back window.

    Stained glass in the Kamin 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
  • Lillian Russell Moore Mausoleum, Allegheny Cemetery

    Lillian Russell Moore mausoleum

    This is the Lillian Russell who was widely considered the most beautiful woman in the world in the late 1800s and into the 1900s. Her fourth and last husband was Alexander Pollock Moore, who owned the Leader in Pittsburgh. When she died unexpectedly in 1922, he gave her this tiny but tasteful mausoleum; he was buried with her later, but her name is the one above the columns, and the epitaph is hers: “The world is better for her having lived.”

    Lillian Russell and Alexander Pollock Moore

    Mrs. Moore’s opinion as “Immigration Inspector” was that Europe was sending us its worthless dregs; she is sometimes blamed for the restrictive immigration policies that followed, but it is very likely that the Harding administration appointed her to reinforce and not to create anti-immigrant prejudice. She injured herself in a very minor way on the trip back, but died unexpectedly from complications.

    Initials in bronze

    The initials of both residents are rendered in bronze on the doors.

    Stained glass in the mausoleum

    The simple stained glass has suffered some damage, which should be fairly easy to repair.

  • Flower Mausoleum, Allegheny Cemetery

    Flower mausoleum

    A tasteful mausoleum shaped like the stereotypical Egyptian temple, but without Egyptian decorative details. The nautical-themed stained glass inside is extraordinarily good, and the bronze doors are also very artistic.

    Stained glass in the Flower mausoleum
    Bronze doors on the Flower mausoleum
    Ornament on the Flower mausoleum
    Flower mausoleum

    Addendum: Assuming there are not two Flower mausoleums in Pittsburgh, the architect of this one was Albert G. Lowe. Source: Listing for Sullivan Granite Company in Sweet’s Catalog File, 1932, Vol. A. Under “References”: “Flower Mausoleum, Pittsburgh, Pa., Albert G. Lowe, Pittsburgh, Pa., Architect.”

  • Vandergrift Mausoleum, Allegheny Cemetery

    Vandergrift mausoleum

    Probably a stock model. It is curiously hard to pin down the style of this structure; old Pa Pitt will call it Romanesque, on account of the medievalish columns and the arched bronze doors. The stained glass inside is another standard catalogue item. The bronze doors bear reliefs of laurels and palms—symbols of victory in death.

    Stained glass
    Bronze reliefs