Pittsburgh Cemeteries

Tag: Stars of David

  • Cneseth Israel Cemetery

    This is what a typical Jewish cemetery looks like in Pittsburgh: straight rows of graves with foot-wide alleys between, each grave given just enough space for the coffin and no more. They look like crowded urban neighborhoods, and they are designed to make the most use of the least space.

    For some reason, a large number of Jewish congregations in the city bought land for cemeteries in Reserve and Ross Townships north of the Allegheny. Many of them are not marked on maps, but a satellite view will reveal the distinctive tight rows of graves.

    Because of frequent vandalism, many Jewish cemeteries are gated and locked, with “NO TRESPASSING” signs on the gates—a sorry reminder that, even today, it is not always easy being Jewish. This cemetery, however, was open (Father Pitt would never walk past a “NO TRESPASSING” sign without permission of the owners).

    This cemetery is notable for the large number of stones with embedded photographs, and for a good number of rustic stumps crowded in with the rest of the monuments.

  • Wallace Monument, Allegheny Cemetery

    Daniel Wallace and Daniel Wallace are buried here. The monument carries a Star of David; the statue (by an unknown sculptor) carries a cross and Bible. We suspect that the Star of David, or Seal of Solomon, is a Masonic rather than Jewish symbol here.

  • Lewin Mausoleum, West View Cemetery

    A monument dealer’s standard-model mausoleum with an elegant Star-of-David window inside.

  • Aaron Monument, West View Cemetery

    A monument in a sort of Jewish Romanesque style, with a Star of David worked into the relief. Compare it to the very similar, but explicitly Christian, Jenkins monument in the Homewood Cemetery.