Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania

Date added: October 09, 2023 Categories:
Typical smaller monuments (1980)

In the mid 19th century a desire to move beyond the confines of urban congestion was prevalent. This romantic idea found its most successful early exponents in the rural cemeteries which were forced by a lack of commodious burial space to remove themselves from the cities. City parks and suburban developments followed, leaving the park-like cemetery within an urban context as a phenomenon of 19th-century landscape architecture. Yet the desire to make one's burial site a place for the survivors to contemplate and appreciate lasting beauty, despite the fleetingness of time, has persisted and is still embodied in Pittsburgh's Allegheny Cemetery.

The Allegheny Cemetery was the first park-like cemetery in the City of Pittsburgh; the fourth incorporated public cemetery in the United States, preceded by Mount Auburn in Boston, Greenwood in Brooklyn, and Laurel Hill in Philadelphia; the oldest suburban cemetery west of the Allegheny Mountains; the burial place of many local and national notables; and a repository for significant architecture and sculpture.

In 1834 Dr, James Ramsey Speer of the First Presbyterian Church began to seek a new, more hygienic burial spot for his congregation, He toured the newly established rural cemetery, Mount Auburn in Boston (established 1831), and began to urge a similar cemetery be established in Pittsburgh. In 1844 the burial problem in the increasingly congested downtown area had reached crisis proportions, no new graves could be dug without disturbing old ones, and the cholera epidemics of the 1830's made contagion a serious issue. After a report to the Church Committee on the success of Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia (established 1836), they agreed to seek land for a rural cemetery. It was to be a convenient location within four miles of the city and easily accessible by public roads, A favorable and affordable site was found on the estate of Colonel George A. Bayard near present-day Lawrenceville where one hundred acres were purchased, The cemetery was incorporated on April 24, 1844, Separate parcels of land, finally totaling 300 acres, were purchased over the years, In the 1870's over 200 acres had been purchased at a cost of $118,500; they were given an estimated worth of over one million dollars at that time, a testimony to the shrewd business sense of the early corporators.

The Cemetery's founders touted it as a "useful institution" and "an ornament and honor to the city" hoping that their high aesthetic and civic standards would act as an inspiration to smaller dilapidated cemeteries. They gave free burial to soldiers and indigents as a community service, and today hold Memorial Day and Easter Sunrise Services for the citizens of Pittsburgh.

John Chislett, Pittsburgh's most prominent early architect, was appointed the first superintendent as well as engineer for the cemetery. He laid out miles of winding avenues and executed the English Gothic gateway and lodge of sandstone in 1848,

The first burial occurred on September 4th, 1845; since that time the number of local notables who helped to create the cemetery and are buried there has grown. They cannot all be listed, but a representative sampling might include: Ebeneezer Denny (1761-1822), the first mayor of Pittsburgh; Neville B. Craig (1787-1863), editor and publisher; Charles Avery (1784-1858), businessman and philanthropist; Stephen Collins Foster (1826-1864), composer; the Thaw Family including the notorious Harry (1871-1947) and Lillian Russell Moore (1861-1922), the famed actress. Many Pittsburgh street names commemorate cemetery occupants: Roup, Frew, Darlington, Herron, Neville, and Robinson are among the names still in use. In addition, some of the most prominent industrialists of the last 100 years are buried in Allegheny Cemetery: Henry W. Oliver, Charles Lockhart, Benjamin Franklin Jones, Sr., and Roy A. Hunt.

A park-like cemetery was designed for the living as much as for the burial of the dead. It was to be a place for men and women to contemplate the dichotomy between their temporal and spiritual lives, as the founders tell us in their Victorian prose: " ... if there is a spot on this broad earth more favorable than all others. . .for thoughtful reflection on these strange and opposite conditions of his nature, to a clam survey of his past life, and a rational outlook into the world to which he aspires; to a serious consideration of the relations he bears to his Creator and to his fellow beings, and the duties he owes to each, that hallowed spot is to be found amongst the memorials of the dead, and in the secluded walks and retreats of the Cemetery".

More specific than its role as a document of a major movement in 19th-century landscape architecture is the Cemetery's function as a museum of sculptural and stained glass artwork. The monuments range in scope from single stone blocks, many of them elaborately carved, to small architectural mausoleums rivaling their full-sized counterparts in detail if not in scale, Approximately one to two hundred of the private mausoleums feature stained glass; much of it is by Tiffany, and some pieces are signed. The ornate mausoleum of Captain J. B. Ford (Section 1), Founder of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, is noteworthy for its chapel-like size, Rococo style, and stained glass, signed by Tiffany. Another outstanding mausoleum belongs to the Moorhead family (Section 13) and is of an eclectic style, incorporating an octagonal dome with Gothic window niches and door framing, and a bouquet finial at the crown.

The Cemetery's concern with tradition is reflected in several ways. Firstly, many families have had several generations of lot holders elected to the Board of Corporators. Just as John Chislett's son succeeded him as superintendent, there have been generations of the Speer and Moorhead families active in the Cemetery's affairs, The incorporation document, drawn up by the Honorable Richard Biddle and granted by the State of Pennsylvania, is another example of the founder's hopes for the longevity of the Cemetery. It is not limited in time, and has no revocation clause, for as the 1873 historical account states: "the field of its operation is as extensive as the ravages of death, and that the time when they cease will be the end of time itself". Besides the perpetual charter, the foresighted corporators required that the cemetery managers create a special fund from the sale of lots to reinvest in rents and mortgages whose income would be used to properly maintain the cemetery. Finally, a section dealing with fines and penalties for intentional despoiling of the cemetery monuments or grounds cover all the needs for the cemetery's "Security, Perpetuity and Adornment".

While continuing to serve the community, Allegheny Cemetery remains as a rural sanctuary in an urban environment and a document of Pittsburgh history, as well as of architectural and sculptural stylistic trends of 1844 to the present, It is unique in Pittsburgh, although it did set a precedent for other local cemetery developments. Despite alterations and additions to the buildings and grounds of the cemetery, the ambiance of the 19th century prevails, and the site is the subject of numerous popular walking tours. The Cemetery Board of Corporators is proud of its cumulative creation, and displays an active interest in preserving it for future generations while adapting to continuing and changing needs.

Site Description

Allegheny Cemetery, containing over 300 acres, 15 miles of roadway, and 108,000 interments, is located in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh. This district, originally established as a separate community, played an integral part in the city's development. It was named for Commodore James Lawrence, the War of 1812 naval hero credited with saying "Don't give up the ship!", and laid out by William B. Foster (father of the famed composer Stephen C. Foster), who sold his land to the government and persuaded them to locate the Allegheny Arsenal there in 1814. The early 19th century Greensburg and Pittsburgh Pike leading East also ran through Lawrenceville and a hack line linked this village to the downtown area. Originally Colonel George A. Bayard's farm was chosen for the cemetery because of its pastoral character, but over the years the city has grown up to and far beyond present-day Lawrenceville. Now the cemetery is a wooden haven in an area of modest row housing and older commercial streets. The major thoroughfares of Butler Street and Penn Avenue act as boundaries to the cemetery, and recall their predecessor, the Greensburg and Pittsburgh Pike.

Allegheny Cemetery is situated on rolling hillsides overlooking the Allegheny River and, on the opposite bank, the communities of Millvale, Etna, and Shaler Township. The cemetery's serpentine road pattern follows the contour of these gently sloping hills and reflects the mid-19th century romantic park ideal. It is dotted by tiny lakes which add texture and charm to the landscaping. A small cemetery associated with nearby St. Mary's Church adjoins Allegheny Cemetery at its southern boundary.

The cemetery is filled with monuments that document the history of monument design, and is highlighted by a few full-size buildings. The gatehouses on Butler Street and Penn Avenue are the dominant buildings. The Butler Street gatehouse and lodge were built of sandstone in the English Gothic manner in 1848, and designed by John Chislett, the first superintendent of Allegheny Cemetery. The complex features a stone gate screen pierced by a Gothic arch and trimmed with battlements and twin crenellated polygonal towers, The adjacent gatehouse, a three-bay rectangular building with a central entrance, is made of regular coursed ashlar and has a wooden Gothic porch across the facade. The mansard roof was added to the gatehouse in 1868-1870. A two-story stone building with chapel offices and an 80-foot tower was built by Henry Moser of the local firm of Barr and Moser in 1870-73. The addition continues the Gothic theme using Todor arches, flat hood molds, and crenels, but, with Victorian flair, it is more ornate. In 1910, a final enlargement copying exactly the exterior detailing was accomplished.

Adjacent to the Butler Street entrance was a quatrefoil fountain with a Gothic pedestal brought to the Cemetery from the Chicago Exposition of 1893, The pedestal now gone, the base of the fountain is used as a decorative planter.

The Penn Avenue Gatehouse was built in 1887 at the top of the cemetery. This new building group was designed by Macomb and Dull in a competent but rustic Richardson Romanesque style characterized by rugged masonry stonework inlaid in patterns and arches. The group consists of a chapel and caretaker's house joined to a massive tower by a handsome archway and cloister with wrought iron gates. The red tile roof and its terra cotta cresting relieve the somberness of the heavy stonework, and highlight the small turrets used to decorate the corners of both tower and arch.

Further along the Butler Street corridor is the maintenance complex. Formerly used as stableyards and workshops, these five Italianate buildings make a charming group. They have clerestory hip roof projections at the ridge pole and segmental arches over the doors and windows of the first story. Three of the buildings are two stories and three by six bays. They have overhanging eaves and still display evidence of their stable yard origins in the pulley system above the barn door. One of the five buildings is small, square, and a single story in height, with huge brackets supporting the overhanging eaves. The group is surrounded by a paneled brick wall with stone-topped brick piers. These buildings are a welcome relief from the grey Gothicism of the formal cemetery buildings. A gambrel-roofed, two-story, three-bay gardener's cottage adjoins the maintenance complex on the north side, and now serves as the sales office.

In 1900-1904 a new receiving vault (Section 39) of Gothic design, replacing Chislett's 1858 brownstone version, was built of close-grained, gray sandstone from Friendship Hill quarries of Fayette County, donated by Charles E., Speer, former President of the Cemetery Board. The one-story, three-by-four-bay chapel-like structure has twin spires on the facade topped by crocketed finials and decorated with a gable arcade panel frieze system. An openwork quatrefoil parapet, copies from the earlier Chislett vault, outlines the building, Narrow niches with qwins and drip moldings are arranged symmetrically around the structure. The entrance has elaborately foliated, Gothic-arched bronze double doors, trimmed with a hood mold. A sidewalk and stairs with low stone banister lead up to the raised entrance. Buttresses reinforce the four corners. A 1905 one-story addition on the south elevation uses sympathetic materials, but has metal sash awning windows and a modern paneled garage door in the rear.

A small above-ground columbarium designed for several families was built by the cemetery across from Section 4 at the end of the 19th century. This columbarium has only one sealed vault, a testimony to the superstitions surrounding burial procedures. Above ground, communal burial did not become socially acceptable until the mid-20th century. But this bronze-doored monument is silent testimony to the Cemetery's progressive tendencies.

The enormous demand for planting and palms in the late 19th century prompted the building of a large conservatory complex within the cemetery across from the maintenance complex, Presently the palm house, designed in 1893, is in a sorry state of disrepair. The conservatory complex initially consisted of five (99 ft. long 10 or 21 ft. wide) greenhouses. Now only the three smaller (99 x 10ft.) greenhouses survive, and the palm house is barely reminiscent of its grander self; the clerestory and cupola are gone, as is the elaborately transomed entranceway, but the basic brick foundation survives, and many of the glass panes are extant. The brick end buildings are gable-roofed and have casement windows with segmental arches in the gable ends.

In keeping with its continuing role in the community, the cemetery has sustained some alterations and additions over the years. The Temple of Memories, built near the Penn Avenue Gatehouse in 1958, reflects the cemetery's continuing commitment to community service. A large one-story, seven-bay structure with an Egyptian quality, its central projecting pavilion is raised above the cornice line to highlight its foliated entablature. The Temple of Memories houses the latest technology in burial services, from a crematory to above-ground crypts along marble-lined hallways. All the details of the building are meant to illustrate a sense of timelessness and reverence for the dead, and therefore are of the highest quality; brocades, marble, and bronze. The stained glass windows are by Dr. Henry Lee Willett, a native Pittsburgher and now a Philadelphia resident, whose craftsmanship is internationally known, Each of the windows is designed around a different religious theme, event in Pittsburg's history, or famous epics and songs. This bold new addition to the cemetery does not seriously detract from its park-like ambiance.

In sections 61 and 62, a recent lawn plan burial "Garden of Peace", has flush ledgers marked by temporary wreaths. The horizon is broken by a huge bronze statue of Christ with arms extended to a lighting dove executed by the sculptor Ferance Varga in 1965. The statue is 33 feet high, weighs over three tons, and sits atop a square granite outdoor mausoleum containing crypts and niches for cremated remains. Flanking this are a bronze Sun Dial and Sphere symbolizing "Time" and "Space". The Christus is thought to be the largest statue of Christ in this country.

The landscaping of the cemetery has been constantly maintained and renowned. Allegheny Cemetery has been fortunate to have chosen land of a "sandy and porous nature, and --- in all respects admirably adapted to the purposes of sepulture". In 1857 a report stated: "Over 20 thousand trees and shrubs have been set out within the enclosure, independently of those planted by private lot-holders." Many flowering shrubs and seasonal flowers make the cemetery a site for nature walks and tours.

The grounds have seen major improvements over the years. An 18-acre ravine was filled in with ground from the widening of Bigelow Boulevard in 1939, and miles of decayed curbs, fences, and low walls that had marked off family plots were removed to re-establish the open, pastoral effect sought at the cemetery's inception. In 1908 these dividers were banned completely. Their removal has reflected not only a change in taste, but an acceptance of the exigencies of machine age maintenance. The aura of the Victorian period remains, due to the density of monuments and the variety of their shapes, but the Cemetery's functioning has become more efficient.

The changing fashions in tombstones have made the cemetery a visual document of the development of architectural, lettering, and sculpture styles. From the early Gothic and Rococo monuments to the Classic revival tombs and sarcophagi the visitor is recalled to an earlier era when one's final home reflected the grandeur of his home on earth.

Allegheny Cemetery contains the only U.S. Government burial plot in Western Pennsylvania (Section 33). It was donated by the Cemetery on June 11th, 1862, to provide free burial for persons killed in defense of their country, and is maintained by a Federal annuity. In 1937 the Cemetery dedicated a Soldier's Memorial near the Grand Army of the Republic plot, where both Union and Confederate veterans are buried. Memorial Day services for the community are held here every year.

Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Typical family mausoleums (1980)
Typical family mausoleums (1980)

Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Typical smaller monuments (1980)
Typical smaller monuments (1980)

Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania G.A.R. plot, looking east (1980)
G.A.R. plot, looking east (1980)

Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Quatrefoil fountain north of Butler St. Gatehouse (1980)
Quatrefoil fountain north of Butler St. Gatehouse (1980)

Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Street facade of Penn Ave. Gatehouse, looking northeast (1980)
Street facade of Penn Ave. Gatehouse, looking northeast (1980)

Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Street facade of Penn Ave. Gatehouse, looking northwest (1980)
Street facade of Penn Ave. Gatehouse, looking northwest (1980)

Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Detail of street facade of Penn Ave. Gatehouse, looking northeast (1980)
Detail of street facade of Penn Ave. Gatehouse, looking northeast (1980)

Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Cemetery facade of Penn Ave. Gatehouse, looking south (1980)
Cemetery facade of Penn Ave. Gatehouse, looking south (1980)

Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Cemetery facade of Butler St. Gatehouse, looking northwest (1980)
Cemetery facade of Butler St. Gatehouse, looking northwest (1980)

Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Maintenance complex along Butler Street, northeast of Gatehouse, looking northwest (1980)
Maintenance complex along Butler Street, northeast of Gatehouse, looking northwest (1980)

Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Receiving vault (section 39), looking northeast (1980)
Receiving vault (section 39), looking northeast (1980)

Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Columbarium (section 6), looking southeast (1980)
Columbarium (section 6), looking southeast (1980)

Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Street facade of Butler St. Gatehouse, looking northeast (1980)
Street facade of Butler St. Gatehouse, looking northeast (1980)

Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple of Memories, looking northeast (1980)
Temple of Memories, looking northeast (1980)