Celebrated Cemetery:

Graceland (Chicago, IL)


Pyramid There's no 1970s kitschy furniture or rhinestone-studded, flab-glam jump suits here, but there is a wide variety of architectural styles represented ranging from an Egyptian pyramid and Greek temple to neoclassical and Art Deco-styled mausoleums.
The architectural masterpiece of this necropolis is the Getty Tomb, designated a city landmark in 1971, and designed by one of our country's finest architects, Louis Sullivan. Many of the men who built Chicago - literally built it - lie within this 119-acre Victorian park-like cemetery: Louis Sullivan, Daniel Burnham, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The following are select images from Graceland… Getty
This eerie statue has often been referred to as "The Statue of Death." The creator of this bronze statue, sculptor Lorado Taft, entitled it "Eternal Silence." It marks the burial plot for the Graves family. Eternal Silence
Extended Family Extended Family.
Girl Under Glass. The haunting stare of six-year-old Inez Clarke is captured by this statue encased in a plexiglass case Girl Under Glass
Dead Letter Office. This mailbox-looking structure, near "Eternal Silence," is actually an outdoor mausoleum where cremated remains are neatly tucked away in little drawers Dead Letter Office
The Dead of Winter The Dead of Winter.


Graceland Cemetery was established in 1860 and boasts a lake with a pleasant, wooded isle. It's a pleasure to visit any time of the year; located at the corner of Irving Park Road and Clark Street, just a few blocks North of Wrigley Field. The Chicago Architectural Foundation provides a walking tour of the grounds (Contact 312-922-3432). The tours are every Sunday at 2 p.m. from August through October. There's a $5 charge (free to members of the CAF). It starts at the front gate. They've also published a wonderful book for a self-guided tour, "A Walk Through Graceland Cemetery" by Barbara Lanctot (available for purchase at the cemetery's information center).
All Images are Copyright 1998 Michael R. Nejman. All Rights Reserved. The images may not be copied, transmitted or altered without the expression permission of Michael R. Nejman.

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