LAKE VIEW CEMETERY
12316 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44106
216.421.2665
Established: 1869
Acres: 285
Official Website
Bella Morte Rating: 5 Tombstones
Founded in 1869 and known as "Cleveland's Outdoor Museum," Lake View Cemetery was established in the tradition of the great Victorian Era Garden Cemeteries of England and France.
This graveyard holds a special place in our hearts as Bella Morte, based in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, is proud to call Lake View Cemetery our very own home-town haunt. Having visited the graveyard countless times, we find it never loses its appeal. We consider ourselves fortunate indeed to be blessed to live in such close proximity to one of the country's finer examples of mid-1800's Garden cemetery planning.
In the last few years, Lake View has been blessed by the presence of President Gerald Wantz. Mr. Wantz has shown himself to be a true innovator and has introduced numerous improvements as well as a plethora of ideas which, when realized, will insure Lake View's place as a cemetery of beauty and excellence through the decades to come.
Because this is our home-town burying ground, we've a special treat for explorers who investigate thoroughly enough to discover one of Lake View's more well-kept secrets. It is a stone inscribed with only the words "The one whom we remember" (see the photo in our Lake View gallery). Visitors who discover this stone and take a photograph of themselves next to it are invited to submit the photo to us via e-mail at Bellamorte@wowway.com. Be sure to include a mailing address and we will send you a high quality print from our collection as a reward for your diligence. (Although we reserve the right to choose a photo for you, please feel free to make a special request if you have a favourite. We may be able to honour your wishes).
Now, on to the cemetery...
Lake View is a non-sectarian burying ground and is noted as the final resting place of a number of notable individuals, among them:
In addition to Garfield and Ness, Lake View is also the final resting place of numerous other notables including James D. Rockefeller who organized the Standard Oil Company and subsequently became the richest man in the world. Rockefeller's estate was worth over one billion dollars when he died in 1937. A noted philanthropist, he gave away five hundred million dollars during his lifetime.
Lake View cemetery features many unique monuments, including the Wade Memorial Chapel, dedicated in 1901 to honor Jeptha Wade, founder of The Western Union Telegraph Company. The chapel's exterior was designed by W. Dominick Benes and Benjamin S. Hubbell. The interior was designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
Another point of interest can be found close to Lake View's Euclid Avenue gate where visitors can view the memorial to the victims of the Collinwood School Fire. The disaster occurred on Ash Wednesday, 4 March, 1908 when 172 children, two teachers and one rescuer perished in the most devastating school fire in U.S. history. The fire began at approximately 9:00 a.m. when overheated steam pipes ignited the building's wood joists. The flames spread rapidly and, despite the efforts of frantic rescuers, nearly half the students were unable to escape. The bodies of 19 children who could not be identified were buried in a common grave at Lake View in a plot purchased by the City of Collinwood. Each child was laid to rest in a small white casket. The gravesites of 10 other children, whose bodies were identified by their parents, are buried beside their classmates. (Visit Chicago's Queen of Heaven for information on a similar disaster which occurred in 1958 at Our Lady of the Angels school).
Dear to us here at Bella Morte is the gravesite of another of Lake View's children. As with similar monuments at Dayton's Woodland and Greenlawn in Columbus, this memorial is visited by individuals bearing gifts...trinkets, flowers, pinwheels, and coins. Unlike the monuments in Dayton and Columbus, however, this one bears no name as the child memorialized here was abandoned by her mother and left this world having never been given a name. Fortunately, the tender-hearted stone masons who fashioned the magnificent Garfield Memorial on Lake View's grounds heard about the tragedy and pooled their resources to purchase a monument so this child would not be forgotten. And so she has not been…. Nestled within a bed of ivy, Celeste, as we have chosen to name her, sleeps peacefully in her pleated dress beside a sun-dappled walkway. We visit her often and bring our greetings, along with little gifts. And, one warm summer day, Celeste gave us a gift in return! As we stood contemplating her small figure, a lovely butterfly alighted atop her head. Perfectly placed, it opened its rust-coloured wings and remained completely still...a living barrette in Celeste's curls!
Among the many impressive tombs and memorials at Lake View, perhaps the most famous for graveyard aficionados is the Haserot Angel. A majestic monument to Francis Haserot (of Northern Haserot Foodservice Distribution fame) and his family members, the Haserot Angel has become one of Lake View's most famous landmarks. A site of pilgrimage for many, the Haserot Angel (detail featured above) has been photographed thousands of times and is often the recipient of coins and floral offerings left by appreciative visitors.
While paying a visit to the Haserot Angel, be certain to take a peek inside the Newman mausoleum (located to the right of the Haserot monument). Inside you will see an elegantly appointed chamber and a stone lintel into which are carved the words: "The hours I spent with thee, Dear Heart, are as a string of pearls to me." Beneath lies a black iron grate featuring a lily motif. Behind the grate hangs a heavy red velvet curtain behind which lie the Newman caskets. Aside from the name "Newman" over the outer door to the structure, no names or dates can be seen anywhere inside the tomb.
By the way... If you love flowers, Lake View Cemetery in Springtime is the place for you to be. Each year, an area of the grounds known as "Daffodil Hill" becomes positively radiant as an estimated 100,000 daffodils blossom, blanketing the hillsides in a carpet of yellow. The cemetery celebrates "Daffodil Sunday" each year when the flowers are at their peak. Hundreds of visitors stop to admire the beauty and have their pictures taken among the blossoms.
Finally, not to be missed when visiting the cemetery is the Lake View Cemetery Community Mausoleum. The building has won several awards for its striking design elements which include an atrium with a domed glass ceiling. The mausoleum's gem is the glass-front niche room, completed in 2004. A stunning array of tastefully-personalized memorial urns greet visitors who are invited to tarry and reflect awhile from the room's comfortable benches.
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12316 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44106
216.421.2665
Established: 1869
Acres: 285
Official Website
Bella Morte Rating: 5 Tombstones
Founded in 1869 and known as "Cleveland's Outdoor Museum," Lake View Cemetery was established in the tradition of the great Victorian Era Garden Cemeteries of England and France.
This graveyard holds a special place in our hearts as Bella Morte, based in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, is proud to call Lake View Cemetery our very own home-town haunt. Having visited the graveyard countless times, we find it never loses its appeal. We consider ourselves fortunate indeed to be blessed to live in such close proximity to one of the country's finer examples of mid-1800's Garden cemetery planning.
In the last few years, Lake View has been blessed by the presence of President Gerald Wantz. Mr. Wantz has shown himself to be a true innovator and has introduced numerous improvements as well as a plethora of ideas which, when realized, will insure Lake View's place as a cemetery of beauty and excellence through the decades to come.
Because this is our home-town burying ground, we've a special treat for explorers who investigate thoroughly enough to discover one of Lake View's more well-kept secrets. It is a stone inscribed with only the words "The one whom we remember" (see the photo in our Lake View gallery). Visitors who discover this stone and take a photograph of themselves next to it are invited to submit the photo to us via e-mail at Bellamorte@wowway.com. Be sure to include a mailing address and we will send you a high quality print from our collection as a reward for your diligence. (Although we reserve the right to choose a photo for you, please feel free to make a special request if you have a favourite. We may be able to honour your wishes).
Now, on to the cemetery...
Lake View is a non-sectarian burying ground and is noted as the final resting place of a number of notable individuals, among them:
- James A. Garfield: 20th President of the United States who also owns the dubious distinction of being the second U.S. President to be assassinated. The Garfield Monument, designed by architect George Keller, rises an impressive 180 feet above the cemetery grounds. The monument features five bas-relief panels depicting the President's life on its exterior facade. The main floor contains beautiful mosaics and a commanding sculpture of Garfield. Beneath this sculpture on the lower level lie the caskets of President Garfield and his wife, Lucretia. The caskets rest, exposed, atop marble pedestals. The remains of the Garfield's daughter, Molly Garfield Stanley-Brown, and her husband, Joseph Stanley-Brown, reside in two bronze urns behind the President and First Lady's caskets. When visiting the monument, don't miss the opportunity to view the cemetery grounds, Lake Erie and the Cleveland city skyline from the monument's observation deck.
- Eliot Ness: Federal Agent renowned for his relentless pursuit of Al Capone. He led a group of Treasury agents who were so incorruptible that they were dubbed "The Untouchables" by Chicago newspapers. Ness later co-authored a book concerning his exploits which gave rise to the wildly popular TV series "The Untouchables" (1959-1963). Ness also served as Cleveland's Safety Director, brought in to clean up rampant corruption in the Cleveland Police Department. Although extremely successful in reforming the Department, he was later sharply criticized for his inability to apprehend the "Mad Butcher" or "Torso Killer" who murdered 23 people in Cleveland and Pennsylvania. Most of the Cleveland victims were found in a section of the city known as Kingsbury Run where hobos lived and congregated. After Ness had the area burned to the ground, the murders ceased, but the killer was never arrested. Ness died from a heart attack on 16 May, 1957. He was 54 years old. His body was subsequently cremated.End of story? Well, not quite. It seems Ness' relatives weren't quite sure what to do with the cinerary remains and so simply kept them in an unopened box. That is, until Ness biographer Paul Heimel, along with Rebecca McFarland, Vice President of the Cleveland Police Historical Society, convinced family members to allow the ashes to be interred at Lake View Cemetery. The family agreed but desired that the ashes be scattered in Wade Lake. Although not ordinarily permitted, the Board sanctioned this lake scattering and, on 10 September, 1997, 40 years after his death, Ness returned to Cleveland one last time. A memorial commemorating the life of this legendary lawman, along with his third wife, Elizabeth, and their adopted son, Bobby, now stands beside Wade Lake.
In addition to Garfield and Ness, Lake View is also the final resting place of numerous other notables including James D. Rockefeller who organized the Standard Oil Company and subsequently became the richest man in the world. Rockefeller's estate was worth over one billion dollars when he died in 1937. A noted philanthropist, he gave away five hundred million dollars during his lifetime.
Lake View cemetery features many unique monuments, including the Wade Memorial Chapel, dedicated in 1901 to honor Jeptha Wade, founder of The Western Union Telegraph Company. The chapel's exterior was designed by W. Dominick Benes and Benjamin S. Hubbell. The interior was designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
Another point of interest can be found close to Lake View's Euclid Avenue gate where visitors can view the memorial to the victims of the Collinwood School Fire. The disaster occurred on Ash Wednesday, 4 March, 1908 when 172 children, two teachers and one rescuer perished in the most devastating school fire in U.S. history. The fire began at approximately 9:00 a.m. when overheated steam pipes ignited the building's wood joists. The flames spread rapidly and, despite the efforts of frantic rescuers, nearly half the students were unable to escape. The bodies of 19 children who could not be identified were buried in a common grave at Lake View in a plot purchased by the City of Collinwood. Each child was laid to rest in a small white casket. The gravesites of 10 other children, whose bodies were identified by their parents, are buried beside their classmates. (Visit Chicago's Queen of Heaven for information on a similar disaster which occurred in 1958 at Our Lady of the Angels school).
Dear to us here at Bella Morte is the gravesite of another of Lake View's children. As with similar monuments at Dayton's Woodland and Greenlawn in Columbus, this memorial is visited by individuals bearing gifts...trinkets, flowers, pinwheels, and coins. Unlike the monuments in Dayton and Columbus, however, this one bears no name as the child memorialized here was abandoned by her mother and left this world having never been given a name. Fortunately, the tender-hearted stone masons who fashioned the magnificent Garfield Memorial on Lake View's grounds heard about the tragedy and pooled their resources to purchase a monument so this child would not be forgotten. And so she has not been…. Nestled within a bed of ivy, Celeste, as we have chosen to name her, sleeps peacefully in her pleated dress beside a sun-dappled walkway. We visit her often and bring our greetings, along with little gifts. And, one warm summer day, Celeste gave us a gift in return! As we stood contemplating her small figure, a lovely butterfly alighted atop her head. Perfectly placed, it opened its rust-coloured wings and remained completely still...a living barrette in Celeste's curls!
Among the many impressive tombs and memorials at Lake View, perhaps the most famous for graveyard aficionados is the Haserot Angel. A majestic monument to Francis Haserot (of Northern Haserot Foodservice Distribution fame) and his family members, the Haserot Angel has become one of Lake View's most famous landmarks. A site of pilgrimage for many, the Haserot Angel (detail featured above) has been photographed thousands of times and is often the recipient of coins and floral offerings left by appreciative visitors.
While paying a visit to the Haserot Angel, be certain to take a peek inside the Newman mausoleum (located to the right of the Haserot monument). Inside you will see an elegantly appointed chamber and a stone lintel into which are carved the words: "The hours I spent with thee, Dear Heart, are as a string of pearls to me." Beneath lies a black iron grate featuring a lily motif. Behind the grate hangs a heavy red velvet curtain behind which lie the Newman caskets. Aside from the name "Newman" over the outer door to the structure, no names or dates can be seen anywhere inside the tomb.
By the way... If you love flowers, Lake View Cemetery in Springtime is the place for you to be. Each year, an area of the grounds known as "Daffodil Hill" becomes positively radiant as an estimated 100,000 daffodils blossom, blanketing the hillsides in a carpet of yellow. The cemetery celebrates "Daffodil Sunday" each year when the flowers are at their peak. Hundreds of visitors stop to admire the beauty and have their pictures taken among the blossoms.
Finally, not to be missed when visiting the cemetery is the Lake View Cemetery Community Mausoleum. The building has won several awards for its striking design elements which include an atrium with a domed glass ceiling. The mausoleum's gem is the glass-front niche room, completed in 2004. A stunning array of tastefully-personalized memorial urns greet visitors who are invited to tarry and reflect awhile from the room's comfortable benches.
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