GRACELAND MAUSOLEUM
4341 Cascade Road SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546
(616) 949-0660
Established: Unknown
Acres: 25 acres
Official Website
Bella Morte Rating: 4 Urns
It’s Sunday morning, 7 September, 1924. You sit down to a morning cup of tea and open the Grand Rapids Herald. Thumbing through the pages, you come upon the following ad for Graceland Mausoleum:
"It is a comforting thought, as far as consolation is possible, to know that one has done all he can to make the last abode of those who have gone before beautiful and soothing to the eye of the living who come there to reverence their memory. Mausoleum entombment is in keeping with the progress of the times; other methods belong to bygone ages. You have the choice of just two things: one typifying death in darkness; death in the depths; looking down, always down, into the wet grave. The other typifying death in light; death in sunshine and brightness; death in the hope of the resurrection."
Now, nearly 90 years later, Graceland has stood the test of time. Standing proudly just off Cascade Road, careful maintenance has preserved this monument to the early years of community mausoleum construction in the United States.
Approaching the immense structure, we were immediately attracted to the massive lintel, which features a carving depicting Death. Seated on a throne, he holds a scythe. On the left arm of his throne rests an hourglass, on the right, a globe. He is approached by two male figures. On the right stands a shepherd with a staff and two sheep. Behind them rises a stack of what appears to be wheat. To Death’s left is a king who holds his crown like an offering. A flaming torchiere rises behind him and he is accompanied by two majestic dogs.
The scene put us in mind of the funeral song, “Fear No More,” from Shakespeare’s Cymbeline in which we are reminded that, rich or poor, all come to face Death in the end…
The towers at either end of the mausoleum are inscribed with the following words:
So Shalt Thou Rest (left tower)
In Silence From The Living (right tower)
A bronze plaque beside the massive front doors reads:
Graceland Mausoleum
Erected 1923 – 25
Colton & Knecht, Architects A.I.A.
Palmer Construction Co., Builder
Georgia Marble Co.
A 1927 picture by photographer Murch S. Morris, now held in the archives of the Grand Rapids Herald, bears this handwritten inscription from the photographer:
“Graceland Mausoleum on Robinson Road. Imposing white building with 6 Greek style columns at the center front entrance, and two large wings with few windows. Matching ground-level windows indicate a partially subterranean level below the main level. The tops of scaffolding and construction cranes can be seen above the building. 1927”
Evidently, construction on the mausoleum (perhaps additions) continued for some years after the recorded date of completion. Interesting to note also that, at the time of Graceland’s construction, the road presently known as Cascade was known as Robinson Road.
Entering the mausoleum through the extraordinarily heavy bronze doors, one sees the chapel area flanked on either side by what is known in the industry as single, couch-style crypts (crypts in which one casket is placed lengthwise, thus offering a broad inscription space). The feature wall bears the Latin inscription “Requiescant in pace” (Rest in Peace) above a blue velvet curtain and the marble lectern. Private family crypt rooms frame the feature wall.
As stated previously, Graceland has been well-maintained. Of particular note is the condition of the bronze gates leading to the individual crypt rooms. The metal has been polished to a gleaming gold colour and the overall effect is one of warmth and welcome.
After navigating the entirety of Graceland’s upper floor, we descended a marble staircase to her subterranean level. At the base of the stairs, we entered a large room which mirrored its upper story counterpart save for the fact that the feature wall in this area was at the opposite end of the room as the one above. Rather than stepping from the stairs and seeing the feature wall ahead of us, we were surprised to turn and see a unique columbarium nestled between the embrace of the marble stairways to the right and left. This wall contains individual cremation niches set behind yet more polished bronze gates. Some of the niches are marble fronted while others employ miniature bronze grillwork and still others bear bronze inscription plates. Of these, our favourite read:
Beloved
IRENE
Daughter of William & Grace Wurzburg
and
Wife of Sydney Gardiner
Born Dec. 1st 1894 – Died May 7th 1921
Cremated May 8th 1921
Dust to dust returneth, Song to accordant song.
But love is longer aye, than death
and strong as death is strong
Elsewhere in Graceland’s quite corridors we came upon this inscription on a crypt front, a testament of love from a wife to her husband:
Sleep peacefully my love
Thy work shall not be lost
You walked in love
The joys of the blessed are yours
In regard to “famous” interments, Graceland is the final resting place for the mortal remains of impressionist painter Mathias J. Alten, actor Dean Miller, politician Frederick Mueller and evangelist Mel Trotter.
Graceland is one of those hidden gems for taphophiles with a love of community mausolea. She is not celebrated like her more famous siblings (San Francisco Columbarium, Chapel of the Chimes, etc.) but her beauty is enticing…her beckoning marble corridors a still and peaceful sanctuary for her eternal inhabitants and those who love to visit their quite abodes.
While in Grand Rapids, no taphophile should miss a visit to Graceland Mausoleum.
Note: Though Graceland Mausoleum is no doubt the queen of this particular burying ground, the property also contains a small cemetery for in-ground burials as well as a few outdoor columbariums and mausoleums. A grouping of the later stands in the shadow of Graceland Mausoleum and appeared to us for all the world like a collection of concrete storage sheds! Needless to say, a trip through Graceland Memorial Park is hardly inspirational.
{G}
4341 Cascade Road SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546
(616) 949-0660
Established: Unknown
Acres: 25 acres
Official Website
Bella Morte Rating: 4 Urns
It’s Sunday morning, 7 September, 1924. You sit down to a morning cup of tea and open the Grand Rapids Herald. Thumbing through the pages, you come upon the following ad for Graceland Mausoleum:
"It is a comforting thought, as far as consolation is possible, to know that one has done all he can to make the last abode of those who have gone before beautiful and soothing to the eye of the living who come there to reverence their memory. Mausoleum entombment is in keeping with the progress of the times; other methods belong to bygone ages. You have the choice of just two things: one typifying death in darkness; death in the depths; looking down, always down, into the wet grave. The other typifying death in light; death in sunshine and brightness; death in the hope of the resurrection."
Now, nearly 90 years later, Graceland has stood the test of time. Standing proudly just off Cascade Road, careful maintenance has preserved this monument to the early years of community mausoleum construction in the United States.
Approaching the immense structure, we were immediately attracted to the massive lintel, which features a carving depicting Death. Seated on a throne, he holds a scythe. On the left arm of his throne rests an hourglass, on the right, a globe. He is approached by two male figures. On the right stands a shepherd with a staff and two sheep. Behind them rises a stack of what appears to be wheat. To Death’s left is a king who holds his crown like an offering. A flaming torchiere rises behind him and he is accompanied by two majestic dogs.
The scene put us in mind of the funeral song, “Fear No More,” from Shakespeare’s Cymbeline in which we are reminded that, rich or poor, all come to face Death in the end…
The towers at either end of the mausoleum are inscribed with the following words:
So Shalt Thou Rest (left tower)
In Silence From The Living (right tower)
A bronze plaque beside the massive front doors reads:
Graceland Mausoleum
Erected 1923 – 25
Colton & Knecht, Architects A.I.A.
Palmer Construction Co., Builder
Georgia Marble Co.
A 1927 picture by photographer Murch S. Morris, now held in the archives of the Grand Rapids Herald, bears this handwritten inscription from the photographer:
“Graceland Mausoleum on Robinson Road. Imposing white building with 6 Greek style columns at the center front entrance, and two large wings with few windows. Matching ground-level windows indicate a partially subterranean level below the main level. The tops of scaffolding and construction cranes can be seen above the building. 1927”
Evidently, construction on the mausoleum (perhaps additions) continued for some years after the recorded date of completion. Interesting to note also that, at the time of Graceland’s construction, the road presently known as Cascade was known as Robinson Road.
Entering the mausoleum through the extraordinarily heavy bronze doors, one sees the chapel area flanked on either side by what is known in the industry as single, couch-style crypts (crypts in which one casket is placed lengthwise, thus offering a broad inscription space). The feature wall bears the Latin inscription “Requiescant in pace” (Rest in Peace) above a blue velvet curtain and the marble lectern. Private family crypt rooms frame the feature wall.
As stated previously, Graceland has been well-maintained. Of particular note is the condition of the bronze gates leading to the individual crypt rooms. The metal has been polished to a gleaming gold colour and the overall effect is one of warmth and welcome.
After navigating the entirety of Graceland’s upper floor, we descended a marble staircase to her subterranean level. At the base of the stairs, we entered a large room which mirrored its upper story counterpart save for the fact that the feature wall in this area was at the opposite end of the room as the one above. Rather than stepping from the stairs and seeing the feature wall ahead of us, we were surprised to turn and see a unique columbarium nestled between the embrace of the marble stairways to the right and left. This wall contains individual cremation niches set behind yet more polished bronze gates. Some of the niches are marble fronted while others employ miniature bronze grillwork and still others bear bronze inscription plates. Of these, our favourite read:
Beloved
IRENE
Daughter of William & Grace Wurzburg
and
Wife of Sydney Gardiner
Born Dec. 1st 1894 – Died May 7th 1921
Cremated May 8th 1921
Dust to dust returneth, Song to accordant song.
But love is longer aye, than death
and strong as death is strong
Elsewhere in Graceland’s quite corridors we came upon this inscription on a crypt front, a testament of love from a wife to her husband:
Sleep peacefully my love
Thy work shall not be lost
You walked in love
The joys of the blessed are yours
In regard to “famous” interments, Graceland is the final resting place for the mortal remains of impressionist painter Mathias J. Alten, actor Dean Miller, politician Frederick Mueller and evangelist Mel Trotter.
Graceland is one of those hidden gems for taphophiles with a love of community mausolea. She is not celebrated like her more famous siblings (San Francisco Columbarium, Chapel of the Chimes, etc.) but her beauty is enticing…her beckoning marble corridors a still and peaceful sanctuary for her eternal inhabitants and those who love to visit their quite abodes.
While in Grand Rapids, no taphophile should miss a visit to Graceland Mausoleum.
Note: Though Graceland Mausoleum is no doubt the queen of this particular burying ground, the property also contains a small cemetery for in-ground burials as well as a few outdoor columbariums and mausoleums. A grouping of the later stands in the shadow of Graceland Mausoleum and appeared to us for all the world like a collection of concrete storage sheds! Needless to say, a trip through Graceland Memorial Park is hardly inspirational.
{G}
