About 250 acres in size, Lakewood memorializes the dead with more than 200,000 monuments, markers and memorializations.[3]:56 Long considered one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the country, it was modeled after the rural cemeteries of 19th-century France, such as Père-Lachaise in Paris. When Lakewood was established in 1871 rural cemeteries were becoming more popular as part of a growing trend away from churchyard burials in the heart of the city.
Stained glass window in one of the Mausoleum rooms; Tiny Tim's tomb can be seen at left
In July 1871 Colonel William S. King, local businessman and newspaper publisher, proposed to community leaders of the city that they work together to establish a cemetery "on some of the beautiful locations out near the lakes, where the encroachments of the city would never seriously interfere." In August of the same year a meeting was held for establishing the Lyndale Cemetery Association (Changed to Lakewood in Feb of 1872).[4]:951 According to the minutes of the original meeting recorded by Thomas Lowry, "that after an examination of various localities they had chosen the land owned by William S. King lying between Lakes Calhoun and Harriet." Colonel King agreed to sell his land for the purpose at a cost of $21,000, "to be paid back over a year at 7 percent interest."[5] The first trustees voted to raise $25,000 to purchase the land and make improvements at a time when the cost of a home in Minneapolis was about $500. The money was raised by selling 250 shares of stock at $100 a piece, two-thirds of which was purchased by the trustees themselves. The remaining balance was solicited by a committee and sold to other local investors. In April 1872 Superintendent A.B. Barton and the board of trustees employed C. W. Folsom, Superintendent of Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts to develop plans for the new cemetery.[3]:25 In October 1872 the Association reacquired all stocks that had been sold to the public.[5]
The public dedication of Lakewood was held on September 16, 1872, with "a large number of lots being selected at the close of the exercise by the citizens present."[4]:952 Many of the earliest lots sold in the 1870s-1880s remained unused until 1972 when they were reclaimed for resale to the public.[3]:131 The first person buried in Lakewood Cemetery was Maggie Menzel who died on January 24, 1872, at the age of nineteen.[4]:649–650[6]
Interior of the Memorial Chapel dome
Architect Harry Wild Jones designed the cemetery's chapel which began construction in August 1908. Built of the finest materials, the chapel seats about 200 and is renowned for its beauty and superb acoustics. The dome is 65 feet high with 24 stained glass windows inset its full circumference. Charles R. Lamb of New York orchestrated the design of the chapel's interior mosaic artwork. Six highly skilled artists of Italy were enlisted to create 10 million tessellae in Venice, which were then shipped to Lakewood, where those same artists performed the arduous task of assembling them in the chapel's interior. Completed in 1910, the chapel's total cost of construction was $150,000. Lakewood Chapel was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 20, 1983.[3]:103–110
Cremation services were begun in 1910 and have continued to the present day.[7][3]:17 In 1965-67 a community mausoleum and columbarium was built with enough space for over 5000 crypts and niches. One of the building's more notable features are the 24 eight-foot stained glass windows by Willet Stained Glass Studios of Philadelphia. A large reflecting pool just outside the mausoleum's east side extends toward the garden crypt area and Lakewood's historic chapel nearby.[3]:112[8]
The Garden Mausoleum
In 2012, a new Garden Mausoleum, designed by HGA Architects of Minneapolis, was opened alongside the reflecting pool, adding a further 879 crypts and 4,620 cremation niches.[9][10]
Since its inception in 1872 Lakewood has continued to operate as a non-profit, non-denominational cemetery providing funeral services to the public.[11][4]:951 Many Minneapolis streets, parks, and monuments bear the names of the Lakewood's original founders —Thomas Lowry, William D. Washburn, and Charles M. Loring, to name a few. The cemetery itself memorializes many notable persons, including former Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, Civil War General Lewis A. Grant, and Senator Paul Wellstone who was killed in a plane crash in 2002.
McMullen monument by sculptor Nellie WalkerFridley Monument
Bobby Marshall (1880-1958), first African American to play football in Western Conference (later known as the Big 10),[13] one of the first African American NFL players[13]
Paul David Wellstone was an American academic, author, and politician who represented Minnesota in the United States Senate from 1991 until he was killed in a plane crash near Eveleth, Minnesota, in 2002. A member of the Democratic Party (DFL), Wellstone was a leader of the populist and progressive wings of the party.
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb, or the tomb may be considered to be within the mausoleum.
John Sargent Pillsbury was an American politician, businessman, and philanthropist. A Republican, he served as the eighth Governor of Minnesota from 1876 to 1882. He was a co-founder of the Pillsbury Company.
Cadwallader Colden Washburn was an American businessman, politician, and soldier who founded a mill that later became General Mills. A member of the Washburn family of Maine, he was a U.S. congressman and governor of Wisconsin, and served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
John Crosby III was an American businessman. Crosby was a founding partner of the Washburn-Crosby Company, the forerunner to General Mills.
Forest Lawn Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Buffalo, New York, founded in 1849 by Charles E. Clarke. It covers over 269 acres (1.1 km2) and over 152,000 are buried there, including U.S. President Millard Fillmore, First Lady Abigail Fillmore, singer Rick James, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, and inventors Lawrence Dale Bell and Willis Carrier. Forest Lawn is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Forest Home Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in the Lincoln Village neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is the final resting place of many of the city's famed beer barons, politicians and social elite. Both the cemetery and its Landmark Chapel are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and were declared a Milwaukee Landmark in 1973.
Westview Cemetery, located in Atlanta, Georgia, is the largest civilian cemetery in the Southeastern United States, comprising more than 582 acres (2.36 km2), 50 percent of which is undeveloped. The cemetery includes the graves of more than 125,000 people and was added to the Georgia Register of Historic Places in 2019 and the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.
Charles Alfred Pillsbury was an American businessman, flour industrialist, and politician. He was a co-founder of the Pillsbury Company.
Hammel, Green and Abrahamson (HGA) is an architecture, engineering, and planning firm that originated in Minnesota. It was founded in 1953 by Minnesotans Dick Hammel and Curt Green.
Minnesota is known for a politically active citizenry, with populism being a longstanding force among the state's political parties. Minnesota has consistently high voter turnout; in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, 77.8% of eligible Minnesotans voted – the highest percentage of any U.S. state or territory – versus the national average of 61.7%. This was due in part to its same day voter registration laws; previously unregistered voters can register on election day, at their polls, with evidence of residency.
Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford, Connecticut is located at 453 Fairfield Avenue. It was designed by landscape architect Jacob Weidenmann (1829–1893) who also designed Hartford's Bushnell Park. Its first sections were completed in 1866 and the first burial took place on July 17, 1866. Cedar Hill was designed as an American rural cemetery in the tradition of Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Harry Wild Jones was an American architect based in Minneapolis who designed throughout the country and the world. Born two years before the start of the American Civil War, Jones, a twelfth-generation New Englander, took his place on the American architectural stage in the late 19th century. His life spanned seventy-six years, during a period of U.S. history that matched his exuberant, spirited personality. Known as an architect adept at any design technique, Jones is credited with introducing Shingle Style architecture to Minneapolis. He created an impressive portfolio from neoclassic to eclectic, reflecting his unique brand of versatility and creativity.
East Finchley Cemetery is a cemetery and crematorium in East End Road, East Finchley. Although it is in the London Borough of Barnet, it is owned and managed by the City of Westminster.
Emil Oberhoffer was a German-born American conductor and minor composer. He founded the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, and was its conductor for the first 19 years of its existence.
Glendale Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Akron, Ohio. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
John Sargent Pillsbury Jr. (1912–2005) was an American attorney, insurance executive, community leader, and patron of the arts in the U.S. State of Minnesota. He was a member of the Minnesota Pillsbury family, "one of Minnesota's most notable, public-spirited families" which built its fortunes in flour milling, iron ore, and forestry, and which practiced "a civic-minded capitalism that gave back to the community by supporting education, the arts and public institutions".
William Hood Dunwoody was an American banker, miller, art patron and philanthropist. He was a partner in what is today General Mills and for thirty years a leader of Northwestern National Bank, today's Wells Fargo.
George Alfred Pillsbury was a businessman and miller associated with the formation of the Pillsbury Company. He was also a Republican politician active in both New Hampshire and Minnesota.
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