The Art and Architecture of Death
An almost cartoonishly bulky and substantial rustic mausoleum, missing its bronze doors, which have been replaced by ugly concrete blocks. We can imagine that it must have looked much more inviting with artistic bronze doors and flower arrangements dripping over the edges of the urns.
The only legible stone in this well-maintained plot belongs to Conrad Reich, who died in 1896. A damaged stone next to his is probably for his wife Gertrude, who died in 1910. They had children who are buried in this cemetery, but the ones old Pa Pitt could trace were buried in other plots. So it seems that Mr. and Mrs. Reich have quite a bit of room in here to stretch their legs.
This angel is the guardian of the cemetery, taking careful notes about who has been stealing bronze doors from mausoleums. You have been warned.
This plot bears the name “Trautman” on the threshold, but there are no memorials of any kind inside it. Old Pa Pitt wonders whether any Trautmans are actually buried here; sometimes a plot is bought and then left empty when the buyer moves elsewhere. At any rate, there is something admirable about the defiant squareness of this plot in a landscape that does not reward rectilinear thinking.
Since this is a Catholic cemetery, the obelisk has a cross on it; we seldom find an obelisk in a Catholic cemetery without this explicit depaganization.
As usual with zinc monuments, this one is nearly as fresh as the day it was put up. There are identical inscribed panels on both sides.
The mausoleum and statue are both stock items, but good ones, although the mausoleum does give the impression of having been assembled from a kit of mass-produced parts.
This mausoleum and its stone mourner are doubtless both standard catalogue items. But they are picturesque, and much more so because of the deep blackness of the stone. Most stone buildings in Pittsburgh used to look like this, but few of them have escaped cleaning.
The other thing that makes the mausoleum stand out, of course, is the delightful name “Sunshine” over the door.
A more artistic stump than usual, with a particularly well-done inscription.
