The Art and Architecture of Death
A particularly fine example of Art Deco as applied to cemetery monuments. It may date from 1931; that seems to be the earliest of several Dreyfuss burials marked by separate stones in front of the monument.
An attractive modernist mausoleum, probably from after the Second World War, that combines simplicity of form with enough (simplified) decorative detail to avoid monotony. The stained glass inside is pretty, if not particularly inspired.
A fine and tasteful Art Deco stele that probably dates from 1933, when John E. Cook himself died. His wife and four of his six children died before him.
A very restrained style of Art Deco makes this a mausoleum that stands out without being ostentatious.
A tasteful Art Deco stele with a flame pattern from the middle twentieth century.
Art Deco was popular only for a few decades in the early and middle twentieth century, and it never became a very popular style for cemetery monuments. But among the wealthy residents of the Homewood Cemetery, a restrained and tasteful Art Deco was quite fashionable in the years from roughly 1930 to 1950. In many cases it takes the form of a streamlining and radical simplification of classical and Gothic styles. Some of these monuments look like pieces of sets from the world’s most somber RKO musical.
