Pittsburgh Cemeteries

An odd mixture of styles: the base is a sort of medieval-classical fantasy, from which sprouts a column with an Egyptian-style lotus capital, and on that stands an allegorical figure of Hope.

Considering that the Exodus is the central event in Israel’s sacred history, Egyptian Revival has always struck old Pa Pitt as an odd choice of styles for a Jewish cemetery. But with this particular mausoleum he can see the appeal. “You think you’re a god-king, Pharaoh? Well, how would you like to be a door handle for the rest of eternity? What do you think of that, Mr. Bricks-Without-Straw?” (It should be noted that pulling a man’s beard was just about the most insulting thing one could do in ancient Israel.)

This pyramid, almost certainly the most-photographed mausoleum in the cemetery, was designed for William Harry Brown, banker and heir to a shipping empire, by Alden & Harlow, Andrew Carnegie’s favorite architects. It was built in 1898.

A strange Egyptian gateway to nowhere, made of rich polished stone and bronze. It probably dates from about 1927, when Alfred Reed Hamilton was buried in this plot.

The gorgeous and absurd Winter mausoleum was designed by John Russell Pope, architect of (among other things) the National Gallery of Art and the Jefferson Memorial. Almost exactly the same mausoleum was built earlier for F. W. Woolworth, the dime-store king; Emil Winter, the Pittsburgh banker, must have told Pope he wanted what Woolworth had.

A tasteful mausoleum shaped like the stereotypical Egyptian temple, but without Egyptian decorative details. The nautical-themed stained glass inside is extraordinarily good, and the bronze doors are also very artistic.

Probably the most photographed monument in the cemetery, this pyramid is festooned with Egyptian symbols—but, like most other pyramids in Pittsburgh cemeteries, it has the Roman proportions of the Pyramid of Cestius in Rome.

The last gasp of the Egyptian style, much simplified but unmistakable in its shape and of course in its winged sun disk. The concrete panel in front is well made, and its inscription nicely matched to the Egyptian style, but we can tell that it is later and replaced original bronze doors. In fact we can know exactly what those doors looked like, because this is a duplicate of the Oliver Mausoleum in the Highwood Cemetery, where the doors are still intact (or were when we took the picture). This one, however, includes a pair of appropriate lotus vases, which may never have been installed at the Oliver mausoleum.