Within, many famous Chicago citizens are interred, including quite a few of architectural interest: Louis Sullivan; his 1960s champion, preservationist Richard Nickel; Mies van der Rohe; Daniel Burnham; his partner John Wellborn Root; and many others.
Sullivan left his mark on the place with two tombs, including the famous Getty Tomb; the rest of the headstones, memorials and mausoleums are likewise rich in ornament and style, if not originality.
More than anything, it's an oddity among the furiously insistent urban madness of Chicago, which historically has had a tendency to devour whatever non-commercial entity got in the way of its relentless development.
And it's still an active cemetery! For as little as $2,600, you too can be laid to rest there, in the considerable empty land that still remains.
4 comments:
I lived about a block and a half north of the north wall for a couple of years, but it was nearly a mile from my house to the entrance.
Once upon a time in my very early 20s I was walking around the northern end of the cemetery when a powder-blue station wagon driven by a little old lady came flying around the lake, took out a small tree, and came within a couple of feet of the Getty Tomb (and not all that far from me either) before coming to rest against another tree... The driver had apparently confused the brake and the acceleration. That was scary. (The two geriatric ladies seemed to be OK.)
Did you visit Richard Nickel's grave?
That didn't read as intended. If only modern life came with a complimentary copyeditor to cope with the vicissitudes of online context loss.
What I wanted to say:
Visiting Nickel's grave gives cold perspective to the goals and dreams of those of us who hope to, in some way, prevent wanton demolition of the built environment. That our lives are lives like any other, subject to risks and open to devastating loss. That every time we enter another abandoned husk we are that much more grateful to exit alive.
I've made the pilgrimage to Mr. Nickel's resting place several times, and felt moved every time.
Post a Comment