C Cleveland

Every day on my way to work, I pass by Lake View Cemetery.



One summer day, I happened to glance over and saw a small sign beneath the Lake View sign.

"Cemetery tours every weekend"

I've lived in Cleveland all my life and I knew that there was a lot of history at the old cemetery but I realized that it didn't know a whole lot more than the fact that it was at the top of the hill leading into the neighborhood known as Little Italy.

I convinced my sister and a friend to join me for one of the upcoming tours and we learned some fascinating facts.

Lake View Cemetery was founded in 1869 and sits on 285 acres. It has 70 acres for future development and won't reach full capacity for another 100 years. The cemetery, designed by Adolph Strauch, was created to resemble Victorian English and French gardens. Long, winding roads and pathways lead around carefully arranged gravesites that blend harmoniously with their surroundings.

Famous Clevelanders buried there include:

James A. Garfield, (1831-1881) the 20th President of the United States







John D. Rockefeller, (1839-1937) organized the Standard Oil Company and became the richest man in the world during his lifetime



Eliot Ness, (1903-1957) law enforcement agent who helped bring down infamous gangster, Al Capone





Raymond Johnson Chapman, (1891-1920) Cleveland Indians player who was hit in the head by a pitch and died 12 hours later.




Sculptures:

Archangel Gabriel stands ominously over the grave of John Hay (1839-1905), former secretary to President Abraham Lincoln and U.S. Secretary of State under President McKinley.




This massive bronze angel sits at the grave of Francis Haserot. The object in the angel's hands is an overturned torch, not a sword.




Memorial for George Hely



Crypts and mausoleums

This art deco-style mausoleum is the final resting place of Liberty Elmer Holden (1833-1913), original owner of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Holden is also credited with the construction of the Cleveland Museum of Art.



Burke mausoleum



Schofield mausoleum. Schofield was a prominent architect who designed the Mansfield Reformatory. Yes, the famous haunted one.



Mausoleum row




Wade Chapel was built in 1901 to honor Jeptha Wade. The Chapel's interior, including the doors, floor tiles, benches, wall mosaics, chandeliers, lamps and ceiling, was designed entirely by Louis Tiffany. Of course, it also contains a Tiffany stained-glass window.





Both interior walls contain murals comprised of stained glass tiles.



The marble bench is inlaid with gold stained-glass tiles. The chandelier and candle-like lamps were also designed by Tiffany.



I think the most interesting fact I learned that day was that there was a dam inside the cemetery. Built in 1978 by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District at a cost of $7 million, the dam is 500 feet across, 60 feet above grade and 30 feet below grade. At the time of dedication, it was the largest concrete filled dam east of the Rocky Mountains capable of holding back 80 million gallons of water.