Mount Auburn Cemetery

On Friday, our company seminar was actually a field trip. We got to go across the street to the Mt Auburn Cemetery that my office building overlooks, and anyone who was interested got a walking tour of the place. I was completely astounded by all of the history, architecture and plant life that had been hiding across the street from me for the past year, and immediately wanted to go back with a camera.

So, this morning and I drove into the city, parked at my office, and spent a little over two hours wandering around, hiking up hills, and taking in the scenery. The cemetery was the first in a new movement to encourage people to enjoy visiting their deceased friends and relatives rather than fear death. By creating a park-like atmosphere and banning things like the slate "memento mori" gravestones (the ones featuring a prominent skull with wings) that had been popular up until that time, the founders hoped to make a place that people would be comfortable in and visit out of pleasure rather than obligation. To compare to Arlington National Cemetery, the Mt Auburn cemetery has just over 94,000 residents compared to the Arlington count of more than 300,000. Some noted residents include Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Oliver Wendall Holmes.

This photo was taken in Consecration Dell, the site where the cemetery was originally consecrated in 1831. At that time, the area looked like any other woodland in the region, and 2000 people gathered to hear Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story speak. The vernal pool is home to the endangered Spotted Salamander. Over time, the area had been re-planted with invasive species and the character had completely changed, but a restoration project began in 1997 to return it to its original New England splendor. It seems that things are going along well in that regard! (as always, click on any photo for a larger view!)
This is just another view from the bench I was sitting on in the Dell.

We had actually walked around quite a bit (while I showed Matt some historic spots from the tour on Friday and forgot to take photos) before reaching Consecration Dell, so we sat there for a bit for a rest and to see if we could spot any salamanders (we did not).

After that, we hiked up to the highest point in the cemetery atop which sits a tall tower built as a monument to George Washington. I was sort of tired, so I decided to sit and admire the view of the Boston skyline. (I wasn't kidding when I said we hiked up to this point!)
While I sat and admired, Matt climbed to the top of the tower to take some photos. First, he took a stealth photo of me sitting on my bench. This shows how high the tower is above the vantage point where I took the previous photo!
Photos of the Boston skyline photos from the tower:
After returning to ground level, Matt snapped another stealth photo of me on my bench. Unfortunately for him, I noticed!

(All together now: "Gee, doesn't Liz look like her mom?!")After all his stair climbing on the tower, Matt took a break and I took the camera. This is just another shot of the skyline with a few monuments that were in front of the tower. Matt's breathing on the bench on the left.
This is a shot taken sort of down the hillside from slightly below the base of the tower just to prove there are actually graves! Shortly after this, an elderly couple stopped us to ask whether we were having a nice walk and to point out some areas that we wouldn't want to miss.
Further down the hill, we saw this amusing headstone. Would that we could all have this strength.
On the recommendation of the other walkers we had run into, we headed down toward one of the sets of lakes.
While walking around the lake, we encountered a mama duck and her brood:
The man who had designed the tower, Dr. Jacob Bigelow, also commissioned this sphinx to commemorate the preservation of the Union after the Civil War, as well as to celebrate the destruction of African slavery. The bird on the sphinx's forehead is an American Eagle, her face is purposely Caucasian, she wears a six-pointed masonic star.
Across from the sphinx stands the Bigelow Chapel, also designed by Dr. Bigelow. Stained glass imported from Scotland, granite from Quincy, the Gothic style was meant to imitate the trees under which the Druids performed sacred rights.
By standing at the chapel, you can see the entire Bigelow trinity. Chapel to your back, Sphinx in front of you, and in the distance you can see the tower as well.
Near the front of the cemetery stands a monument to Nathaniel Bowditch (astonomer, mathematician, and author of the "American Practical Navigator"). According to my guide pamphlet, the founders hoped the cemetery would become a place for public memorials, and this one was raised by public subscription.
This is only a small fraction of the photos I took and the history I absorbed this weekend. Even with that, what we saw is also only a small fraction of the cemetery. It was truly a great experience, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it soon!