OAKHILL CEMETERY

"Neighbors from the Past"

Grand Rapids Humanities Council program
Oct. 25, 1998
Kenneth D. Bratt, Prof. of Classics, Calvin College
Grand Rapids, MI 49546
kbratt@calvin.edu

INTRODUCTION

Oakhill Cemetery is a place of remarkable beauty, both  natural and artistic. Ever since it was dedicated on October 25, 1859 (139years ago today) and J. Allen Giddings brought in great trees from his estate on the Thornapple River, this has been a true place of repose, and so it was intended. Here lie many of the great figures in Grand Rapids’ history: Civil War dead, Julius and Joseph Houseman, Abraham May, William Herpolsheimer, John Steketee, J. Boyd Pantlind, C.G.A. Voigt, David Kendall, Arthur Vandenberg, and at least 25,000 others.

My special interest is the Greek revival architecture of the cemetery, particularly the three neoclassical mausolea located on the main axes (E,S,W) of the cemetery: the Lowe, Waters, and Withey mausolea.

The term "mausoleum" itself arose in the 4th century B.C.,when Mausolus king of Caria (SW Turkey) built himself a tomb at Halikarnassos unlike any other in the world at that time (fragments in British Museum)• this "Mausoleum," ranked among the 7 wonders of the ancient world, rose from a massive podium 470 ft. around and covered with sculpture; the second story was ringed by 36 Ionic columns each 38 ft. high, all rising to support a colossal pyramid on top of which King Mausolus himself rode in a marble chariot with his wife, Artemisia. Obviously, this is a royal monument, intended to advertise the greatness of the king, and also to suggest his deification after death.

For centuries famous Greeks and Romans followed Mausolus’ lead in building glorious tombs, but with the rise of Christianity only the saints were allowed such monuments, usually in the form of churches at their graves (e.g. St. Peter’s). It was not until the 19th century that private citizens in America began to build similarly luxurious monuments as resting places for their dead. Let’s consider three examples, all in Oakhill Cemetery, and then consider why they chose such buildings.



LOWE MAUSOLEUM: on E axis of cemetery, c. 1920?

6 vaults (2 uninscribed), oldest burial dated 1928, more outside

N vaults, top to bottom:

·uninscribed

·Barbara Lowe Fallas(1893-1979) - daughter

·uninscribed

S vaults, top to bottom:·Edward Lowe(1860-1938) - the father

·Susan Blodgett Lowe (1865-1931) - the mother

·James Rowland Lowe (1904-1969) - son

Back wall: plaques for Richard Johnson Lowe(d.1937 at sea), Edward Lowe Jr.

(d. 1951), who spent most of life supervising family interests in San Francisco

Edward Lowe (1860-1928) - age 77• one of 8 children, son of James and Eliza Lowe(1819-1899), British immigrants in 1869 from Lancashire (Ashton under Lyne) at behest of Eliza’s father R. E. Butterworth, who had arrived in 1841. James in cotton business in England; here partner of Richard E. Butterworth (1806-1888)in Butterworth + Lowe, the first iron foundry and machine shop in G. R. on site of Civic Auditorium. James a philanthropist active in providing building for Division St. (First) Methodist, also instrumental in bringing Salvation Army to G. R. in 1883 (Gathered, 31, 140)]. James lived on Cherry St. His five children were Mrs. Sherwood Hall, Mrs. Frank Sweet, Mrs. Edward Whittemore, Rowland Lowe, Edward Lowe (obit).

• Edward a grandson of Butterworth, apprenticed at family foundry, which built pumping machinery for first G. R. Water Works.

• married former Susan Blodgett in 1888 (alleged dowry of $1 M), left iron business in 1892 for lumber (Blodgett’s businessw/ large holdings in Cadillac area as well as West and South)

• lived in Victorian brick home at 103 College SE(at Washington); in 1905 built 22 room Tudor manor house "Holmdene" (now Aquinas College mansion, where he planted more than 1000 trees of various kinds); also homes in CA and often in Europe

• founder of Kent Country Club, first golf course in west MI

• a director of Old National Bank, later of Old Kent, and of Michigan Trust Co.

• Edward + Susan were generous philanthropists to St. Mark’s Episcopal, Salvation Army’s Evangeline Home, Blodgett Hospital; also the major donors for new Butterworth Hospital in 1911 (they gave the whole block of property and another $500K in 1921); Edward long-time president of Butterworth’s board

• donated large memorial "resurrection window" at First Methodist in memory of parents, who had been members there.

• died with an estate of 6.5M, largest then recorded in Kent Co. (obit)

• grandchildren included Susan B and James Rowland Lowe Jr. of G. R.

Susan Blodgett Lowe (1865-1931) - age66

• wife of Edward, daughter of Delos A. Blodgett the lumber baron (1825- )

• 3 children: Edward Jr. (b. 1890), Barbara (b. 1893,Mrs. Charles Henry Fallas of NY), James Rowland Lowe (b. 1904)

• on Butterworth Hosp. Women’s Board, major benefactor of 
D. W. Blodgett Home for Children, St. Mark’s Church

• Buried outside: Elizabeth Ives Lowe (d.1992)


Architecture of the Lowe mausoleum:

• Doric distyle in antis (cf. Athenian Treasury at Delphi), granite, facing W, no date

• 3 steps, 2 wreaths in frieze (no triglyphs), windows with meanders; inscribed LOWE

• sculpture on table within: putto with bird



WATERS  MAUSOLEUM:on S axis of cemetery, c. 1910?

20 vaults (5 uninscribed), oldest death dated 1894,more outside; 3 Hills (Florence’s family) relocated to Rome, GA in 1939

East side: (10 vaults):

· top left: Margaret Cameron Waters (1914-1970) - 3rd gen.,  wife of Dudley Hills?

·Dudley Hills ("Tom") Waters (1899-1970) - 3rd gen., son of Dudley & Florence

·Mary Hills Waters (1895-1902) • 3rd gen., age 7, daughter of Dudley & Florence

·Dudley Elijah Waters (1862-1931) • 2nd generation, son of patriarch

·Florence Hills Waters (1867-1956) • 2nd generation, Dudley’s wife

· top right: 2 vaults uninscribed

·Mary Leffingwell Waters (1840-1919) • the matriarch

·Daniel Howard Waters (1834-1894) • the patriarch

·William Howard Waters (1860-1862) • 2nd generation, died at age 2

West side (10 vaults):·top left, 2 vaults uninscribed

·Morris Cassard (1924 -1980) • 4th generation, son of Morris Jr. & Therese

·Therese Cassard (1896 - 1983) • 3rd gen., wife of Morris Jr.

·Morris Cassard Jr. (1894-1968) • 3rd gen., son of Morris & Anna

·top right: 1 vault uninscribed

·Therese J. D. Cassard (1922-1924) • 4th gen., died at age 2

·Daniel Waters Cassard (1894-1918) • 3rd gen. war hero, son of Morris & Anna

·Anna Waters Cassard (1864-1939) • 2nd generation, daughter of patriarch

·Morris Cassard (1862-1955) • 2nd gen., husband of Anna

Daniel Howard Waters (1834-1894) • husband of Mary Leffingwell Waters (1840-1919, M. 1892), children: Anna Waters Cassard, Mabel Waters Schwartz (buried in Chicago, no children), and Dudley Elijah Waters,

• arrived in 1856 from West Falls,NY, opened provision business, then Michigna Barrel Co. (held patent for wood bending machinee), later acquired vast pine forests in northern MI and land downtown where Waters Bldg stands. Contractor for excavation of much of Prospect Hill and grading of downtown streets.

• brother of Elijah Dudley Waters (1830-1868),a major in Civil War, then partner in business

• a trustee of the Old National Bank (with Solomon Withey) and founding trustee of MI Trust (with Lewis H. Withey and Julius Houseman) and Peninsular Club; member of St. Mark’s Episcopal

• lived in 30-room mansion at 36 College SE, built in 1852 and demolished 100+ yrs. later for Waters Apts.; housed3 generations of Waters family

• Came to G. R. with $1200, left an estate of $1 M.
 

Dudley Elijah Waters (1862-1931,age 68)

son of Daniel Howard, husband of Florence Hills Waters (1867-1956), of Rome GA
[three bodies of the Hills, Florence’s inlaws, moved to Rome, GA in 1939]
 

• prominent banker, successor of father as long-time chairman of board of G. R. National Bank; also on Bd. of Public Works; imported first Renault to G. R. in 1905

built Waters Building (161 Ottawa) in 1898 as furniture exhibition building; raised in a record 180 days with prefabricated iron columns and steel beams (one of the first of this kind); then called Klingman Furniture Exhibition Building; Waters Corp. still there (run by David and Richard Cassard).

• one of largest owners of real estate in G. R., president of a lumber company, a director of the telephone company, of Pere Marquette RR, of a govt munitions factory during WW I, a major promoter of Pantlind Hotel, owner of a cattle farm; a Democrat.

• benefactor of Fountain St. Church, G. R. Art Museum (instrumental in purchase of first major collection of 75 paintings); donated Mary Waters Field (first neighborhood playground in G. R., in NE Coldbrook district) in 1903 in memory of daughter.
 

Anna Waters Cassard (1864-1939)

• daughter of Daniel Howard, sister of Dudley Elijah, wife of Morris Cassard

• mother of Morris Cassard, Jr. and Daniel Waters Cassard

Morris Cassard (1862-1955)

• husband of Anna Waters Cassard, father of Morris Cassard, Jr. and Daniel Waters Cassard

Dudley Hills ("Tom") Waters(1899-1970)

• only son of Dudley Elijah & Florence, brother of Mary Hills Waters (died at age 7)

prominent banker, flew plane to 3000 ft. in 1917

• estate on Fisk Lake

Daniel Waters Cassard(1894-1918)

• son of Morris & Anna Waters Cassard, killed in France after enlisting in Canadian AF

• twin brother of Morris Cassard, Jr.?

• first airport named for him and D. W. Cassard American Legion post

Morris Cassard, Jr. (1894-1968)

• son of Morris & Anna Waters Cassard, husband of Therese Cassard (1896-1983, of France)

• father of Morris Cassard (1924-1980) and David Cassard (1932-1985)

Buried outside: David Cassard(1932-1985)

• Olga Cassard’s husband, great grandson of patriarch; hired in 1958to reconfigure Waters Bldg as multiple use office space, bought building in 1968.

• their sons David Morris Cassard (b. 1953) and Richard Cassard (b.1954) now own Waters Bldg. and operate Waters Corp.

Architecture of the Waters mausoleum:• Ionic tetrastyle prostyle (cf. Ilissos temple and Nike Temple on Athenian Acropolis, which was rebuilt in 1835-45 after removal of the Turkish rampart); granite, facing S

• 3 steps with recessed lower margin, columns with entasis, corner volutes angled, blank frieze above 3-band architrave, inscribed WATERS CASSARD SCHWARZ; no date


WITHEY MAUSOLEUM:on W axis of cemetery, faces E, dated 1911

[credit Sam Glass + Jessica Yarch]

• 8 vaults, oldest burial that of Solomon, moved in 1913 from elsewhere in cemetery

S side, top to bottom:

·Lewis H. Withey II (1904-1987) - 3rd/4th gen.??, son of Lewis??

·Elizabeth Close Withey (1905-88) - wife of Lewis II

·Solomon Lewis Withey (1820-1886) - the patriarch

·Marian Louise Withey (1829-1912) - the matriarch

N side, top to bottom:·Benjamin Clapp Robinson (1870-1946) - husband of Maude

·Maude Withey Robinson(1873-1955) - 3rd gen.?, daughter of Lewis & Margaret ?

·Lewis Hinsdill Withey (1847-1925) 2nd gen., son of Solomon & Marian

·Margaret Boyd Withey (1851-1936) - 2nd gen., wife of Lewis
 

Solomon Lewis Withey (1820-1886)- age 66

• arrived 1838 from St. Albans,VT. His grandfather Silas McWithey a veteran of the Revolutionary War; his father Solomon Sr. the second landlord of Bridge St. House (1841), a sheriff in 1842, active in mail and stage business to Battle Creek, also in brick business, a general in the MI militia, lived at Ottawa and Coldbrook until moving to Ada, where he died at age 74; the "Withey block" 3 stories high in brick, built on corner of Canal and Lyon?

• Solomon the youngest of 6 children to his father’s first wife

• married Marian (Hinsdill) Withey; lived on NE corner of Fountain & Division (installed first bathtub in MI)

• father of 5, including Eleanor Withey Willard, Louis Hinsdill Withey, Charles S. Withey, Chester Withey (of LA)

• first a teacher, then lawyer (partner of John Ball); one of ten members of bar in 1843, probate judge 1848-52, state senator1861-3 (Rep), director and president of Old (1st) National Bank for many years (with Daniel H. Waters)

• Lincoln appointed as first US district judge for W district of MI (1863-1886); declined Garfield’s offer of appointment to Circuit Ct. of Appeals in 1869

• presided over July 4, 1865 festivities

• briefly editor of The Enquirer (G. R.'s first newspaper); a charter member of First (Park) Congregational church); president of G. R. Women’s Suffrage Movement (org. 1874)

• died at age 66 in San Diego. (Gathered,24;Sampler 66 w/ photo; Baxter quote)

Marian Louise (Hinsdill) Withey (1829-1912)- age 83

• came to G. R. from Hinesburgh, VT at age 4 in 1833;her brother Henry only the second white child born in G. R.; Myron and Emily’s "Hinsdill House" the original meeting place of First (Park) Congregational (Marian the last surviving charter member of 16); later hotel renamed "The National" (replaced after fires in 1855 and 1872 by Morton House, 55 Ionia); father Myron died at age 39 in 1838, his stone in Fulton Cem. one of oldest in GR.

• involved in relief work from 1842 on; founded Society for the Care of the Sick and Destitute in 1846; led war relief activity in city thru out the Civil War; hospital work at Army Hospital (Lyon + College); helped start Union Benevolent Association that later became Blodgett Hospital; on its board for 20 yrs.; founded training school for nurses in 1886 after consulting Florence Nightingale in London (Blodgett School of Nursing endured for 101 yrs, Marian L. Withey Residence for Nurses at Blodgett named for her portrait??).

• G. R.’s leading philanthropist in fundraising for Park Cong. bldg with Tiffany windows

• helped start first public library (1858), Soldier’s Aid Society (1861), Ladies Literary Club

(1872)+ (Gathered, 21 w/photo; 280n.9 re her surviving journal)

• nominated for Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame; the "mother of women’s clubs" in G. R.

• at death (at her home at the Elmwood on Cherry St.) the oldest continuous resident of G. R.

• Barbara Howlett her great granddaughter (3604 E. Fulton)

Lewis Hinsdill Withey (1847-1925)

• son of Solomon and Marian Withey, husband of Margaret Boyd Withey (1851-1936)

• founding trustee of MI Trust Co., the first in MI, (with Daniel H. Waters and Julius Houseman); president of Michigan Trust from its foundation in 1889 til 1923, two years before death; located in      G. R.’s first "skyscraper," 10 stories at Ottawa and Pearl

• also a major stockholder in 4th National Bank, owner of saw mill, president of G. R. Boom Co. (which controlled all logs in the river), a founder of the Peninsular Club;

Lewis H. Withey II (1904-1987)

• son of Lewis H. Withey??, husband of Elizabeth Close Withey (1905-88)

Architecture of the Withey mausoleum:

• on S & N facades, much like the Waters mausoleum: tetrastyle prostyle w/ pediments

• on E & W facades, Ionic distyle in antis with balustrade above

• 20 flutes on cols, angle volutes on NS faces, facing E, 3 steps, 21.5 x 21.7 x 15 ft, grey granite, 8 crypts


CONCLUSION:

Why would good Methodists, Episcopalians, and even Congregationalists in the Puritan tradition build their tombs in the style of pagan temples?

1. Classical revival style was very popular: (Greek Independence: 1825)

Greek revival architecture was a national movement in 1840’s-50’s, expressing high optimism about the new Republic as "Athens reborn." Public buildings in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were often built in the classical revival style. In Grand Rapids, some of our finest early buildings are in the Greek or Classical Revival styles: e.g. Calkins Law Office (now at 235 State SE, 1836), the Pike House (230 E. Fulton, 1845), Samuel Sanford House (540 Cherry SE, 1847), St. Cecilia Music Hall (24 Ransom NE, 1894), GR Mutual Federal Savings + Loan (205Monroe NW, 1895), Ryerson Library (111 Library NE, 1904), the Federal Building (now Art Museum, 148 Ionia NW, 1909), Masonic Temple (233 E. Fulton, 1915),Mackay Tower (146 Monroe Ctr., first four stories 1916), and People’s Building (GR Savings Bank, 66 Monroe Ctr., 1916). Even the old Dutch Reformed Pillar Church in Holland (1856) resembles a Greek temple.

The classical revival in US architecture had its roots in the great monuments of Washington, D.C. It was an eclectic style which connoted elegance, harmony, proportion, stability, permanence, and grandeur. The movement was further stimulated by the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 (the Field Museum, Aquarium, Museum of Science and Industry), and by rise of Mediterranean archeology in the late 19th century.

In cemetery architecture neo-classical designs were also inspired by a wave of lavish memorials after the death of Victoria’s Prince Albert (1861). The temple form suggested both a beautiful dwelling place and immortality, expressed with a deliberate emotional restraint.  Replicas of the Parthenon and many other ancient buildings begin appearing in American cemeteries in the late 19th century and continue until the Great Depression. Many of these monuments were designed by the finest architects of the age and executed by skilled artists and stonecutters, often of European birth. The pagan associations of these designs were clearly not the primary factors in the minds of those who commissioned mausolea of this kind.

2. Visually impressive symbols of status and refined artistic taste:

Secondly, these monuments were certainly expressive of social and economic status and refined artistic taste. They were designed by the finest architects (McKim, Mead & White of New York did more than 40 neoclassical mausolea between 1879-1919 • Keister, 40); they used only the most costly materials; and they were certainly intended to make an enduring display of the family’s prestige. The costs were extravagant• allegedly $500K for the neo-Egyptian tomb of A. B. Watson • because the stone was often imported from distant quarries (VT granite, Georgia marble, etc.), the stone carvers were skilled craftsmen, often Italians, who were rare and commanded high wages; and the tombs were often adorned with sculpture, stained glass, and other extravagant adornment.

These were in part monuments to rising capitalism, buildings which marked the local economic aristocracy and brought into small towns like Grand Rapids the finest traditions of European and East Coast sophistication. It is no accident that this trend coincides throughout the country with rise of great industrialists and "robber barons;" and it ends with the Great Depression.

3. Associated with progressive views on death:

Finally, these elegant mausolea fit into a national movement of designing park-like suburban cemeteries with curving paths, scenic terrain, beautiful plantings, benches for relaxation, and aesthetic refinement in the monuments. Instead of the grim and crowded atmosphere of older churchyards or tiny urban cemeteries, these are intentionally spacious and beautiful places which reflect a new, somewhat romantic view of death as a passage toward hope and the transcendent.

An advertisement for the new Graceland Mausoleum published in the Grand Rapids Herald (9/7/24) captures the spirit of this progressive view: "It is a comforting thought, as far as consolation is possible, to know that one has done all he can to make the last abode of those who have gone before beautiful and soothing to the eye of the living who come there to reverence their memory. ...Mausoleum entombment is in keeping with the progress of the times; other methods belong to bygone ages. ... You have the choice of just two things: one typifying death in darkness; death in the depths; looking down, always down, into the wet grave. The other typifying death in light; death in sunshine and brightness; death in the hope of the resurrection."

The monuments of Oakhill Cemetery tell important stories about the early families of Grand Rapids, while they also link us with the ancient heritage of Egypt, Greece, and Rome. This is one of the most diverse and interesting neighborhoods in our city, for here lie our "neighbors from the past." We have considered the stories of three families memorialized in the Lowe, Waters, and Withey mausolea. There are thousands more whose stories could be added.

SLIDES:

  • Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
  • cardinal axes of Oakhill: Lowe, Waters, Withey mausolea
  • Lowe Mausoleum: general views, details, Athenian treasury at Delphi
  • Waters Mausoleum: general views, details, Nike temple, Acropolis
  • Withey Mausoleum: general views, details
  • neoclassical architecture in W Mich: Pike House, Pillar church
  • Athenian Acropolis
  • Graceland Mausoleum

Bibliography:
  • Albert Baxter, History of the City of Grand Rapids,1891.
  • James Bratt, Christopher Meehan et al, Gathered at the River: Grand Rapids, MI and Its People of Faith. 1993.
  • Ernest B. Fisher, ed. Grand Rapids and Kent County, MI. 2 vols. 1918.
  • George Fitch, Old Grand Rapids: A Picture Story of Old Conditions. 1925.
  • David + Marilyn Hanks, The Homes of Heritage Hill.
  • D. Keister, Going Out in Style. Facts on File:1997.
  • Z. Z. Lydens, ed. The Story of Grand Rapids. 1967.
  • Gordon Olson, A Grand Rapids Sampler. 1992.
  • "Park has Touched Me," loose-leaf collection from 150thanniversary of Park Cong. Church (entry #44 by Marian Withey)


Bibliography: Neoclassical Architecture:

Virginia + Lee McAlester, Great American Houses and their Architectural Styles, Abeevilee Press, NY: 1994. NA 7205M36 1994
Andreas Papadakis + Harriet Watson, eds. New Classicism: Omnibus Voume. Rizzoli, NY: 1990. NA 682 P67 N49 1990
Pamela Scott + Antoinette Lee, Buildings of the District of Columbia. Oxford: 1993. NA 735 W3 S36 1993
Thomas Gordon Smith, Classical Architecture: Rule and Invention. Gibbs Smith, Inc. Hong Kong: 1988. NA 737 S578A35
Robert AM Stern, Modern Classicism. Rizzoli, NY: 1988. NA 682 C55 S84 1988
We the People: The Story of the US Capitol. US Capitol Historical Society, Washington: 1966. F 204 C2 A45


Appendix 1 • History of G. R. and its Cemeteries:

• Campau arrived 1826, village incorporated 1838,city 1850
• city pop. in 1850: 2.7K; 1860: 8K; 1870: 16,5K;1880: 32K; 1890: 60K; 1900: 87.5K

Cemeteries:

• Fulton St. Cemetery older,12.5 acres, est. 1838,w/ grave of John Ball and oldest stone in G. R. (Andrew Haldane, 1838)
• Fairplains (2056 Diamond NE) est. 1851, 53 acres,51K burials
• St. Andrew’s est. 1852 as first Catholic Cem., w/ graves of Campaus
Oakhill ded. 1859, orig. separate from Valley City Cem. on S, now 67 acres
• Greenwood (1401 Leonard NW) est. 1859, 76 acres, mausolea of Joseph Wenzel (1906)+ Frank McKay (1965), 22K burials; Charles Belknap here too
• Oakgrove (1401 28th SE), est. 1838 by Paris Township, six acres donated to city in 1975
• Woodlawn est. 1921, 61 acres (290 w/ Indian Trails), Catholics W of Kalamazoo, Protestants E, mausoleum of William Alden Smith(1932)
• Graceland (1925), marble ($1M), 2200 crypts

Oakhill Cemetery:

• land purchased 1853 near SE corner of city (Hall-Fullerin 1857), high + rolling ground; cemetery dedicated + platted in 1859,private until 1885
• treasurer J. Allen Giddings brought cedar, spruce, evergreens from Thornapple
• a "park cemetery" in taxonomy of "rural, park, and lawn/memorial"
• SW corner (half-acre) sold to Houseman ($100/500)for Jewish cemetery in 1857
• NW corner Temple Emanuel area (Reform syn.); conservative syn. in Ahavas Achim Cemetery.
• 35 acres originally separate from 40 acre Valley City Cemetery S of Hall, with total of 25-30,000 graves (Trudie Anderson) including potter’s field in SE corner, combined in 1903
• exceptionally ornate with prestige monuments in central or conspicuous locations:
• AB Watson mausoleum (Egyptian temple, 1888) most expensive - Civil War major ($500K+), and lumber baron Marcus Brown (pyramid in S. cem)
• largest number of mausolea among GR cemeteries, located mainly at cardinal locations as centerpieces of sections

Other mausolea/neoclassical tombs in Oakhill:

Friant Mausoleum: (pre1927)

  • architecture: unfluted Ionic distyle in antis on E only, no pediments, wreaths and inscription in frieze; 8 vaults
  • N vaults, top to bottom:
  • uninscribed
  • Gladys Friant, wife of Thomas (1864-1928)
  • Thomas Friant (1840-1927) - lumber baron, house at 601 Cherry; cleared pine forests all along the Grand, floated logs to Grand Haven and shipped them west from about 1870-90
  • uninscribed
  • S vaults, top to bottom: all four uninscribed
Houseman-Amberg Mausoleum (date?)

• acanthus on doors, rusticated masonry, pedimented
• 9 vaults on west side
top (l. to r.):

• Jennie E. Houseman (1839-1891)
Julius Houseman (1832- 1891)

• Born in Zechendorf, Bavaria, first permanent Jewish settler in 1850, lumber and clothing business, 8 yrs. as alderman, mayor in 1872 + 1874; state rep. in 1871-2 (Dem), 5th dist. congressman1883-5 (a Dem, MI’s first and only Jewish Rep.), President of National City Bank, owned huge tracts of land, esp. timberland; helped start city waterworks, invested in gas works and office bldg. on E side of Ottawa from Pearl to Lyon, influential in founding Reform Temple Emanuel (cf. Houseman St. and Field)• Mary Sutherland Amberg (1917-1931?) and Julius Houseman Amberg (1890-1951?) • bronze plaques, and in center ashes of Callie Smith Amberg (1891-1971)center (l. to r.):
• David M. Amberg (1848-1939) - married Julius’ only daughter, president of G. R. Fire Insurance Co.
• Melvin H. Amberg (1827-1887)
• Hattie H. Amberg (1859-1946)

bottom (l. to r.):

• David Amberg (ashes, 1992)
• 2 vaults vacant

[Joseph Houseman (1832 - 1905), cousin of Julius, a generous man involved in business, helped found first building and loan assoc., organized first paving of roads in G. R., central figure in founding of Temple Emanuel and saving it in worst period]

[Julius Houseman Amberg (1890-1951) - grandson of Julius, Harvard Law, brilliant lawyer, served Sec. of War in WW I and II, leading figure in Temple Emanuel and major philanthropist in GR.]

Clark Mausoleum (S cemetery, 1909, 8 vaults)

• unfluted Doric distyle in antis on E, wreathed1909 in pediment, 3 steps on front

N side (top to bottom):
• Janet Lillie (d. 1996)
• Frank Milo Clark (1875-1962)
• Cornelius Clark (1835-1908), reinterred 1909
• Fred G. Clark (1872-1947)

S side (top to bottom):
• Robert C. Clark (d. 1918) and Nancy Jane Clark (d. 1910)
• Catherine M. Clark (d. 1970)
• Nancy Jane Clark (1841-1922)
• Selma T. Clark (1873-1948)

Wilcox-Hill tombs (S cemetery, c. 1900)

Triglyph-rosette frieze, Roman altar (cf. Scipio sarcophagus in Vatican)

• central monument with 14 surrounding graves: Gladys Wilcox (d. 1893), Fredrick Wilcox (1912), Harvey Hill (1917), Sarah Hill (1923), Robert Perkins (1929), Robert Wilcox (1935), Sanford Wilcox(1945), Anna Flarity (1945), Caroline Hill Wilcox (1947), Louse Wilcox(1961), Gertrude Wilcox (1970), Grius Perkins (1978), Marian Wilcox Perkins(1992), Ferd Perkins (1994)
Wolf tomb -Doric sundial (date?)

Musselman tomb (date?)- triglyph-rosettefrieze, Roman altar, crosses on sides

Jordan Cawthra tomb (date?) - triglyph-rosettefrieze, no altar, scripture on reverse

Keeney tomb (date?) - triglyph-metopefrieze only

Other mausolea/neoclassical tombs in WoodlawnCemetery (Protestant side E of Kalam.):

William Alden Smith Mausoleum (Woodlawn Cem):(1932)

• fluted Doric tetrastyle prostyle, facing W, 3 stepson front, inscribed in frieze

William Alden Smith, Sr. (1859-1932) -eminent lawyer, 5th district Congressman from 1895-1907 (Republican); US senator from 1907-1919 (one of two ever from GR); owner of G. R. Herald, hired Vandenberg as reporter• William Alden Smith, Jr. (d. 1924) - reinterred from Oakhill
• Nanna Smith (d. 1936)
• Frank Jewell (d. 1940)
• Jennie Jewell (d. 1950)
• ashes of Edward Alden Jewell (nd)

Ernest Albert Stowe Mausoleum (Woodlawn Cem.): (1938)

• architecture: fluted Tuscan distyle in antis, 2steps; a publisher
• Florence Stowe (top crypt, d. 1950)
• E. A. Stowe (bottom crypt, d. 1938)
• E. A. Stowe, Jr. (ashes on top of crypt, d. 1944)



Appendix 2 • NEOCLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE:

A. Historical Background

1.Classical Architecture from antiquity to the Renaissance

2. The Classical Revival movement in the U.S. (c.1790-1860);Thomas Jefferson

B. Washington, D.C.: the "Birth of American Architecture"
1. The city plan (1791, Pierre Charles L’Enfant)

2. The Mall: its five cardinal structures

a. White House (1792 - 1820, James Hoban)-Ionic (cf. Erechtheion)

b. Capitol (1793-1865, Thornton, Latrobe, Bulfinch, Walter, et al.)
    Corinthian order throughout, strong influence of the Roman Pantheon

c. Washington Monument (1848-84, Robert Mills) -monumental obelisk of the kind observed in Rome

d. Lincoln Memorial (1912-22, Henry Bacon)
    Doric order (cf. Parthenon) with seated colossus (cf. Statue of Zeus)

e. Jefferson Memorial (1939-43, John Russell Pope)
    Ionic order, but design based on Roman Pantheon
C. The IDEAS behind the style:
1. the classical ideals of the new Republic: liberty, justice, law

2. aesthetic independence of Europe, especially England

3. aesthetic democracy in beautiful public spaces

4. pride in American achievement, high optimism for the future of a new democracy

D. The Classical Architectural Tradition in Grand Rapidsl. Greek Revival wooden structures from our earliest pioneers
 1836 - Calkins Law Office (now at 235 State SE), oldest surviving frame bldg, unfluted wood Doric tetrastyle

1844 - Pike house (230 E. Fulton) fluted Doric tetrastyle, Doric porches, one story (columns from earlier hotel at Port Sheldon)

1844 - Hatch House (445 Cherry SE)

1847 -Samuel Sanford House (540 Cherry SE - Community Counselling), fluted Doric tetrastyle, 2-story, built by G. R.’s first pharmacist; rebuilt on orig. plans after 1891 fire; 17 rooms, each w/ fireplace

1856 - cf. Pillar Church, Holland

2. Classic Revival / Italianate stone buildings: our earliest public monuments 
1894 - St. Cecilia Music Hall (24 Ransom NE)

1895 - G. R. Mutual Federal Savings + Loan (205 MonroeNW)

1904 - Ryerson Library (111 Library NE)

1909 - U.S. Post Office / Federal Building (now Art Museum, 148 Ionia NW)

1915 - Masonic Temple (233 E. Fulton)

1916 - Mackay Tower (146 Monroe Ctr., first four stories)

1916 - People’s Building (GR Savings Bank, 66 Monroe Ctr.)
 

3. Classic Revival cemetery mausolea: "architecture for eternity" 
c.1910 - Waters mausoleum (Oakhill Cem., cf. Temple of Athena Nike)

1911 - Withey mausoleum (Oakhill Cem., Nike Templew/ Renaissance details)

c.1920 - Lowe mausoleum (Oakhill Cem., cf. Athenian Treasury at Delphi)

1924 - Graceland Mausoleum (4341 Cascade Rd. SE, cf. Parthenon

Doric hexastyle (cf. Hephaisteion), Georgia marble, Colton + Knecht, architects; pediment with Kronos, shepherd, hunter; architrave with boucrania + garlands (cf. Ara Pacis) • largest marble contract in MI


1932- William Alden Smith mausoleum (Woodlawn Cem.; Olympia treasuries)

 



Created: 3 June 2000