Historic Photos of Oak Grove Cemetery and Mausoleum

I returned to Oak Grove Cemetery recently and met with the staff, learning many interesting facts about the mausoleum and grounds.

They were also kind enough to give me an original promotional brochure from shortly after the mausoleum's opening.

Above is the upper floor of the central rotunda, and below is the lower floor of the majestic space.

I get the impression that the marketing was geared toward making the act of burial and visiting of graves a cleaner and more scientific method compared to the old, muddy graveyards of the past.

I love the stained glass window in this chapel below; it is clearly based off of the Sistine Madonna by Raphael in Dresden, Germany.

Here are some of the other chapels and hallways in the mausoleum, showing the nice white Carrara marble that adorns the walls.

I'm creeped out by mausolea; I'm used to the old fashioned cemetery burials where all of my relatives are buried. It's interesting to see how different people react to different burial methods.

The owners are in the process of raising donations to repair the building back to its original state; on the day I was there construction workers were already at work repairing portions of the central dome. Please consider donating to their cause; I can vouch that the money is actually going to repairs, as the scaffolding was not there the first time I visited. Let's not let it turn into the type of cemetery the brochure railed against decades ago.