Graceland Cemetery, Chicago

We wanted to take our out-of-town guests to a place unlike any they’ve visited in the past. Plus, it was FREE (a plus in this economy). What better place than the historic & beautiful Graceland Cemetery?! It’s the final resting place of many of Illinois’ wealthy, its politicians, & its movers and shakers. Here are a few, among many, of notable gravesites (Model is B-I-L):

...for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return  ~ Genesis 3: 19

First stop: Eternal Silence by sculptor Lorado Taft, 1909, for hotelier Dexter Graves' (!) plot. AKA, "The Statue of Death". Per graveyards.com: A robed and hooded bronze figure stands before a polished black slab of granite, its face partially hidden by one arm.

pc: wikipedia

Below, is the gravesite of lumber merchant Henry Harrison Getty's wife, Carrie. Getty chose Louis Henri Sullivan to create this tomb. Per graveyards.com: Sullivan's Getty tomb has been called "the beginning of modern architecture in America," and was designated a city landmark in 1971 by Mayor Daley The Getty tomb is in the shape of a cube, with the roof overhanging the walls slightly. Sullivan's trademark arches are above the doors and windows, concentric arches with radial spokes. Octagons fill the space around the arches on the upper half of the walls. An intricate bronze gate with floral and geometric patterns, another Sullivan trademark, stands in the front of the equally ornate door. A plaster cast of this doorway won Sullivan an award at the Paris Exposition of 1900.

Below, family gravesite of one of Chicago's wealthiest man, Marshall Field. The monument is called Memory (its finish reminds me of Frango Mints, LOL). Mr Field was the owner of the highly successful department store chain, Marshall Field and Company (bought out by Macy's)

Below: I've always been fascinated by this tombstone for Bruce Goff, architect. I think the polished stone is gorgeous! Just a few feet away is the simple, pretty-much unadorned, polished slab (granite?) that marks the final resting place of world-famous pioneering master of Modern Architecture, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

Tombstone of dancer, Ruth Page

I had never noticed the gravesite below until now. From his site, I can assume the following: he was in the medical field because of the Caduceus symbol on his stone marker, he was musically-talented, and he was much-cherished by his family. This gravesite is right behind the family plot of the Armour Family (of meat-packing fame).

My thoughts: This place does not spook me, by God's grace. Death is a part of all of our lives. I am reminded, when looking at the gravesites, that we are dust, and to dust we shall return. I am thankful that the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth has conquered death, and is alive forevermore. My hope is in Him, for to be absent in the body is to be present with my Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).