Veteran tour guide Joe Shields (with assist from guide
in training, Amber) were at the entrance of the magnificent grounds of the
Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum at 4947 West Florissant Avenue (Saint
Louis, MO 63115) when I pulled in to join a scheduled tour for 10:30 a.m. on
Saturday August 28. We were a group of 16 (including myself and the two guides). Poised to take in the sights and history of this remarkable place, Joe
advised us that we would be visiting a select group of mausoleums over the next
two hours. We came to appreciate the history of this place that dates back to
the early 19th century and the rural cemetery movement. Like other rural
American cemeteries that preceded it, Bellefontaine’s 1949 rules of
incorporations planned for the grounds to be beyond the borders of the city’s
residential population.
The
heat index this day was approaching 100 degrees but we were thrilled to gain
access inside several structures honoring some of the families and individuals
that are part of the history of Saint Louis. Over 80,000 are laid to rest here
(some dating back to the Civil War and before). The most prominent mark our
town’s heritage in oil, beer, shoes, grain, show business and more. Our master
guide calls the study of this place a sort of confluence
of coincidence that reflects some of the amazing success stories of our
region.
A few highlights:
- In 1891, St. Louis millionaire and brewer Ellis Wainwright commissioned architect Louis Sullivan to design a tomb for his wife who had died suddenly of peritonitis. Sullivan had recently completed the Wainwright Building in St. Louis, which is considered to be the beginning of modern skyscraper design. The mausoleum is a domed cube with simple carved decorations in Sullivan’s signature stylized plant patterns. The mausoleum’s double doors are bronze grills framed by delicate stone carvings. Sullivan’s draftsman for the project was Frank Lloyd Wright, who became one of America’s most illustrious architects. The unique tomb was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.
- This Egyptian Revival mausoleum, designed by Eames and Young, was built in 1907 by Frank N. Tate, who at the time controlled most of the theater property in St. Louis. He also owned theaters in Chicago and Buffalo, New York. In 1921, Mr. and Mrs. Tate erected the Lee H. Tate Hall at the University of Missouri as a memorial to their son , Lee Harry Tate, who was killed in an automobile accident that year. The mausoleum has an entry flanked by columns with palm capitals. An Egyptian winged disc is flanked by serpents above the entry, and a pair of granite sphinxes guard the front.
- George Warren Brown made his fortune as a manufacturer of shoes. His hexagonal mausoleum was designed in 1928 by St. Louis architects Mauran, Russell, and Crowell. Nearby is the circular mausoleum of George’s brother, Alanson Brown, who was an early president of Hamilton-Brown Shoe Company. His Romanesque Revival style tomb was designed in 1910 by St. Louis architect Isaac Taylor.
- In 1904 – the year that St. Louis hosted its own World’s Fair – Bellefontaine erected what would be its most visited memorial to date, an obelisk and bust commemorating General William Clark (1770 – 1838) of Lewis & Clark fame.
The story of
Bellefontaine Cemetery began in the early nineteenth century as Saint Louis flourished. Today, this beautiful place is a touchpoint for history, a source
of natural beauty, art and architecture.
