People claim to hear and see unusual things at this grave but I found this spot in Lake View Cemetery to be peaceful and calm.
This is the Haserot Angel, a bronzestatue that dates to 1923. Industrialist Francis Henry Haserot commissioned the statue to honor his wife who died in 1919. It was created by artist Herman Matzen who was from Denmark but was working here in Ohio
Oxidation of the metal over these last 102 years has caused an effect that looks like black tears streaming from her eyes. The effect is creepy especially since she’s so realistic she could seemingly take flight. Many tourists and ghost hunters claim there’s something otherworldly going on on here.
I don’t know about that but she sure does look sad.
Tucked into Cleveland’s Lake View Cemetery is a 124 year old chapel that is a must-see if you like architecture, chapels, or Tiffany glass.
Wade Chapel was donated to the cemetery by Jeptha Wade II in memory of his grandfather who was a founder of the cemetery as well as co-founder of Western Union. Ground was broken in 1898 and it was finished in 1901
Marble plays an important role in this chapel but kind of plays second fiddle to the glass. The showstopper here is an enormous stained glass window that was produced by Tiffany. It is stunning and our tour guide lingered on the story of this window for a while. He says that Mr. Wade bought the window, understanding that it would first be exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1900 before coming to Cleveland.
But, if you go, don’t miss the 25 foot long wall mosaics on either side of the chapel. They are laid out in intricate designs that tell two different but converging stories using the theme “The Voyage of Life.”
All of the glass is Tiffany’s signature Favrile art glass which is rich and stunning. I could stare at it all day.
The tour guide suggested they still have many questions about this chapel but they believe that Louis Comfort Tiffany designed the interior himself. He noted that many details here are similar to elements used in Tiffany’s Chapel at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.
This feels like a research project in the waiting for some art history student. If only these walls could talk!
It’s open for tours for a few hours a day. You can look around on your own but, like most places, you’ll learn more if you invest a few minutes in one of the free tours.
High on a hill overlooking Cleveland’s famed Lake View Cemetery is a memorial to President James A. Garfield.
Ohio is sometimes called the Mother of Presidents because seven US Presidents were born here including Garfield who was our twentieth. Born in poverty and in a log cabin in northeastern Ohio, Garfield was a lawyer, preacher, Civil War general, US Senator and member of the US House of Representatives.
His was a life of service and he used his power to advocate for civil rights for African Americans, to support an educated electorate and to fight corruption in the postal service. He was a pretty progressive guy for the day in 1881 and even for modern times.
In case you don’t remember your history, an assassin fired and struck Garfield twice – one bullet caused a minor wound to his arm and another went through his back, shattering a rib and embedding in his abdomen. He died months later after unsanitary methods employed by his doctors caused infection to develop and grow.
He was interred in another location in this cemetery until his memorial was completed about nine years later and his body was moved. Our tour guide said that Garfield’s wife Lucretia was instrumental in choosing the location for the memorial and in planning its design. She chose the highest point in the cemetery, giving her husband, the President, the highest resting place in the cemetery as he had once held the highest office in the land.
You ascend twenty steps to enter the heavy front doors. A larger than life statue of the twentieth president stands beneath an impressive light fixture with twenty bulbs. Awe inspiring stained glass windows represent each of the original thirteen colonies and his home state of Ohio. Each of these windows features a woman who is holding something that represents that state in her outstretched hands.
Spiral stairs give access to the crypt where Garfield’s flag draped casket sits next to that of his wife. Go up stairs to an interior balcony that looks down on the rotunda and also get a better view of the dome above. One more flight of stairs up will give you access to an exterior balcony with a sweeping view of the cemetery and downtown off in the distance.
This memorial is extraordinary both in appearance and in atmosphere. It feels sacred. At first glance, you might mistake this space for a church and the women of those windows as angels.
You can tell that Lucretia Garfield and whoever designed this memorial wanted to honor the man and his place in history while emphasizing the weight and importance of the US Government. Reverence and respect were paid here.
I hated to leave this place and have thought often about our time there. Garfield was both preacher and politician. He fought for what was right and died because of some things that were wrong with his world. I can’t help but wonder how our country might have improved and grown had he served his entire term rather than a few short months. Would the civil rights movement have advanced more? Would we be less tolerant of the lies of corrupt politicians?
If you’re in Cleveland, Lake View Cemetery is home to this memorial and to the graves of many other famous people. We didn’t get to explore here long but it was one of my favorite things in Cleveland. Learn more here!
