Graceland Cemetery is a large historic garden cemetery located in the north side community area of

Uptown Uptown may refer to: Neighborhoods or regions in several cities United States * Uptown, entertainment district east of Downtown and Midtown Albuquerque, New Mexico * Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina * Uptown, area surrounding the University of Ci ...

, in the city of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, United States. Established in 1860, its main entrance is at the intersection of Clark Street and Irving Park Road. Among the cemetery's are the burial sites of several well-known Chicagoans. Graceland includes a naturalistic reflecting lake, surrounded by winding pathways, and its pastoral plantings have led it to become a certified

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

of more than 2,000 trees. The cemetery's wide variety of burial monuments include a number designed by famous architects, several of whom are also buried in the cemetery.

History

Thomas Barbour Bryan Thomas Barbour Bryan (December 22, 1828 – January 26, 1906) was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician. Born in Virginia, a member of the prestigious Barbour family on his mother's side, Bryan largely made a name for himself in Chi ...

, a Chicago businessman, established Graceland Cemetery in 1860 with the original layout designed by Swain Nelson. Bryan's son, Daniel Page Bryan, was the first person to be buried at the cemetery after having been disinterred and removed from the city cemetery in

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...

along with approximately 2,000 other individuals. In 1870,

Horace Cleveland Horace William Shaler Cleveland (December 16, 1814 – December 5, 1900) was an American landscape architect. His approach to natural landscape design can be seen in projects such as the Grand Rounds in Minneapolis; Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Conco ...

designed curving paths, open vistas, and a small lake to create a park-like setting. In 1878, Bryan hired his nephew Bryan Lathrop as president. In 1879, the cemetery acquired an additional , and Ossian Cole Simonds was hired as its landscape architect to design the addition. Lathrop and Simonds wanted to incorporate naturalistic settings to create picturesque views that were the foundation of the

Prairie style Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped ...

. Lathrop was open to new ideas and provided opportunities for experimentation which led to Simonds use of native plants including oak, ash, witch hazel, and dogwood at a time when many viewed native plants as invasive. The Graceland Cemetery Association designated one section of the grounds to be devoid of monuments and instituted a review process led by Simonds for monuments and family plots. Simonds later became the superintendent at Graceland until 1897, and continued on as a consultant until his death in 1931. Graceland Cemetery was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on January 18, 2001.

Geography

Graceland Cemetery is an example of a rural cemetery, which is a style of cemetery characterized by landscaped natural areas. The concept of the rural cemetery emerged in the early 19th century as a response to overcrowding and poor maintenance in existing cemeteries in Europe. In the 19th century, a train to the north suburbs occupied the eastern edge of the cemetery, where the

Chicago "L" The Chicago "L" (short for "elevated") is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois. Operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), it is the fourth-largest rapid t ...

train now runs. The line was also used to carry mourners to funerals, in specially rented funeral cars. As a result, there was an entry through the east wall, which has since been closed. When founded, the cemetery was well outside the city limits of Chicago. After the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 1 ...

in 1871,

, which had been the city's cemetery, was deconsecrated and some of the bodies were reinterred to Graceland Cemetery. The edge of the pond around

Daniel Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the '' Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been, "the most successful power broker the American architectural profession has ...

's burial island was once lined with broken headstones and coping transported from Lincoln Park. Lincoln Park was redeveloped as a recreational area. A single mausoleum remains, the "Couch tomb", containing the remains of Ira Couch. The Couch Tomb is probably the oldest extant structure in the city, everything else having been destroyed by the

. The cemetery's walls are topped off with wrought iron spear point fencing.

Notable tombs and monuments

Many of the cemetery's tombs are of great architectural or artistic interest, including the Getty Tomb, the

Martin Ryerson Mausoleum The Martin Ryerson Tomb is an Egyptian Revival style mausoleum designed by Louis Sullivan and completed in 1889. It is in the historic Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois, United States. History Martin L. Ryerson was a wealthy Chicago lumber ...

(both designed by architect

Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago School, a mentor to Frank Lloy ...

, who is also buried in the cemetery), and the

Schoenhofen Pyramid Mausoleum The Schoenhofen Pyramid Mausoleum is a tomb in Graceland Cemetery, Chicago. It was designed by Chicago School architect Richard E. Schmidt as a family mausoleum for the Chicago brewer Peter Schoenhofen. History Well-known Chicago brewer Peter S ...

. The industrialist George Pullman was buried at night, in a lead-lined coffin within an elaborately reinforced steel-and-concrete vault, to prevent his body from being exhumed and desecrated by labor activists. William Hulbert, the first president of the National League, has a monument in the shape of a baseball with the names of the original National League cities on it. Along with its other famous burials, the cemetery is notable for two statues by the renowned Chicago sculptor

Lorado Taft Lorado Zadok Taft (April 29, 1860, in Elmwood, Illinois – October 30, 1936, in Chicago) was an American sculptor, writer and educator. His 1903 book, ''The History of American Sculpture,'' was the first survey of the subject and stood for deca ...

, '' Eternal Silence'' for the Graves family plot and '' The Crusader'' that marks Victor Lawson's final resting place. The cemetery is also the final resting place of 31 victims of the

Iroquois Theatre fire The Iroquois Theatre fire occurred on December 30, 1903, at the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is the deadliest theater fire and the deadliest single-building fire in U.S. history, resulting in at least 602 deaths. The ...

, in which more than 600 people died.

Notable burials

* David Adler, architect * Walter Webb Allport, dentist *

John Peter Altgeld John Peter Altgeld (December 30, 1847 – March 12, 1902) was an American politician and the 20th Governor of Illinois, serving from 1893 until 1897. He was the first Democrat to govern that state since the 1850s. A leading figure of the Pro ...

, Governor of Illinois *

Amabel Anderson Arnold Amabel Anderson Arnold LL.M. (May 31, 1883 – February 18, 1936) was an American lawyer and law professor who organized the Woman's State Bar Association of Missouri, the first association of women lawyers in the world. Early life Amabel Ander ...

, organized the Woman's State Bar Association of Missouri, the first association of women lawyers in the world * Philip Danforth Armour, meat packing magnate *

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, Chicago Cubs

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baseball player *

Frederic Clay Bartlett Frederic Clay Bartlett (June 1, 1873 – June 25, 1953) was an American artist and art collector known for his collection of French Post-Impressionist and modernist art. Bartlett was committed to promoting the work of fellow contemporary artist ...

, artist, art collector *

Mary Hastings Bradley Mary Hastings Bradley (April 19, 1882 in Chicago – October 25, 1976) was a traveler and author. She was the mother of the author Alice Sheldon (" James Tiptree, Jr."). Life and work She was born Mary Wilhelmina Hastings in 1882 in Chicago, ...

, author *

Lorenz Brentano Lorenzo Brentano (November 4, 1813 – September 18, 1891) was a German revolutionary and journalist who served as President of the Free State of Baden during the 1849 Baden Revolution. Following the failure of the revolutions, he and many o ...

, member of the State House of Representatives, United States consul at Dresden, Congressional Representative for Illinois *

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, Chicago Bears former linebacker, host

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Daniel H. Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the '' Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been, "the most successful power broker the American architectural profession has ...

, architect * Fred A. Busse, mayor of Chicago *

Justin Butterfield Justin Butterfield (1790 – October 23, 1855) served in 1849–1852 as commissioner of the General Land Office of the United States. Appointed to this position in 1849 by the incoming Zachary Taylor administration, he is best known for having ...

, attorney, land grant developer * Lydia Avery Coonley, author * Oscar Stanton De Priest first African American in the 20th century to be elected to Congress. *

William Deering William Deering (April 25, 1826 – December 9, 1913) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He inherited a woolen mill in Maine, but made his fortune in later life with the Deering Harvester Company. Life Early life Deering was born ...

, founder of

Deering Harvester Company Deering Harvester Company was founded in 1874 by William Deering. In 1902, Deering Harvester Company and McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, along with three smaller agricultural equipment firms (Milwaukee, Plano, and Warder, Bushnell & Glessn ...

, which later became

International Harvester Company The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated by IHC, IH, or simply International ( colloq.)) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household e ...

, father of James and Charles Deering *

James Deering James Deering (November 12, 1859 – September 21, 1925) was an American executive in the management of his family's Deering Harvester Company and later International Harvester, as well as a socialite and an antiquities collector. He built h ...

, executive of Deering Harvester Company and original owner of the

Villa Vizcaya The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, previously known as Villa Vizcaya, is the former villa and Estate (land), estate of businessperson, businessman James Deering, of the Deering McCormick-International Harvester fortune, on Biscayne Bay in the presen ...

estate *

Charles Deering Charles Deering (July 31, 1852 – February 5, 1927) was an American businessman, art collector, and philanthropist. He was an executive of the agricultural machinery company founded by his father that became International Harvester. Charles's ...

, executive of Deering Harvester Company, former chairman of International Harvester Company, and philanthropist *

Augustus Dickens Augustus Newnham Dickens (10 November 1827 – 4 October 1866) was the youngest brother of English novelist Charles Dickens, and the inspiration for Charles's pen name 'Boz'. Early life Augustus Dickens was the son of Elizabeth (''née'' Barro ...

, brother of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

(he died penniless in Chicago) *

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

, film critic, journalist, screenwriter, author *

George Elmslie George Grant Elmslie (February 20, 1869 – April 23, 1952) was a Scottish-born American Prairie School architect whose work is mostly found in the Midwestern United States. He worked with Louis Sullivan and later with William Gray Purcell as a ...

, architect *

John Jacob Esher Bishop John Jacob Esher (December 11, 1823 - April 16, 1901) was bishop of the Evangelical Association in Chicago, Illinois. In 1890-1891 he presided over a schism in the Evangelical Church and his followers were dubbed Esherites and they opposed ...

(1823–1901), Bishop of the Evangelical Association *

Marshall Field Marshall Field (August 18, 1834January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores. His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of quality and customer ...

, businessman, retailer, whose memorial was designed by Henry Bacon, with sculpture by

Daniel Chester French Daniel Chester French (April 20, 1850 – October 7, 1931) was an American sculptor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, best known for his 1874 sculpture '' The Minute Man'' in Concord, Massachusetts, and his 1920 monum ...

* Bob Fitzsimmons, Heavyweight boxing champion, born in Cornwall, UK *

Melville Fuller Melville Weston Fuller (February 11, 1833 – July 4, 1910) was an American politician, attorney, and jurist who served as the eighth chief justice of the United States from 1888 until his death in 1910. Staunch conservatism marked his ...

, Chief Justice of the United States * Elbert H. Gary, judge, chairman of U.S. Steel * Bruce A. Goff, architect * Sarah E. Goode, first African-American woman to receive a United States patent * Bruce Graham, co-architect of John Hancock building and Sears Tower (now called the Willis Tower) *Dexter Graves was an early pioneer in the city who arrived on the schooner ''Telegraph'' in the 1830s. His memorial by

is the statue '' Eternal Silence'' (also known as "the Dexter Graves Monument"). * Richard T. Greener, first black graduate of Harvard (1870), first black professor at the University of South Carolina (1873-1877), administrator for the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial, and diplomat to Russia *

Marion Mahony Griffin Marion Mahony Griffin (; February 14, 1871 – August 10, 1961) was an American architect and artist. She was one of the first licensed female architects in the world, and is considered an original member of the Prairie School. Her work in ...

, architect * Carter Harrison, Sr., mayor of Chicago * Carter Harrison, Jr., mayor of Chicago * Herbert Hitchcock, US Senator from South Dakota *

William Holabird William Holabird (September 11, 1854 in Amenia, New York – July 19, 1923 in Evanston, Illinois) was an American architect. Holabird was the son of General Samuel B. Holabird and Mary Theodosia Grant. He studied at the United States Mil ...

, architect *

Henry Honoré Henry Hamilton Honoré (February 19, 1824 – August 16, 1916) was an American businessman. Early life Honoré was born on February 19, 1824, in Louisville, Kentucky. He was the son of Francis Honoré (1792–1851) and Matilda D. (née Lockwo ...

, businessman, father of Bertha Honoré Palmer, father-in-law of Potter Palmer * William Hulbert, president of baseball's National League * Charles L. Hutchinson, banker, philanthropist and founding president of the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

* William Le Baron Jenney, architect, Father of the American skyscraper * Elmer C. Jensen, "The Dean of Chicago Architects" * Jack Johnson, first African-American heavyweight boxing champion * William Johnson, educator who served as superintendent of Chicago Public Schools *

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and Mary Richardson Jones, husband-and-wife abolitionists and activists * Fazlur Khan, co-architect of John Hancock building and Sears Tower (now called the Willis Tower) *

William Wallace Kimball William Wallace Kimball (1828–1904) was the founder of the company now known as Kimball International. Biography Kimball was born in Rumford, Maine on March 22, 1828. He moved to Decorah, Iowa, in his mid-twenties and became a real estate bro ...

, Kimball Piano and Organ Company * John Kinzie, Canadian pioneer, early white settler in the city of Chicago *

Cornelius Krieghoff Cornelius David Krieghoff (June 19, 1815 – March 5, 1872) was a Dutch-born Canadian-American painter of the 19th century. Krieghoff is most famous for his paintings of Canadian landscapes and Canadian life outdoors, which were as sought ...

, well-known Canadian artist * Bryan Lathrop, businessman, philanthropist, and longtime president of the cemetery * Robert Henry Lawrence Jr., first African American astronaut (cremated at Graceland, but not physically buried there) * Victor F. Lawson, editor and publisher of the ''Chicago Daily News'' *

Agnes Lee Agnes Lee (' Martha Agnes Rand; 1868 - 1939) was an American poet and translator. Biography Lee was born Martha Agnes Rand in 1868 in Chicago. She was the second daughter of William H. Rand, an American printer and publisher who co-founded th ...

, poet and translator *

Frank Lowden Frank Orren Lowden (January 26, 1861 – March 20, 1943) was an American Republican Party politician who served as the 25th Governor of Illinois and as a United States Representative from Illinois. He was also a candidate for the Republican pre ...

, Governor of Illinois *

Franklin H. Martin Franklin Henry Martin (July 13, 1857 – March 7, 1935) was an American physician. He was the founder of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons and established the American College of Surgeons. Ritter was a member of the National Advis ...

, physician * Alexander C. McClurg, bookseller and Civil War general *

Cyrus McCormick Cyrus Hall McCormick (February 15, 1809 – May 13, 1884) was an American inventor and businessman who founded the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which later became part of the International Harvester Company in 1902. Originally from the ...

, businessman, inventor * Edith Rockefeller McCormick, Daughter-in-law of reaper inventor Cyrus McCormick and one of the four adult children of John D. Rockefeller * Katherine Dexter McCormick, Daughter-in-law of reaper inventor Cyrus McCormick, MIT grad, biologist, suffragist, philanthropist * Maryland Mathison Hooper McCormick, second wife of Col. Robert R. McCormick * Nancy "Nettie" Fowler McCormick, businesswoman, philanthropist * Joseph Medill, publisher, mayor of Chicago *

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, architect * László Moholy-Nagy, influential photographer, teacher, and founder of the New Bauhaus and Institute of Design IIT in Chicago *

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, comptroller of Illinois, professor & spouse of architect Walter Netsch *

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, architect * Richard Nickel, photographer, architectural historian and preservationist * Ruth Page, dancer and choreographer * Bertha Honoré Palmer, philanthropist *

Francis W. Palmer Francis Wayland Palmer (October 11, 1827 – December 3, 1907) was an American politician, publisher, printer, editor and proprietor from New York, Iowa and Illinois. Early life and education Born in North Manchester, Indiana, Palmer moved ...

, newspaper printer, U.S. Representative,

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* Potter Palmer, businessman * Richard Peck, author *

Allan Pinkerton Allan J. Pinkerton (August 25, 1819 – July 1, 1884) was a Scottish cooper, abolitionist, detective, and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in the United States and his claim to have foiled a plot in 1861 to a ...

, detective, progenitor of the Secret Service * William Henry Powell, Medal of Honor recipient * George Pullman, inventor and railway industrialist * Wilhelm Rapp, newspaper editor *

Hermann Raster Hermann Raster (May 6, 1827 – July 24, 1891) was an American editor, abolitionist, writer, and anti-temperance political boss who served as chief editor and part-owner of the '' Illinois Staats-Zeitung'', a widely circulated newspaper in the ...

, newspaper editor, politician and abolitionist *

John Wellborn Root John Wellborn Root (January 10, 1850 – January 15, 1891) was an American architect who was based in Chicago with Daniel Burnham. He was one of the founders of the Chicago School style. Two of his buildings have been designated a National ...

, architect * Howard Van Doren Shaw, architect * Washington Smith, pioneer wholesale grocer and philanthropist. The Washington and Jane Smith Home (now Smith Village) was named in his honor. *

, architect * Charles Wacker, businessman and philanthropist, also director of the

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, first female detective,

employee * Hempstead Washburne, mayor of Chicago * Daniel Hale Williams, African-American surgeon who performed one of the first successful operations on the pericardium * George Ellery Wood, lumber baron. His home, built in 1885, on 2801 S. Prairie Ave. in Chicago, IL is a historical landmark

Other cemeteries in the city of Chicago

Graceland is one of three large mid 19th-century Chicago cemeteries which were then well outside the city limits; the other two being Rosehill (further north), and Oak Woods (on the south-side) all in the elaborated pastoral cemetery style. In addition, directly south of Graceland across Irving Park Road are the smaller German Protestant Wunder's Cemetery (1859), and adjacent Jewish Graceland Cemetery (divided by a fence), established in 1851. The Roman Catholic, Saint Boniface Cemetery (1863), is four blocks north of Graceland at the corner of Clark and Lawrence.

Notes

External links

*

by

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg ...

{{Chicago 1860 establishments in Illinois Cemeteries in Chicago Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Chicago Rural cemeteries