Photographic tour through Lakeview Cemetary (Big Pictures - Not 56K Friendly)

[habilis]

Here in Cleveland lies Lakeview Cemetary, one of the oldest and by far the biggest cemetary in Ohio. James A. Garfield, an early US president is buried there along with Rockefellers, Wades, Severences, Brainards, Lerners and all the wealthiest people in the state. It's one of the most beautiful and serene places I've ever experienced. This is my second trip there to take photo's. These 3 are multi-shot panoramics:


One of the larger Severance tombs overlooking a lake. The inside was modeled after a greek temple filled with millions of dollars worth of hand carved statues and stonework.


An interesting series of very old mausoleums. Some of the bigger tombs are built right into the side of a hill.


A long stretch of more recent graves.

These are single shots:


This is a typical mausoleum.


This is a view inside the Newman mausoleum. Solemn and cold. An empty vase sits atop an old wooden table. I always get a distinct feeling of melancholy when I look inside these things. The permanence of death is an inescapable thought.

[habilis]

One of the more morbid bronze statues that adorns the Kling mausoleum.


The Wade family monument. This thing is actually about 100 feet high and towers above the trees on the highest hill in the cemetary. From this hill you can see Lake Erie and all the way to downtown Cleveland. It's really quite a site and where Lakeview got it's name.


A very old mausoleum of the Brainard Family. You can see the age in the corrosion. This one was built into the side of a hill.


It was raining on and off while I was there. This was a really old stone from mid 1800's that had fallen over and was laying flat on the ground. The sun peeked through the clouds for me to get the reflection just right off the stone.


Finally, this newer gravestone really caught my eye. This is a meticulously detailed, stone etching in granite. He was a world War II veteran - and pretty darn proud of it. I felt proud of my country and it's people to see this.

Anyway. Hope you enjoyed the virtual tour. I actually didn't have time to photograph Garfields tomb and many of the other amazing monuments but I'll get 'em next time.

[Arden]

Wow. Who'd have thought we'd be so interesting after we left this world.

Maybe that vase used to be full.

Is that your family in the third panoramic?

[dlloyd]

Hablis, those are wonderful! I want to visit there!
It reminds me of a combination of Rivendel (Lord of the Rings) and the Riven game. Beautiful...

[habilis]

Thanks guys, yes it is interesting. Probably one of the most magical places I've ever been to.

Originally posted by arden
Is that your family in the third panoramic?

Yes it is, Barb my wife and Rachel my daughter. Whenever possible, I try to include a human figure or 2 in my photos to convey scale. Rachel is also in the second panoramic under the tree on the right.

[bobw]

A human figure standing on someone's tomb stone - very respectful

[Trip]

Cool! More tours of cool places please!
We should start a "Mac OSX.com Tour Club"! Yea...

...donating members can all post specific tours in a special forum and information on that place. Anybody want to do it with me?

[Arden]

Ha, I didn't even notice your daughter in the second pic! I was too taken aback by the greenery and grayery.

Trip: suggest it to Scott. But why only contributing members? Did you contribute to the site, since you're a mod and you wouldn't get any extra privileges for it?