Columbarium & Chapel

Maybe by now you’ve also encountered some critters. Squirrels, mallards, crows, geese, and even a family of coyotes make the cemetery their home.

This is the columbarium where ashes of the deceased are stored within the stone walls. You might not be aware of this, but when we say ‘ashes’ we don’t really mean ashes. When a body is cremated, most of soft tissue – the organs – is vaporized. After the process, all that’s left over is human bone fragments, which are collected and put in a grinder or cremulator and turned into ‘ashes’ or cremains. That’s what the small vaults in this stone wall are filled with. Bones.

During the late 1800’s and early 1900s, cremation gained popularity in modern society as a hygienic method of body disposal when diseases like cholera were of concern. Graceland featured one of the earliest crematoriums in the United States. You’re standing mere feet from its entrance, by the way.

See if you can find the plague for Marion Mahony Griffin. Stand facing the staircase and look down and to your left. She was a prolific architect, the first female architect licensed in the state of Illinois, who famously drew many of Frank Lloyd Wright’s houses. Her opinion of him was not one of endearment, though. She described him as, quote, “A canker sore.”

While you're around, check out that chapel next door. This building along with the office and waiting rooms at the Graceland entrance were designed by architectural firm Holabird and Roche. Like all the Graceland structures, they blend into the landscape, using natural colors and rough finishes. From the backside, it is almost invisible at a distance.

Step inside the chapel if you are able, and experience how the cemetery brings the nature of the outside in. Enjoy a moment’s peace. Seriously, that’s what this place is for. Just stop for a moment. Take in everything around you. Breathe.

When you’re finished, use the map to help you find your next stop. It’s a pyramid!

Photo by Madi Delk, 2021. Published with permission.