Thinking Outside the Box

We’re all familiar with the old saw “you only have one chance to make a first impression.” Turning the expression on its heels, you only have one chance to make a last impression. In the last couple decades, mausoleum architects and manufacturers have been constructing some truly remarkable last impressions. To coin another phrase, they are “thinking outside the box.”

Although the Golden Age of the Mausoleum was roughly from after the Civil War until the Great Depression, we seem to be entering a new Golden Age. Certainly Classical Revival Style mausoleums dominate cemetery grounds, but more and more creative, fantastical, one-of-a-kind mausoleums are beginning to pepper the cemetery landscape.

When modern manufacturing techniques are coupled with creativity, the sky’s the limit. In my travels, I have seen modern mausoleums that look like large pieces of sculpture, mausoleums that look like small scale haciendas complete with red tile roofs, mausoleums with floor to ceiling picture windows, and mausoleums with heating and electricity. I’ve seen a number of private mausoleums with interiors that look like living rooms, complete with overstuffed furniture and floor lamps. One such mausoleum in California has an effervescent display of flowers delivered every week in perpetuity.

These unique mausoleums add variety and texture to cemeteries, and often inspire others to think outside the box to create their own unique last statement.

While some may scoff at what they consider money wasted on the dead, it is important to remember that cemeteries, tombs, and mausoleums are for the living to enjoy; a place to honor and remember those who have come before us. Our ancestors are, quite literally, responsible for us being here now.
Text and photograph © Douglas Keister Visit Doug’s Author Page.

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