The architecture of the buildings, mausoleums, and larger monuments in a cemetery such as Crown Hill most often displays influences from Classical, Romanesque, Gothic, Egyptian, or some form of more modern architecture. Crown Hill has examples of each influence, especially the classical. This makes it a very handy site at which to study the history of Western Architecture.

Classical

Modeled after Greek and Roman temples, with their many columns, pediments, and strong symmetry, buildings in the classical style were very popular throughout the 1800s. Contemporary excavations of Roman ruins such as Pompeii increased this influence. It predominates in cemeteries from the era, despite being criticized by some Christian leaders who wanted monuments which reminded them of the resurrection: "To the mourners of pagan antiquity, death was extinction." But simple beauty seems to have won out over complicated symbolism.

Numerous examples of the classical influence are all around Crown Hill. A walk to the top of the hill provides the opportunity to show Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns almost side by side. At the north end of Section 45 there is a beautiful example of Roman funerary art, three sarcophaguses built around a Corinthian memorial column. The Arthur Jordan monument at the northeast corner of Section 25 is a lovely ornate circular columnar canopy. The Severin Mausoleum, (Sec.14) north across the road from the Eli Lily mausoleum, with its many classical features and decorative details, is one of the best for those studying architecture to take a close look at.

Romanesque

Some cemeteries have rows of Romanesque mausoleums, distinct with their massive scale, squared-off surfaces, rounded arches, and rusticated (rough hewn) stonework. Crown Hill has but a few prime examples, the most typical being that of the Fitzgerald Mausoleum, the second mausoleum southeast of the Hendricks' obelisk across from the Gothic Chapel.

Gothic Characterized by pointed arches, and structures whose purpose seems to be height and light, some found that, in contrast to classical influences, "the Gothic style should be recommended as being the most expressive of the Christian's hope." A more modern author comments: "The poetic spirit of the characteristic heavenward gestures made this style appropriate for funerary images in ways in which the earlier Romanesque style, heavy and cubic, was not. ... Gothic, with its origins in churches, has been seen as the 'architecture of Christianity', a style whose 'lofty vaults and arches ...seem to resound with the choral hymns of angels."

In the cemetery, architecture was rarely a pure Gothic style, but often combined with classical figures and columns. Its ornateness made it very expensive. This may be the reason why the best examples of the Gothic influence at Crown Hill are public structures, the Gothic Chapel and the 34th Street Gate, both examples of the Gothic revival style.

Egyptian

Egyptian architecture has long had an influence on monuments, possibly because many of the most famous examples of it, such as the pyramids, were built as tombs. The Napoleonic expeditions to Egypt around 1800 renewed interest in this style, as did the completion of the Washington monument, an Egyptian obelisk, in 1884. The obelisk is the most common example, especially at Crown Hill, but pyramids, pylons, battered walls (thick at the base with an incline toward the top), and cavetto cornices (concave), and columns with papyrus capitals, are represented throughout many cemeteries. The C.B. Smith (Sec.5), the George Marrot (Sec. 51), and the Carl Fisher (Sec 13), mausoleums all show varying degrees of this influence.

Modern Art

As America arose from the 19th century, it became more and more willing to express its own tastes in architecture, such as those developed in Chicago by Louis Sullivan, whose mausoleum for the Getty Family at Chicago's Graceland Cemetery, is said to "mark the beginning of modern architecture in America." (This is announced by a plaque in front of the mausoleum.) Many of Crown Hill's later mausoleums, built after the 1920s, depart from the old influences and reflect the new. The Dollman Mausoleum, at the northeast corner of Section 46, is an example with an art deco flavor. The nearby Askren monument is perhaps a modern interpretation of a Gothic spire.

Suggested Activities

1) Have the students draw their favorite monument. Herron Art School Classes come to the cemetery occasionally and spend several hours here drawing. Perhaps you could arrange a similar activity.

2) Have the students design a monument or a mausoleum. Which style of architecture appeals to them the most? Which symbols would they most like to use on a monument?

3) Students studying architecture could include a tour of downtown to see which kinds of influences they can find. Getting out of the bus and walking around will allow you to see much more detail, such as the biplanes on panels in the Test Building on the southwest quadrant of the Circle.

4) A tour of downtown should include a look at the statues. At least four residents of Crown Hill are represented: Benjamin Harrison at University Square, James Whitcomb on the Circle, and Oliver Morton and Thomas Hendricks at the State Capitol.

5) Crown Hill has a photo contest every year or two. Encourage those students interested in photography to bring a camera and take pictures of the cemetery.