Crown Hill Cemetery: Difference between revisions

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Crown Hill contains {{convert|25|mi}} of paved road, over 150 species of trees and plants, over 225,000 graves, and services roughly 1,500 burials per year.{{citation needed|date=July 2014}} Crown Hill is the final resting place for individuals from all walks of life, from political and civic leaders to ordinary citizens, infamous criminals, and unknowns. [[Benjamin Harrison]], 23rd [[president of the United States]], and [[Vice Presidents of the United States|Vice Presidents]] [[Charles W. Fairbanks]], [[Thomas A. Hendricks]], and [[Thomas R. Marshall]] are buried at Crown Hill. Infamous bank robber and "Public Enemy #1" [[John Dillinger]] is another internee. The gravesite of Hoosier poet [[James Whitcomb Riley]] overlooks the city from "The Crown".

On February 28, 1973, Crown Hill Cemetery, including the National Cemetery, was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. The National Cemetery portion, which is listed separately, was added to the National Register on April 29, 1999.<ref name=NatCemRegister>{{cite web| first=Therese T.| last=Sammartino| title=National Registration of Historic Places Registration Form: Crown Hill National Cemetery| website=U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service| date=April 29, 1999| url=https://secure.in.gov/apps/dnr/shaard/r/4517/N/Crown_Hill_National_Cemetery_NR_Application.pdf| access-date=May 5, 2014| archive-date=May 1, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501005814/https://secure.in.gov/apps/dnr/shaard/r/4517/N/Crown_Hill_National_Cemetery_NR_Application.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref>

 

 

 

==Special sections==

[[File:Indianapoliscrownhillcemeterygothicchapel02.jpg|thumb|right|Gothic Chapel at Crown Hill Cemetery]]

* Gothic chapel&nbsp;– Indianapolis architect [[Diedrich A. Bohlen]] designed the High Victorian Gothic-style chapel and vault, which were built east of the National Cemetery in 1875 at an initial cost of $38,922. They replaced an earlier vault that was used as temporary storage for bodies awaiting burial. In 1917 [[Bohlen, Meyer, Gibson and Associates|D.A. Bolen and Son]] designed an addition to the structure designed by D. A. Bohlen, the architectural firm's founder. The chapel and vaults were restored in the early 1970s at a cost of $120,000. CSO Architects began a major renovation and expansion in 2001. The project cost $3.2 million and received an excellence in Architecture Award from the [[American Institute of Architects]], Indiana chapter, in 2007.<ref>{{cite web | title =Crown Hill Cemetery, Chapel and Vault, Thirty-fourth Street, Indianapolis, Marion County, IN | work =Historic American Buildings Survey | publisher =Library of Congress | url =https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/in0048/ | access-date =2014-06-20 | archive-date =July 3, 2017 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20170703210336/http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/in0048/ | url-status =live }}</ref><ref>Wissing, pp. 42, 124, 188, 286.</ref><ref name=Sanford18>Sanford, p. 18.</ref>

* East gate, Waiting Station, and Porter's Lodge&nbsp;– Adolf Scherrer, an Indianapolis architect of Swiss origins, designed the [[High Victorian Gothic]] gateway and Waiting Station for the cemetery's main entrance at 34th Street and Boulevard Place. Construction began in May 1885. The three-arched gateway was completed in November 1885, in time for the funeral of [[Vice-President of the United States|vice-president]] and former [[Governor of Indiana|Indiana governor]] [[Thomas A. Hendricks]]. The gate was built of Bedford [[limestone]]. The Waiting Station exterior is brick and limestone. A gatehouse house that became known as Porter's Lodge at the gate's south side was designed by the Indianapolis architectural firm of [[Vonnegut & Bohn|Vonnegut and Bohn]] and built in 1904. The Crown Hill board leased the Waiting Station to [[Indiana Landmarks|Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana]] in 1970 for one dollar per year, provided the preservation organization agreed to restore the historic structure. The restoration was completed by February 1971. HLFI moved to offices on Michigan Street in 1990 and the Waiting Station was leased until the mid-1990s, when Crown Hill began using it for office space. Crown Hill spent an additional $500,000 to restore the Waiting Station in the late 1990s. It was restored again in 2001 and serves as a meeting place for cemetery tours and programs.<ref name="HABS-gateway">{{cite web| title =Crown Hill Cemetery, Gateway, 3402 Boulevard Place, Indianapolis, Marion County, IN| work =Historic American Buildings Survey| publisher =Library of Congress| url =https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/in0049/| access-date =2014-06-20| archive-date =June 27, 2017| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20170627064222/http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/in0049/| url-status =live}}</ref><ref name="Sanford17">Sanford, p. 17.</ref><ref name="HABS-Obldg-PDF">{{cite web | title =Crown Hill Cemetery, Office Building, 3402 Boulevard Place, Indianapolis, Marion County, IN | work =Historic American Buildings Survey | publisher =Library of Congress | url =http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/in/in0000/in0050/data/in0050data.pdf | access-date =2014-06-20 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20140726234624/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/in/in0000/in0050/data/in0050data.pdf | archive-date =2014-07-26 | url-status =dead }}</ref><ref name="HABS-Obldg-S">{{cite web | title =Crown Hill Cemetery, Office Building, 3402 Boulevard Place, Indianapolis, Marion County, IN: Supplement | work =Historic American Buildings Survey | publisher =Library of Congress | url =http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/in/in0000/in0050/supp/in0050supp.pdf | access-date =2014-06-20 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20140726212206/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/in/in0000/in0050/supp/in0050supp.pdf | archive-date =2014-07-26 | url-status =dead }}</ref><ref>Wissing, pp. 80, 83, 123, 188, 230, 286.</ref>

* Subway bridge/underpass&nbsp;– The underpass beneath 38th Street that connects the north and south grounds is also known as the Subway. Construction began in 1925 and was completed in 1927 at cost of $170,000. It was restored in the 1980s.<ref name=Sanford19>Sanford, p. 19.</ref><ref name=Wissing228/>

==Notable interments==

===Political and civil rights figures===

* [[Vice President of the United States|Vice Presidents of the United States]] [[Charles W. Fairbanks]], [[Thomas A. Hendricks]], and [[Thomas R. Marshall]].<ref name="Sanford22">Sanford, p. 22.</ref>

* [[List of Governors of Indiana|Indiana Governors]] [[Noah Noble]], [[David Wallace (Indiana politician)|David Wallace]], [[James Whitcomb]], [[Abram A. Hammond]], [[Oliver P. Morton]], Thomas A. Hendricks, [[Albert G. Porter]], [[Ira Joy Chase]], [[Winfield T. Durbin]], Thomas R. Marshall, and [[Robert D. Orr]].<ref name="Heritage2"/><ref>Wissing, p. 303.</ref>

* [[United States Senators]] [[Oliver H. Smith]], Thomas A. Hendricks, Benjamin Harrison, Charles W. Fairbanks, [[Albert J. Beveridge]], John W. Kern, [[Joseph E. McDonald]], [[Thomas Taggart]], [[David Turpie]], [[Homer E. Capehart]], [[Robert Hanna]], and [[Harry S. New]].<ref name="Sanford22" />

* [[Bob Jenkins]], voice of the [[Indianapolis 500]] 1990–98

* [[Erwin Baker|Erwin "Cannon Ball" Baker]], record setting automobile and motorcycle racer.<ref name="Heritage2"/>

* [[Bill Garrett (basketball)|William L. "Bill" Garrett]], the first African American to play in the [[Big Ten Conference]].<ref>Wissing, p. 211.</ref>

* [[Robert Irsay]], former owner of the [[Indianapolis Colts]].<ref>Wissing, p. 257.</ref>

* [[John Dillinger]], notorious bank robber in the 1930s.<ref>Wissing pp. 160–64.</ref>

* [[Garfield Thomas Haywood|G. T. Haywood]], First Presiding Bishop of the [[Pentecostal Assemblies of the World]].

* [[Alexander Ralston]], surveyor who designed the original plan of Indianapolis in 1821.<ref>Sanford, p. 23.</ref>