Crown Hill Cemetery: Difference between revisions

* 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}}</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}}</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>

* West gate and gatehouse&nbsp;– In 1901 the original west entrance to the cemetery was demolished and an arched Romanesque gate and a gatehouse designed by Indianapolis architect Herbert Foltz was erected at its southwest corner. The west gate was closed in 1965 and demolished the following year.<ref>Wissing, pp. 123, 187.</ref><ref>Nicholas, p. 111.</ref>

* Masonry fence&nbsp;– In 1914 [[George Kessler]] designed a brick and wrought-iron fence to replace the cemetery's wood and wire fencing. The masonry fence surrounded three quarters of the south grounds and the southern end of the north grounds along 38th Street. It cost nearly $138,000. The fence has a {{convert|4|ft|adj=on}} thick concrete base, brick supports {{convert|8.5|ft}} in height, and sections of wrought iron measuring {{convert|25|ft}} in length that rest on brick support walls. Brick pillars at the entrances are more than {{convert|12|ft}} tall. Construction of the fence, which is approximately {{convert|3|mi}} long, was completed in 1920. A multi-year restoration costing $600,000 began in 1985.<ref name=Sanford20/><ref name=Wissing224>Wissing, pp. 124, 228.</ref>