Margaret Puglisi. May 2012, Margaret Clare Puglisi

Transcription

1 The Cemetery as a Cultural Institution: Reforming Preservation Initiatives in Garden Cemeteries through Management, Conservation, Outreach, and Protection Margaret Puglisi Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Fine Arts in Historic Preservation at The Savannah College of Art and Design May 2012, Margaret Clare Puglisi The author hereby grants SCAD permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic thesis copies of document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created. Signature of Author and Date / / Connie Pinkerton Date Committee Chair / / Thomas Taylor, Ph.D. Date Committee Member 1 / / Jason Church Date Committee Member 2

2 The Cemetery as a Cultural Institution: Reforming Preservation Initiatives in Garden Cemeteries through Management, Conservation, Outreach, and Protection A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Historic Preservation Department in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts in Historic Preservation Savannah College of Art and Design By Margaret Clare Puglisi Savannah, Georgia May 2012

3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe my deepest gratitude to my thesis committee chair and advisor, Connie Pinkerton, for her constant support. I am grateful for my committee members, Thomas Taylor and Jason Church, who provided guidance throughout the entire process. I would also like to thank David Moore from Historic Oakland Foundation, David Gilliam from Hollywood Cemetery, and David Barnett from Mount Auburn Cemetery for their time and consideration. This thesis would not have been possible without my father s devoted guidance and encouragement, and my mother for enduring this long process with me.

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 2 CHAPTER 2 CEMETERY HISTORY Urban Graveyards The Rural Cemetery Movement and Garden Cemeteries Lawn Park Cemeteries Memorial Park Cemeteries Current Trends 14 CHAPTER 3 CHANGES IN PHILOSOPHY 16 CHAPTER 4 CASE STUDIES History of Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts History of Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia History of Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta, Georgia Case Study Comparison 41 CHAPTER 5 MUSEUM PHILOSOPHY AND GARDEN CEMETERIES Museum Management Collection Care Community Outreach Museum Protection Benefits of the Implementation of Museum Philosophy 81 CHAPTER 6 RECOMMENDATION PLAN 84 BIBLIOGRAPHY 104 VISUAL AIDS 111

5 The Cemetery as a Cultural Institution: Reforming Preservation Initiatives in Garden Cemeteries through Management, Conservation, Outreach, and Protection Margaret C. Puglisi May 2012 Examining the value and role of historic garden cemeteries, the practices of reputable case studies and the principles of museums are combined to create a recommendation plan that recreates the garden cemetery as a cultural institution and place of civic pride. By increasing awareness for this facet of preservation which previously has been neglected, we can improve the level of care for these historic cemeteries and reintroduce them as an important aspect of American society. Mount Auburn Cemetery, Oakland Cemetery, and Hollywood Cemetery were chosen as case studies due to their exemplary reputation for public support and heritage tourism events while maintaining their nineteenth-century atmosphere. In addition, each is at varying stages in the implementation of a preservation plan. Culturally, historically, and architecturally significant, these burial grounds provide beneficial information pertaining to the lives, hardships, and values of the deceased. We can improve the preservation of these valuable artifacts by incorporating museum philosophies and practices. With the intention of reestablishing historic garden cemeteries as integral aspects of American culture, the recommendation plan incorporates elements from each case study such as management, preservation plans, and public awareness, in addition to exploring additional practices not typically associated with cemeteries such as preventative care, community outreach, and disaster planning. This thesis illustrates how cemetery administrators can better protect the cultural resources found within their gates by embracing museum principles, ultimately providing a greater public benefit. Page 1

6 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: Attitudes and acceptance of death, along with perceptions of burial, have evolved throughout the history of the United States, drastically altering the landscape in which cemeteries are associated. The landscape could be a crowded and mangled downtown graveyard in the shadow of a church or an expansive garden cemetery with rolling hills, natural features, and stylistic Victorian monuments. An open lawn park cemetery with regulated tombstones or a landscape completely void of signs of death and sadness which is found at memorial park cemeteries may be other familiar images of a burial ground. A cemetery could even be just a long wall of a columbarium in which cremated remains never even penetrate the surface of the soil. The needs for burial space, artistic expression, display of horticulture, or simply ease of maintenance have influenced the evolution of the burial space, and as a result these sacred spaces exhibit changing culture and social influence. 1 Cemetery landscapes, despite the various examples and understandings, continue to be a final resting place for our loved ones. Along with other aspects of American society, cemeteries and burial practices have continuously evolved over the past four centuries. Not always an integral part of culture, the place of burial has ranged from merely an area to deposit the dead to a garden of recreation and amusement. Garden cemeteries, products of the rural cemetery movement, are considered the peak point of cemetery history as a fundamental element of American society due to the community s involvement and sentiment for the beautiful, natural areas in which their loved ones found their final resting place. The origin of the word cemetery, significant to the transition from graveyards to the rural cemetery movement, comes from the Greek language to describe a 1 Kenneth T. Jackson and Camilo José Vegara, Silent Cities: the Evolution of the American Cemetery (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1989),3-5. Page 2

7 sleeping place. 2 Graveyards or burying grounds were the proper names for the areas of final resting prior to the rural cemetery movement. Eighteenth-century graveyards were often seen as a place of damnation and not commonly visited after the funeral and burial of the body. 3 When the rural cemetery movement was introduced to America from Paris, the living were encouraged to make use of the cemetery because it was considered just as much a place of recreation as it was a final resting place. 4 The garden cemetery, recognized as a cultural institution juxtaposed with a burial ground, was the peak of cemetery development in terms of public benefit and cultural influence. As the cemetery business evolved, lawn park cemeteries and memorial park cemeteries transformed the view of cemeteries even more. They both discouraged individuality of plots and monuments, eventually making it mandatory to have a stone flush with the earth in order for death to be completely negated from the landscape. 5 Ultimately, our society is turning to the columbarium, which provides a completely different representation of the burial ground through cremation and burial above ground, encouraging the maximum amount of revenue for a piece of cemetery property. 6 In order to fully understand the progress of cemetery development -- at times, advancement, and at others, decline -- one must begin with the urban graveyard of the eighteenth century. 2 Cathy J. Kaemmerlen, The Historic Oakland Cemetery of Atlanta: Speaking Stones (Charleston, SC.: The History Press, 2007), Meg Greene, Rest in Peace: a History of American Cemeteries (Minneapolis: 21st Century, 2008),13. 4 Mary H. Mitchell, Hollywood Cemetery: The History of a Southern Shrine (Richmond: Library of Virginia, 1999),5. 5 Meg Greene, Kenneth T. Jackson and Camilo José Vegara,112. Page 3

8 CHAPTER 2 CEMETERY HISTORY: 2.1 Urban Graveyards: The state of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century New England graveyards can be credited to the value and beliefs primarily expressed by the Puritans (Fig. 1). Putting little emphasis on the physical body, they concentrated on the soul that had passed on. 7 Filled with fear of damnation and death around every corner, Puritans did not frequent their loved ones at their burial sites. Due to the small amount of time actually spent in the graveyards during and after burial, stones often succumbed to vegetation and vines, reclaiming the landscape to wilderness. These places displayed little attention to organization as bodies were buried haphazardly. 8 The mission was to lay to rest the physical body as quickly as possible and leave the burying ground. As New England settlements became more established, so too did burial practices. Graveyards advanced from simple wooden grave markers to stones carved with symbolic death s head markers which illustrated skulls and cross bones or faces and wings as a means to elaborate on the shortness of life and mortality. 9 Urban and church graveyards of the eighteenth century, crowded with innumerable amounts of bodies and filth, were far from the images of picturesque landscapes. Soppy churchyards, where the mourners sink deep in a rank and offensive mould, mixed with broken bones and fragments of coffins describes the state of burial grounds, expressed by a visitor in the late eighteenth century. 10 It was clear that burying 7 Meg Greene, Ibid, Douglas Keister, Stories in Stone: a Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography (Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 2004), Meg Greene, 25. Page 4

9 grounds had become a horrifying setting with concerns of sanitation and health. 11 It is no wonder that the community did not frequently visit the final resting place of their loved ones. The need for change was evident to James Hillhouse of Connecticut, for the political figure began plans to alter the current state of graveyards by 1790 with an experimental venture in New Haven with the New Burial Ground, renamed Grove Street Cemetery. 12 His goal was to transition the urban burial ground to a new rural location and, by doing so, improve the sanitation and affluence of the entire city. 13 This was a step in the right direction in order to ease the minds of the residents of New Haven about the presence of death and the beauty of life outside the city, but the project took a different direction. As a community member, Josiah Meig introduced the idea of completely plowing the landscape along with the concept of the orderly arrangement of burial plots opposed to the chaotic burial found in crowded urban graveyards. 14 The family plot was a new implementation with this design, in which space was reserved to accommodate an entire family instead of placing the body haphazardly wherever space was available in the crowded graveyard. 15 This concept also distanced reminders of death from the urban centers of population, loosening the ever present fear of eternal damnation. 16 Although it was met with opposition from local residents towards the organization and lack of religious support, the design was also successful due to the shift in attitude it promoted by structuring death. 17 While this was a considerable upgrade from the filthy graveyards, it still lacked a factor that the people of the community needed to uplift their spirits: the combination of nature and individuality. 11 Kenneth T. Jackson and Camilo José Vegara, Kenneth T. Jackson and Camilo José Vegara,14-15; Meg Greene, Meg Greene, Ibid, Kenneth T. Jackson and Camilo José Vegara, Meg Greene, Ibid, 28. Page 5

10 2.2 The Rural Cemetery Movement and Garden Cemeteries: The time period leading up to the rural cemetery movement coincides with the Victorian way of life, between 1837 and During the middle of the nineteenth century, American society witnessed a need for reform in many aspects of life, not just burial grounds. With increased urbanization causing many dilemmas concerning living conditions, working conditions and the sanitation of cities, there was also a need to establish a new system for the burial of the deceased. 19 The river stinks. The air stinks. People s clothing, permeated by the foul atmosphere, stinks. No other word expresses it so well as stink, reported the Chicago Times in response to the state of the urban areas during the nineteenth century. 20 Social reform was a new concept in the Victorian Era that not only reshaped policies for living and working conditions, but also the state of burial grounds. Associated with economics of the industrial boom, many people were forced to relocate to crowded, polluted urban areas and endure poor living conditions. With the majority of new urbanites being from rural areas, the editors of Time Life clarified that there was a fondness for the outdoors that was not being fulfilled in the denselypacked urban metropolises. 21 Not accustomed to the filth of the city due to their days surrounded by green space of their farms, the urban environment caused many to become claustrophobic and homesick. 22 At a time prior to the establishment of public parks it was not common knowledge that healthy communities in fact rely heavily on green space, in the form of parks and 18 Thomas J. Schlereth, Victorian America: Transformations in Everyday Life (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991). 19 James Walvin, Victorian Values (Athens: Univ of Georgia Pr, 1988), Editors of Time-Life Books, This Fabulous Century, (New York: Time-Life Books, 1970), Ibid, Meg Greene, 29. Page 6

11 recreational areas, in order to prosper. 23 Simultaneously with industrialization, the Victorian Era began and introduced a desire to sentimentalize and ritualize every aspect of life, including death. 24 This sentimental idea was based on the notion that heaven became a domesticated haven; it no longer held the terror of a dreadful last judgment associated with Puritan beliefs. 25 There was a new freedom expressed in the Victorian Era through morals and social values in comparison to the Puritan lifestyle. James Walvin, author of Victorian Values, reveals that there was also an increase in wealth to splurge on luxuries; more people had more to spend for a longer part of their lives than they had ever before. 26 Although Walvin fails to mention the importance of the cemetery in their lives, wealthy Victorians also devoted their new found affluence to honoring deceased loved ones through elaborately carved funerary art. Due to the increase in sentiment and funds, they went to great lengths and great expenditure to build elaborate monuments to honor the dead, for example, life-like replicas of their loved ones or extravagant mausoleums with intricate symbolic carving and stained glass windows. This practice was also associated with their desire to place sentimental value on every facet of life, including death. 27 Victorians adhered sternly to rules of their class system when it came to matters such as etiquette, courting, and mourning. 28 Although the Victorian Era marked a time of leisure and prosperity among the affluent, there were still a great number of inequalities between the social 23 David Moore, Interview Conversation, December 16, 2012; Peter Harnik and Hugh O Neill, The Landscape Effect: Quantifying the Value of Parks and Landscapes on City Economics, Lecture, National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference, Buffalo, NY, October 20, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division. Preserving Georgia's Historic Cemeteries. Atlanta: Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division, 2007, 3; Schlereth, Thomas J. Schlereth, James Walvin, Editors of Time-Life Books, Ibid, 199. Page 7

12 classes. 29 Society viewed rural areas as luxury space in contrast to the environment of urban areas, which were associated with the underprivileged poor and disease running rampant among them. 30 Even though there was a division between social classes, Victorians rigorously practiced charity, especially among women s societies, ranging from animal rescue to care for orphans. 31 It became an issue of civic and national pride to offer solace, with a paternalistic nature, to the community and those in need. In an era of such expansion and civic pride, honoring the dead through statuary and ritual became a common custom, performed in a more humanitarian and compassionate manner than earlier burial practices. Ultimately, it was the impact of urbanization that led to the popularity of the rural cemetery movement. Seeking an escape from the health hazards of the city, rural areas on the outer edge of urban areas became admired. 32 Dilemmas caused by urbanization and the industrial revolution were not only seen in the United States, but also in Europe. In 1804, due to the condition of its urban church graveyards, Paris became the first city to experiment with a cemetery in a rural area, Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, an expansive, monument-adorned landscape with varying topography located on the opposite side of the Seine River from the Eiffel Tower (Fig. 5). 33 Primarily designed by Alexandre-Theodore Brongniart to appeal to the living, paths and landmarks were implemented for their pleasure to discover new views around each bend and ridge and to enjoy superb panoramas. 34 Although proven effective in this setting through the improvement of burial conditions and interest of Parisians, the first implementation of a garden cemetery in America did not spread across the Atlantic Ocean to 29 James Walvin, Ibid, Ibid, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Mary H. Mitchell, 5; Jackson, Kenneth T. Jackson and Camilo José Vegara,16. Page 8

13 Cambridge, Massachusetts until Mount Auburn Cemetery launched the rural cemetery movement in Mount Auburn emphasized the natural scenery, opposed to the design of New Haven Cemetery in Connecticut in which the land was plowed and leveled. 36 The movement soon spread rapidly throughout the East Coast of the United States, easing the mounting distress and unsettling condition of urban graveyards. 37 A garden cemetery is a landscape intended for burial in which the design purposefully emphasizes the juxtaposition of nature and art, in the form of monuments, statues, and sculpture (Fig. 2). 38 The design goal of garden cemeteries was to create a burial ground in a natural setting that could be used for relaxation purposes for those still living. 39 Offering a meeting place between civilization and the wilderness, the cemeteries contributed to the romantic notion that was the inspiration for every facet of life for the Victorians. 40 Even before the implementation of parks and art museums, cemeteries were able to supply the same amenities through their open green spaces for recreation, picnics, and strolls and the natural venue which displayed stone masterpieces. 41 Garden cemeteries certainly did encourage society to indulge in the dreams of hope and ambition or solace their hearts by melancholy meditation, just as Judge Joseph Story, who spoke at the dedication, had predicted for Mount Auburn Cemetery. 42 Often referred to as pleasure grounds, garden cemeteries were designed with the intention of providing a space for the living to congregate and find respite. 43 Death is evident in these burial grounds, but it is revered rather than feared, for the space was a place of repose, as 35 Richard Meyer, ed., Cemeteries and Gravemarkers: Voices of American Culture (Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 1992), Meg Greene, Meg Greene, 31; Kenneth T. Jackson and Camilo José Vegara, Meg Greene, Mary H. Mitchell, Marilyn Yalom, The American Resting Place (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008), Richard Meyer, Ibid, Ibid, 261. Page 9

14 expressed by D.B. Douglas of Green-Wood Cemetery in Victorian garden cemeteries became art museums in themselves, displaying elaborately carved monuments and statues adorned with symbolism and motifs, long before the actual establishment of the public art museum in the 1870s. 45 Locals would frequently visit nearby garden cemeteries in their free time to take in the scenery swarming with wildlife, and abundant with trees for shade and fresh air, green space for picnics, water features to soothe the soul, and walking paths for strolls. The Victorian garden cemetery was the opposite environment from the eighteenth-century urban graveyard. This not only encouraged people to visit cemeteries for their tranquility, but also for reverence and to provide care for the graves and plots of their relatives. The grounds were used for educational purposes to illustrate the priceless sentiments and morals expressed in the funerary art, such as values, pride, luxury, and symbolism. 46 Victorians looked to books providing instruction about etiquette and the proper manner of performing various tasks. Lydia Maria Child, an activist, in her 1831 The Mother s Book, observed, so important do I consider cheerful associations with death, that I wish to see our grave-yards laid out with walks and trees, and beautiful shrubs, as places of public promenade. We ought not to draw such a line of separation between those who are living in this world, and those who are alive in another. 47 Due to the symbolism that Victorians associated with flowers and nature, foliage and blossoms were plentiful in rural cemeteries, hence the term garden cemetery. 48 Water features, both natural and man-made, were among the natural elements most commonly highlighted. 49 Known for their gardening elements and landscape design features, these 44 Kenneth T. Jackson and Camilo José Vegara, Meg Greene, Richard Meyer, Meg Greene, Douglas Keister, David Gilliam, Interview Conversation, December 27, Page 10

15 cemeteries became much more than places to accommodate the deceased. In fact, they were the primary inspiration for further development of civic pride by the middle of the nineteenth century. 50 The symbolism present in garden cemeteries was the opposite of what one would encounter in an eighteenth-century graveyard. Whereas death heads and eerie images were abundant in early graveyards, Victorians chose to view their passed loved ones as merely in a deep sleep, awaiting their resurrection. 51 The natural topography of these leisure gardens housed grave markers, plentiful with images symbolizing sleep, hope, and memories. Due to the symbolism that Victorians assigned to images, garden cemeteries include many representations of sleep and remembrance, such as the poppy and the pansy. 52 A focus on the physical body as well as the immortal soul also became important, as can be seen with the implementation of urns and eternal flames, as both carved images and three-dimensional additions. 53 It was evident that people of this period also had an attraction to foreign lands, as expressed with their furnishings and architecture. 54 This fascination also was represented through funerary art in which architectural elements classified as Egyptian, Greek and Roman, Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, Italian Renaissance, and Baroque were used for inspiration during the rural cemetery movement and can be identified in garden cemeteries as stylistic features admired by Victorian society. 55 The attainment of such intricate burial markers across the country became possible due to the implementation of the railroad as well as the carving and quarrying technologies established through the Industrial Revolution. This advancement in transportation made it 50 Meg Greene, Douglas Keister, Ibid, Ibid, 8, 123, & James Walvin, Douglas Keister, Page 11

16 possible for cemetery clients to acquire stone and have it elaborately carved even if they were located in areas without a supply of stone quarrying. 56 Garden cemeteries were thriving up until the innovative designs proposed by Frederick Law Olmstead. The successes of garden cemeteries led to the development of the urban park movement. 57 It was clear that citizens appreciated the amenities that the garden cemetery offered through the sheer popularity of these spaces. Despite the sentiment towards these sacred places, Frederick Law Olmstead was the first to visualize natural scenery devoid of burial associations, optimistic that green spaces could also inhabit urban areas. 58 Often referred to as the golden age of cemetery, the garden cemetery era gradually came to an end. 59 In hope of keeping citizens interested in visiting cemeteries, the lawn park cemetery was developed in response to the new curiosity toward public parks in which death was completely absent. 60 This had a devastating effect on the prosperity of garden cemeteries, rendering them obsolete in modern American culture. 2.3 Lawn Park Cemeteries: Taking inspiration from the popularity and natural beauty of garden cemeteries, the interest in a public park in an urban area began as early as 1844, and Frederick Olmstead proceeded to design Central Park in New York in This marked the eventual decline of 56 Editors of Time-Life Books, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Richard Meyer, Douglas Keister, Meg Greene, Roy Rosenzweig and Elizabeth Blackmar, The Park and the People, A History of Central Park (New York: Cornell University Press, 1998), 15; Richard Meyer, 322. Page 12

17 garden cemeteries. 62 With the new establishment of public parks, citizens realized that it was possible to have green space without the burial grounds. In response to the decline of cemetery visitation and rise in public park usage, cemetery companies recognized the need to make cemeteries appear more like parks and recreational areas by minimizing the presence of burial attributes. As a result, in 1855, lawn park cemeteries, known for their unbroken expanse of landscape, 63 emerged into American society with Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati. 64 Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, experienced these pressures and embraced this concept by applying the change to undeveloped sections of the site. 65 Whereas garden cemeteries were known for their picturesque features, lawn parks were identified by the blend of landscape design and science with unified land and water, monument and nature, flora and fauna. 66 This combination ultimately resulted in a less elaborate, less individualistic burial ground that followed strict observance of rules and gravestone standards (Fig. 3). With this development encouraging the lack of expression, visitors became less frequent, and cemeteries were becoming merely a place for the dead once again. 2.4 Memorial Park Cemeteries: Even further standardized, cemeteries evolved into a location where all traces of death were concealed by blades of grass with the memorial park cemetery by 1915 (Fig. 4). J.J. Gordon, founder of this approach. As a landscape designer for cemeteries, Gordon felt that the ideal cemetery consisted of immaculately manicured lawn in which the markers laid flat into 62 Meg Greene, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Meg Greene, Mary H. Mitchell, Meg Greene, Page 13

18 the ground would make death virtually undetectable. 67 Uniquely designed monuments and statuary had become a trend of the past in favor of flat grave markers, level with the earth that simply stated the deceased s name, birth date, and death date. Although this rendered the landscape effortless to maintain, the purpose of the landscape was practically invisible. 68 Supportive of this modern concept, J.B. Jackson sympathized that in the bustling culture of present-day, memorial parks offer the basic essential needs for burial in a society that no longer feels the need to ritualize or revere death. 69 Gordon believed that visitors did not want to deal with the sadness of death and ultimately removed all the sentiment from such an emotional landscape in hopes of sparing the emotional distress of the living. 70 Forest Lawn Memorial Park in California manager, Hubert Eaton, claimed that the cemeteries of today [1917] are wrong because they depict an end ; an interesting statement considering the beliefs and values expressed through Victorian monuments in garden cemeteries depicting eternal life. 71 Despite the underlying goal of concealing and negating death to provide ease of maintenance, this cemetery landscape design gained considerable momentum after World War II, is still being embraced in the present day Current Trends: The development of cemeteries is still underway, and the current state of cemetery trends has proven to be controversial. There have even been rules seeking to regulate the mood of imagery etched on grave markers; Hubert Eaton, a manager of Forest Lawn in California firmly 67 Ibid, Marilyn Yalom, Kenneth T. Jackson and Camilo José Vegara, Meg Greene, Kenneth T. Jackson and Camilo José Vegara, Ibid, Page 14

19 requested a cheerful Jesus. 73 Meg Greene questions American s sentiments towards the burial of loved ones by asking Cemetery or Theme Park? in a section of her book, Rest in Peace: A History of American Cemeteries. 74 Commenting on the next developments associated with new generations and new technology, Greene expresses concern when it comes to glow-in-the-dark tombstones and talking tombstones. 75 An image in Jackson s Silent Cities even depicts a grave marker in Rome of an animated skeleton. 76 One must question the intention of such developments that seek to customize death or produce novelties. The topic of whether glowin-the-dark tombstones that speak or move pay an appropriate tribute to the deceased or play off of modern values that suggest the cemetery is a place to fear is a controversial topic. Surely these advances in the cemetery business, in regard to the values and intentions of the rural cemetery movement, would not be considered enhancements to the natural beauty of the landscape and funerary artwork, but rather detriments to the renewed progressive acceptance of death in contemporary American society. It is safe to say that the ever-changing philosophy of death has influenced the continuously evolving cemetery concept. The rural cemetery movement marked the beginning of the cemetery as a cultural institution rather than merely a burial yard, but the later trends in the field of cemetery design failed to keep pace with the advancements in the world around them. In order to fully understand this reaction, it is necessary to further examine the peak of cemetery success, the garden cemetery in terms of the society that developed it, the values expressed in it, and its significance in the twenty-first century, in addition to the ever-evolving attitude toward death, public awareness of the values and benefits of cemeteries, and community involvement. 73 Kenneth T. Jackson and Camilo José Vegara, 31; Meg Greene, Meg Greene, Ibid, Kenneth T. Jackson and Camilo José Vegara, 83. Page 15

20 CHAPTER 3 CHANGES IN PHILOSOPHY In the last decade of the twentieth century, American cemeteries seem anachronistic and irrelevant. To many, they occupy valuable space which could be put to better use. To others, they are almost invisible. They are unvisited, unloved, and unimportant. A century ago, cemeteries stood, along with hospitals, churches and schools, as major institutions of urban life. 77 The shift in philosophy and attitude towards death was affected by the establishment of public parks and public art museums, development of the lawn park, improvements in medicine, increased rates of family migration, and the implementation of perpetual care. The change in attitude toward death and cemeteries did not appear suddenly. Just as urbanization drove citizens to the rural cemeteries, the presence of urban parks may have influenced people to stay in the city. As art museums were continually updating and enhancing their exhibits, they superseded the cemeteries as sources of cultural and artistic experience for urban dwellers. Cemeteries could not compete with the convenience of urban public parks where reminders of death were completely absent and the evolving displays of art in public museums, both new innovations for the time. Other issues such as the decreased commonality of death amid every day life, relocation and resettlement of families away from their ancestor s graves, and the benefits of perpetual care created a new way of living and thinking about cemeteries. The public park and public art museum were institutions that considerably altered America s daily life experiences and connection with death. It is remarkable that Frederick Law Olmstead is credited with the development of the public park, often with little acknowledgement of where his inspiration originated. Many of his initiatives were motivated by his travels in 77 Ibid, 97. Page 16

21 Europe 78 in addition to the recognition of the rural cemetery movement s success in America. 79 This incorporation of green space into urban areas exemplified the desire to enjoy the benefits of nature amidst the bustling city environment. 80 The combination of designed garden cemeteries and Olmstead s urban park launched an entirely new vocation landscape architecture. 81 Although museums existed prior to the rural cemetery movement, they were either not widely available for the general public to observe or they were crude representations of artwork and mockery for entertainment purposes. 82 It was not until the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that museums became highly-regarded for exhibitions displaying actual artwork of integrity rather than for amusement. Renowned museums of today, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago, got their start as a part of this new perspective on fine art. 83 As these social and cultural institutions increased in popularity, it became less imperative to travel to the rural outskirts of the city to stroll through the stagnate display of funerary art. As cemeteries were no longer necessary as places to observe fine representations of stone masterpieces, they lost even more admirers. This development in public life contributed to the idea that garden cemeteries had to evolve, eventually resulting in places no longer practical for the enjoyment of the living. Graveyards were places of filth and horror, while garden cemeteries were welcoming and accepting of death, encouraging a society which honored and sentimentalized the deceased. The next phase of cemetery development reflected the inclination of eliminating death completely from the burial setting. By the end of the nineteenth century, garden cemeteries were in decline 78 Roy Rosenzweig and Elizabeth Blackmar, Meg Greene, Roy Rosenzweig and Elizabeth Blackmar, Kenneth T. Jackson and Camilo José Vegara, Edward P. Alexander, The Museum in America: Innovators and Pioneers (Walnut Creek: Altamira Press, 1997), Edward P. Alexander, 14. Page 17

22 and lawn park cemeteries were on the rise. 84 In response to urban parks, cemetery companies felt inclined to model their spaces, first and foremost, as a natural setting and second as a commemorative ground, rather than combining nature and monuments. 85 Standardization was the rule in lawn park cemeteries, regulated by the property s governing body and ranging from appropriate memorials to suitable landscaping, allowing limited independence for lot owners and little room for individuality and expression. 86 Additional regulations were established as the memorial park cemetery was introduced in Rendering death virtually undetectable was the objective of this burial space. 87 New developments and concepts of cemetery design have caused a neutral or even negative attitude towards death during the twentieth century, which can still be witnessed currently. The goal of modern-day, memorial park cemeteries in making death invisible in a place where the precise purpose is to memorialize the deceased seems unreasonable and results in a landscape that is not designed to interconnect with visitors. The cemetery is no longer a typical daily or weekly destination due to the role of present-day public parks and museums. As a result, garden cemeteries have lost their initial meanings and many are even unaware that garden cemeteries had such a significant role in American life throughout the nineteenth century. These examples and the notion that death should be avoided have contributed to the lack of awareness for the cemetery as an integral part of American society, as well as an educational and cultural resource. Various issues outside the specific realm of cemetery history and developments have impacted the philosophy of death and cemeteries in the United States. Walvin believes that 84 Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Meg Greene, Ibid, Ibid, 54. Page 18

23 advancements in medical technology were a major contributing factor to the Victorian Era. 88 This suggests that the improvement in medical practices healed many sick and ailing patients, prolonging their existence. With more of the populace living longer, healthier lives, the reality of death became less immediate in the everyday lives of Americans. 89 The concept and presence of death was less familiar, causing the association with the cemetery to become disengaged as well. Additional disassociation occurred with the implementation of perpetual care for burial lots. During the Victorian Era, lot owners took great pride in tending to the lots of their departed ancestors, often scheduling a visit to the cemetery weekly. At first the services of pruning, cleaning, and straightening were optional, but slowly, by the end of the nineteenth century, perpetual care became integrated into the overall cost of burial. 90 Perpetual care was mandatory in lawn park and memorial park cemeteries due to the restrictions placed on the lots, ordering the lots to consistently remain manicured and uniform with the surrounding scenery. 91 As members of the cemetery business assumed responsibility for the care of lots in the cemetery, families had less reason to make a trip and spend the day. 92 This decrease in control ultimately resulted in decreased interest in the state of the burial lots, distancing succeeding generations even further from the ideals of the garden cemetery and death itself. Although families had already begun relocating as transportation technology was developed, perpetual care made it less complicated to leave their departed loved ones in the hands of the cemetery. As maintenance workers and cemetery officials took control of the care of family plots, descendants no longer had to stay in the area out of loyalty to their ancestors. 88 James Walvin, Meg Greene, Mary H. Mitchell, Meg Greene, Ibid, 74. Page 19

24 Jackson even recognizes the photograph as a technological innovation that encouraged the disengagement of our relationship with the cemetery. 93 Whereas the cemetery was once a place to celebrate in a habitual manner during the nineteenth century, it became a place used merely on sad and gloomy occasions, as observed by the president of Hollywood Cemetery in Naturally, with the only connection being sad and gloomy, people associated the cemetery with grief and unhappiness rather than pleasure and reminiscences. The combination of all of these factors -- parks, museums, lawn park and memorial park cemeteries, advancements in medicine, perpetual care, and relocation of families -- have greatly impacted the attitudes of Americans in regard to death, burial, and the purpose of a cemetery and eventually led it to no longer be necessary for garden cemeteries to fulfill their initial designed purpose: providing a setting as much for the living as for the dead. 95 Garden cemeteries have collapsed from their original hopeful and healing natural setting into forgotten landscape of the dead, and many are currently facing deterioration. In some cases, endowment funds may have withered, and concurrently the fees charged for perpetual care have run out to care for many family lots. Sadly, cemetery land conversion, in which the weighing of the economic value of the land is greater than the value associated with culture and community heritage, is a reality and the land is adapted to fit a more economically feasible alternative. 96 The cultural landscape in its entirety, including tangible artifacts and horticulture and intangible value and heritage, is more than merely an economic matter. The sense of place and identity for the community in addition to cultural, anthropological, political, horticultural, and social values soar above the sheer value of economics. In order to retain the integrity of the sites, these garden cemeteries are 93 Kenneth T. Jackson and Camilo José Vegara, Mary H. Mitchell, Ibid, Kenneth T. Jackson and Camilo José Vegara, 106. Page 20

25 encouraging the community and descendants to become more interested in their ancestors once. In order to alleviate the predicament, it is vital to resolve the disengagement of the American society from the cemetery. Victorian values are often perceived as an antidote to resolve modern social problems. 97 Reinstating the Victorian values of the nineteenth century would clearly be a solution for cemetery organizations to reestablish garden cemeteries as an integral part of modern American culture. In order for these negative attitudes towards garden cemeteries to be altered, it is critical that the garden cemetery transform back into its intended purpose. Implementing heritage tourism efforts can enhance the public s awareness and change current attitudes of these valuable cultural resources. 97 James Walvin, 4-5. Page 21

26 CHAPTER 4 CASE STUDIES With such an assorted display of garden cemeteries throughout the country, generally centralized along the East Coast, each cemetery illustrates the accomplishment of the rural cemetery movement in addition to the achievements of local areas and their social histories. In choosing a set of case studies to examine further, emphasis was placed on prominence in their local communities and application of preservation efforts to the site. Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia, and Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, were chosen as case studies due to their exemplary reputation for public support and heritage tourism events while maintaining their nineteenth-century atmosphere. In order to analyze the case studies, research was performed using books and journal articles before conducting interviews with influential leaders of the historic cemeteries David Moore and David Westbrook of the Historic Oakland Foundation, David Gilliam of Hollywood Cemetery, and David Barnett of Mount Auburn Cemetery. Upon visiting Oakland Cemetery and Hollywood Cemetery, through the use of brochures, maps, and signage, the site was experienced through the viewpoint of a visitor to get a better understanding of how the community views the offering of the site. Mount Auburn Cemetery was an exception due to the inability to visit the actual property, but the websites for each cemetery organization provided an additional approach to witnessing the goals and objectives in regard to informing and appealing to the potential visitor. Each of the cemeteries is at varying stages in the implementation of preservation plans. While Mount Auburn Cemetery displays long-maintained conservation principles, Oakland Cemetery is progressively pursing a ten-phase restoration project, and Hollywood Cemetery has Page 22

27 just recently begun implementing conservation efforts. In regard to community involvement and outreach, Mount Auburn Cemetery and Oakland Cemetery far exceed the efforts of Hollywood Cemetery, which is in early stages of this interpretive implementation. The varied characteristics of these case studies are witnessed not only through their management, funding, preservation, public awareness, and heritage tourism efforts, but also through their diverse historical backgrounds. 4.1 History of Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Who would wish to be buried in a close city and a crowded graveyard, to be deranged and knocked about, separated and disjointed, long before the last trumpet sounds? Would we not rather lie serenely where the pure breeze rustles the honeysuckles, and the field flowers, the long grass and the dropping willow, which cover and hand over our graves? 98 These were the opening thoughts of Joseph Buckingham in regard to transforming the cemeteries in the Boston area when he was unable to convince the city to participate in the new concept of cemetery design. Taking heed of these inspiring questions, Jacob Bigelow, a doctor and Harvard graduate, began preparing ideas aroused by current innovations in cemetery design in Cimetière du Père-Lachaise in Paris, created in 1804, was revolutionary on an international scale, but it fell short in Bigelow s mind due to the cluttered appearance of the site (Fig. 5). A ground-breaking improvement at the time in late eighteenth-century America, Connecticut s New Burying Grounds in New Haven lacked sensitivity for the natural environment. Improving on these two muses, Bigelow found inspiration and room for 98 Blanche M.G. Linden, Silent City On a Hill: Picturesque Landscapes of Memory and Boston's Mount Auburn Cemetery (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2007), 133. Page 23

28 improvement in each one. 99 Originally, he had merely offered his own suggestions for a new approach to unsightly urban graveyards, supporting both the European concept of Père-Lachaise and the Hillhouse s model employed in New Haven, but seeing that the city was not acting on his proposals, he took initiative to set his approach in motion. 100 Determined to provide more than merely a burial site, his ultimate goal would be honoring the deceased, cultivating the civilized emotion of melancholy, teaching moral lessons, fostering a sense of the past as pertinent to the present and future, and celebrating Nature. 101 The concept of a rural cemetery did not launch with immediate success, and the same group of men who had been interested in the cemetery project soon shifted their attention to horticulture. In 1829 they established the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, whose mission was to improve the horticultural success of the area by enhancing the growth of familiar plants and expanding the scope to include plants from other areas of the country. 102 The space would be a planned oasis for the residents of Cambridge and Boston. 103 The society needed an area in which to harbor these plans, and fortunately George Watson Brimmer, a friend of Bigelow s, had recently purchased the Harvard students stomping grounds of Sweet Auburn. An impressive variety of differentiated features and topography rendered the seventy-two acre property an ideal place to establish a site for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society with its several acres of wildwood, separated by natural lawns, grassy knolls, rambling ponds, 99 Ibid, Stanley French, The Cemetery as Cultural Institution: The Establishment of Mount Auburn and the 'Rural Cemetery' Movement, American Quarterly 26, no. 1 (March 1974): 37-59, =cemetery&list=hide&searchuri=%2faction%2fdobasicsearch%3fquery%3dmount%2bauburn%2bcemetery%2 6acc%3Don%26wc%3Don&prevSearch=&item=7&ttl=467&ret (accessed May 15, 2012), Blanche M.G. Linden, Ibid, Kenneth T. Jackson and Camilo José Vegara 18. Page 24

29 wetlands, rugged slopes, and valleys. 104 Inspired by Bigelow s prior research for developing a cemetery in a rural setting to combine burial and nature, the conception of a joint venture between a rural cemetery and an experimental garden was formed (Fig. 6). This example of a joint partnership would also appeal to a larger audience, not just those burying loved ones, but also to those interested in nature and the picturesque. All of the features Bigelow had conceived during his research and planning were embodied in Sweet Auburn, and there was more than enough room for both the endeavors. 105 Planning commenced as the leaders of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Henry A.S. Dearborn and John C. Gray, reviewed the concept introduced by Jacob Bigelow and returned his proposal with a sketched concept drawing of the potential schematics of the site. At this time in 1830, the plan was to keep the functions separated the experimental garden would not blend into the burial grounds. The joint venture was announced on June 8, 1831 to inform the community of the budding cemetery that would also include space to enhance the horticultural efforts in Massachusetts, recently renamed Mount Auburn. 106 Dearborn described the scene of the consecration ceremony, held on September 24, 1831, the deep blue vault of heaven canopied the immense area with a dome of more resplendent grandeur than all the genius can conceive or art accomplish. 107 Joseph Story, United States Supreme Court Associate Justice and first president of Mount Auburn Cemetery, spoke at the ceremony stating the intent of space for the community and touching on the improvements that it offered in comparison to early urban burial grounds. 108 The concept of Mount Auburn as a 104 Blanche M.G. Linden, 142; Mount Auburn Cemetery, What Makes This Place Special? Mount Auburn Cemetery, (accessed December 5, 2012). 105 Blanche M.G. Linden, 144; Stanley French, Blanche M.G. Linden, Ibid, Ibid, Page 25

30 cultural institution was a primary point established throughout Story s consecration speech. 109 Story expresses the value of Mount Auburn and others to follow, Subservient to some of the highest purposes of religion and human duty. They may preach lessons, to which none may refuse to listen, and which all that live must hear. 110 With the community enthusiastically onboard for the innovative project, the Garden and Cemetery Committee was formed to create the desired landscape. Primarily, the design efforts were accomplished by Bigelow, the originator of the concept, Dearborn, the president of the horticultural society, and Brimmer, the owner of the property. 111 The experimental garden cemetery gained incredible support nationally as well as internationally, as horticultural societies from around the world contributed supplies and plants to enhance the diversity hoped for in this endeavor. 112 Even with support from the community and other areas of the nation and world, the experimental garden and school, envisioned by Dearborn, never received as much interest on its own as the juxtaposition of the natural, horticultural landscape with the burial site did, which had already sold a considerable number of lots within the first two years. The year 1833 began a period of dispute due to the divergence from the initial goal, focusing almost completely on the success of the picturesque cemetery landscape, and, by April 1835, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society split from the cemetery advocates, leaving the property under the control of the private nonprofit organization, Proprietors of the Mount Auburn Cemetery. 113 Even without the participation and support from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, the cemetery prospered, continuing to hold in high opinion their objectives pertaining to the protection and 109 Stanley French, Joseph Story, An Address Delivered On the Dedication of the Cemetery at Mount Auburn: September 24, (Boston: Joseph T. & Edwin Buckingham, 1831), Blanche M.G. Linden, Ibid, Moses King, Handbook For Cambridge and Mount Auburn (Boston: Moses King, 1883), 27; Blanche M.G. Linden, Page 26

31 preservation of the historic trees situated on the site. 114 The first self-guided walking tour, The Picturesque Pocket Companion and Visitor s Guide through Mount Auburn, was prepared by Nathaniel Hawthorne in Tours often included natural aspects of the landscape that should be observed during the walking tour, in addition to prominent memorials, as a means to maintain the interest of the original stakeholders of the joint venture, Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 116 New building structures were implemented to create architectural landmarks intended to further combine nature and art, no longer limited to funerary markers, in the prestigious cemetery. 117 Bigelow s expertise and passion for the cemetery are responsible for the majority of the architectural structures at the site. In 1832, the main entrance gate to the cemetery, assembled with wood and rendered as stone, was constructed to resemble an Egyptian entryway due to intellectual and cultural trends at the time. 118 As funding became more accessible due to the success of the cemetery, the entrance was rebuilt with granite in Constructed from the same granite quarry in Quincy, Massachusetts, and designed by Jacob Bigelow, the first chapel at the cemetery was built in 1846, but had to be entirely reconstructed due to structural problems caused by faulty construction and was not complete for the second time until Included as a character-defining feature of the chapel, four statues can be found, honoring the four most important historical figures during the eras that defined Massachusetts 114 Blanche M.G. Linden, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Picturesque Pocket Companion and Visitor s Guide through Mount Auburn (Boston: Otis, Broaders and Company, 1839). 116 William H. Safford and Jas. Derby Jr., Mount Auburn Cemetery: Visitor's Reference Book (Boston: Dakin, Davies, and Metcalf, 1864), Blanche M.G. Linden, Ibid, Ibid, Mount Auburn Cemetery, What Makes This Place Special? History Mount Auburn Cemetery, (accessed December 5, 2011); Mount Auburn Cemetery, What Makes This Place Special? ; William H. Safford, 29. Page 27

32 John Winthrop, James Otis, John Adams, and Joseph Story. 121 During the reconstruction of the chapel, Bigelow s next grand idea was envisioned and completed by 1853; the Washington Tower, served the double purpose of a landmark to identify the spot from a distance and an observatory commanding an uninterrupted view of the country. 122 It was observed by Moses King in his 1883 guide that the best views of the surrounding area could be seen from the top of the tower, and William Afford recorded witnessing the State House s cupola and Bunker Hill in Although not the last structure built at the cemetery, it was the last architectural creation produced by Bigelow, placed in The Sphinx employs the Egyptian form with modern embellishments to commemorate the soldiers lost during the Civil War. 124 Despite the disappointment of not being able to create his own landscaping school and experimental garden, Dearborn remained active in the development of Mount Auburn Cemetery until his death in There was always an active discussion about who was responsible for the beautiful cemetery. The debate consisted of Bigelow s advocates claiming that he was the founder of the idea due to his initial conception of the approach in 1825 and uniting with the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in 1830, while Dearborn s followers declared that he was responsible for designing the layout and implementing the plan, thus carrying Bigelow s concept to fruition. 125 In reality, Mount Auburn Cemetery is still in existence due to the joint effort between the two men to cultivate and nurture a new, innovative concept into the beautiful union of horticulture and commemoration that it is today. Despite being considered a burial ground for the elite, Mount Auburn took great pride in having lots available to every sector of the community with everything from grand lots for the wealthy, the Scots Charitable Lot for the 121 William H. Safford, Blanche M.G. Linden, Moses King, 25; William H. Safford, Blanche M.G. Linden, Ibid, Page 28

33 underprivileged, and even the Tremont House for travelers with the misfortune of passing away during their visit to the Boston area. 126 By 1850, the majority of the founders of the innovative cemetery and private company had passed on or left the business. For the next 130 years, although the company continued to develop and enhance the landscape of Mount Auburn Cemetery, the concept of preserving the space did not progress until 1986 with the founding of the Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery. 127 Still a haven for the Boston area and now a National Historic Landmark, Mount Auburn Cemetery is considered a 175 acre oasis by David Barnett, the current president of the cemetery. 128 The most valuable asset of the landscape is the story and history conveyed through the arrangement of memorials along the winding paths and undulating lay of the land. 129 As the first site to embody the concept of a rural cemetery, it is also home to many of Massachusetts notables monuments and cenotaphs, marking a significant time in American history. Victorian elements are scattered through much of the present day burial ground, concentrated around Halcyon Lake and Bigelow Chapel. 130 With nearly 44,000 memorials honoring over 95,000 deceased individuals, there are countless interpretations that reveal the rich history of this New England area. 131 Distinguished residents of the one-hundred-and-eighty-year-old designed landscape include the statues of the Sphinx to commemorate the lives lost during the Civil War, Nathaniel Bowditch, Jacob Bigelow, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and many congressmen and Supreme Court justices, including Joseph Story. 126 Kenneth T. Jackson and Camilo José Vegara,, 18; Stanley French, 45; Mount Auburn Cemetery, What Makes This Place Special? 127 Mount Auburn Cemetery, What Makes This Place Special? 128 David Barnett, Phone Interview Conversation, February 9, 2012; Mount Auburn Cemetery, What Makes This Place Special? 129 David Barnett, Phone Interview Conversation, February 9, Ibid. 131 Mount Auburn Cemetery, What Makes This Place Special? Page 29

34 4.2 History of Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia: Inspired by the popularity and success of the monument-marked rolling hills of Mount Auburn Cemetery, a group of men from the Richmond, Virginia, area, including William Henry Haxall and Joshua Jefferson Fry, decided to use this example to create their own version of a rural cemetery a mile outside of the city. 132 Acting on their vision, they found property along the James River that they hoped would soon engage the living and the dead in a single setting. The majority of Hollywood Cemetery s existence is riddled with challenges. It is unclear why the Richmond cemetery was not welcomed in the same way Oakland Cemetery and Mount Auburn Cemetery were in their own communities, having many similar principles. Director of Hollywood Cemetery, David Gilliam, identified two leading factors for the opposition and controversy that faced Hollywood at the beginning of its management. While the close proximity to the city of Richmond was a factor, the municipality was also concerned about the pollution of the James River by groundwater runoff from the cemetery, along with the fact that the cemetery operated as a private organization, independent from the city operations. 133 Proponents from Baltimore s Green Mount Cemetery stated they were located in similar proximity to the city as was Hollywood and the idea that it would prove injurious to the health of the neighborhood or affect injuriously the value of the adjacent property was never entertained. 134 Perhaps the Richmond area was just not ready for the concept of these advancements in cemetery development. 132 Mary H. Mitchell, 7; David Gilliam, Interview Conversation, December 27, David Gilliam, Interview Conversation, December 27, Mary H. Mitchell, 29. Page 30

35 Functioning as a co-op, the cemetery has been owned by the lot owners from the start. 135 The first setback that Hollywood experienced was the lack of interest in buying lots and shares in the company. By 1847, however, with fifty-six cooperative owners, the cemetery plan began to take shape with the sketches and plans provided by William Abbot Pratt, the overseer of the arrangement and maintenance of Baltimore s Green Mount Cemetery. 136 As an emergent garden cemetery in an unreceptive area, landscape design was essential for the prosperity of the cemetery. Pratt s schematics appeared to be inexact for the lay of the land, which led Haxall and Fry to ask well-known Philadelphia architect John Notman to design a plan for the area, previously known as Harvie Woods. 137 By December of the same year, Notman had already visited and begun preparation for landscape design ideas and suggestions. The name Hollywood was chosen by Notman for the abundance of holly trees present on the site. 138 He also proposed the location of the entrance due to the natural lay of the land and the view afforded from the northeast corner of the property, expressing his perception that it was the most desirable point to get the first glance of the beautiful variety of hill and valley, which distinguishes Holly-Wood above any cemetery I have seen. 139 Other recommendations included making numerous corner lots due to their appeal and visibility which was ideal for luxurious memorials, delaying the naming of roads and paths until meaning was associated with the name to encourage originality, dividing the sections and plots according to the natural topography, and encouraging native plantings to highlight the beauty of the local trees and flowers found in Richmond. 140 The 135 David Gilliam, Interview Conversation, December 27, Mary H. Mitchell, Hollywood Cemetery, About Hollywood Cemetery, Hollywood Cemetery, (accessed December 5, 2011). 138 Hollywood Cemetery, Historic Grave Sites, Brochure, (Richmond: Hollywood Cemetery, 2011). 139 Mary H. Mitchell, Ibid, 15. Page 31

36 cemetery company was finally achieving their goal of establishing a beautiful and appreciated garden cemetery (Fig. 7). Without even a warning, a petition from Peter Mayo, a neighbor of the proposed cemetery, accused the company of potentially contaminating the municipal water supply by placing a burial ground so close to the river as well as directly over the city s water duct system, halting the city s growth by creating a physical barrier, and encouraging lower property values around the proposed cemetery. 141 This resistance to such a resourceful design caused much discouragement for the co-op of lot owners, but they chose to trudge on with Notman s design in hopes of convincing the community that the cemetery would be advantageous to the Richmond area. As the landscape continued to transform into the site of a burial ground, the cemetery continued to absorb negative feedback from local newspaper, the Richmond Whig and Public Advertiser, actually encouraging the public to withhold all aid in consummating this pernicious design. 142 Despite countless efforts to sabotage Hollywood s progress, the dedication ceremony finally came to fruition on June 25, 1849, but not without Peter Mayo demanding a subpoena, claiming a false accusation claiming a land use dispute. This development created a devastating impact on the sale of burial plots following the extravagant dedication ceremony designed to strategically sway the public s attitude toward the advantages of a privately-owned garden cemetery. 143 Approximately two years after the proposal for a cemetery was established and sketches prepared by Notman, the first burial in the cemetery was confirmed after the death of Frederick 141 Mary H. Mitchell, Richmond Whig and Public Advertiser, 27 August Mary H. Mitchell, Page 32

37 William Emrich, a young child, who was buried in Section K. 144 New waves of conflict challenged the prosperity of Hollywood Cemetery with the fear that diseases being spread by the decaying corpses would pollute the air as well as the water, but, ironically, many cemeteries across the country were not experiencing the same opposition as the Hollywood company. The director of Brooklyn s Green-Wood Cemetery wrote in support, Rural cemeteries are not so numerous near Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, that one hears with surprise of any objections to them. 145 Even during my interviews in 2011 with the directors of Oakland Cemetery and Mount Auburn Cemetery, in comparison to their own histories, the interviewees were surprised by the public s lack of enthusiasm in the nineteenth century for such a beautiful rural cemetery like Hollywood. 146 Even with the challenges imposed by the city and the neighboring residents, Hollywood Cemetery began to take form as plantings, iron fences, and elaborate monuments dotted the hills and valleys by 1852, five years after the initial formation of the company. 147 All of the company s drive for success was beginning to pay off as their visions and mission of a Cemetery, which while it afforded to all classes and denominations a spot in which to deposit the sacred remains of their families, would at the same time, by skillful development of its natural beauties, prove a source of pride and ornament to the environs of our city began to be fulfilled. 148 Increased attention to the plots by lot owners established the ideal of the original intentions of the cemetery, and, in return, encouraged visitors to also experience the designed landscape. Finally, there was enough support and interest in the livelihood of the cemetery that 144 Hollywood Cemetery, Historic Grave Sites, Brochure, (Richmond: Hollywood Cemetery, 2011). 145 Mary H. Mitchell, David Moore, Interview Conversation, December 16, 2011; David Barnett, Phone Interview Conversation, February 9, Mary H. Mitchell, Ibid, 30. Page 33

38 Hollywood cemetery was accepted as an operating cemetery by the House of Delegates and the Senate in This triumph influenced a surge of popularity, and, only a few months later, 1,240 interments had been recorded at the site. 150 The acceptance and enthusiasm for the garden cemetery that the company struggled to achieve was finally embraced when James Monroe, Fifth President of the United States, was reburied on a hill overlooking the James River at Hollywood Cemetery. Mitchell described the sudden rush of pride and recognition experienced by this monumental news: Opposition to Hollywood evaporated like dew in the morning sun when the remains of James Monroe were moved from New York to Richmond s rural cemetery in July Born in 1758, Monroe was a Virginia native, spending much of his time in the state, studying law at William & Mary College in 1780, managing a law office in Fredericksburg in 1786, and serving as Virginia s governor for four terms. 152 Holding the office of President of the United States for two full terms, Monroe is best known for his Monroe Doctrine insisting that the Americas were no longer open for settlement of foreign countries and clarifying that colonization would be seen as aggression, resulting in the establishment of the United States as a world power. 153 After a three day affair, beginning with the disinterment at Marble Cemetery in New York, Monroe was once again back in Virginia as he was lowered into his new burial place in Hollywood Cemetery on July 5. With the presence of a United States president, the cemetery became a popular destination for locals as well as tourists and foreign visitors, including the Prince of Wales in Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission, National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form, Hollywood Cemetery, Mary H. Mitchell, Ibid, Harlow Giles Unger, The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness, Book Club (BCE/BOMC) ed. (Philadelphia: Da Capo Press, 2009), Ibid, Mary H. Mitchell, Page 34

39 Unknown to the Hollywood Cemetery Company in 1861, the outbreak of the Civil War would bring much recognition to the grounds as the war progressed. As capital of the Confederate States of America, Richmond was the central gathering place for troops and, in turn, the vicinity of many of the battles. 155 Bringing home deceased soldiers from distant battlefields, in addition to accepting fatally wounded soldiers from nearby battlefields, Hollywood Cemetery became a sanctuary for nearly 18,000 Confederate soldiers. 156 The Ladies Hollywood Memorial Association, established in 1866 with the mission of preserving and perpetuating the memory of the Confederate dead, had been the initiator of memorializing the dead from the Civil War by sending for their bodies to be buried in land that was once Confederate soil, properly marking their graves, organizing events such as Memorial Day celebrations, and ultimately bringing additional national attention to the burial grounds. 157 A ninety-foot-tall granite block pyramid was constructed by the association in 1869 to pay tribute to the Confederate dead, which still is considered a momentous landmark at the site. 158 Despite this turn of events for Hollywood cemetery, the company was in severe financial debt due to its support of the Confederate States of America through the purchase of bonds. 159 Without the steady activism of the Ladies Hollywood Memorial Association following the war, the viability of the company certainly would have been threatened. 160 A transfer in authority came in 1870 when Haxall succeeded Thomas Harding Ellis as the president of the Hollywood Cemetery company, and the cemetery s focus transformed from growth and development of the property to landscaping beautification of the present land, including the creation of water 155 See William C. Davis and James I. Robertson Jr., eds,. Virginia at War, 1861 (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 2005). 156 Mary H. Mitchell, Ibid, 64, 65 & Hollywood Cemetery, Historic Grave Sites, Brochure, (Richmond: Hollywood Cemetery, 2011). 159 Mary H. Mitchell, Ibid, 74. Page 35

40 features. The tradition of planting pansies around burial sites, for instance, became custom as Haxall continued to embellish the landscape with plantings and other attractive features prior to his death. 161 Although the goal was to beautify the landscape of Hollywood Cemetery, many lot owners disapproved of the state of their lots, and a new company president, Anthony Bargamin explained that the company was only responsible for maintaining the grass. Even by 1889, families had already begun to migrate away from Richmond and the graves of their ancestors, making a perpetual care fee and strict visitation rules almost mandatory in order to preserve the image of the striking landscape. 162 With the onset of the new trend modeled after the public park, the lawn park cemetery, Hollywood Cemetery chose to update a section of the property in the 1890s to appeal to clients interested in more standardization and ease of maintenance. 163 While the cemetery came across as a well-maintained landscape, the reality was that many families had lost interest when perpetual care took over their role as caregivers in the cemetery and the landscape of the burial grounds became uniform. In hopes of continuing the business as long as possible, Hollywood continued to seek the acquisition of surrounding properties while the city of Richmond and the state of Virginia persistently created challenges for the cemetery. The city had inexplicably neglected to include Hollywood as an approved cemetery during its sixty years of operation, and Hollywood would have been charged a five dollar fine a day on every unlawfully buried body if the city had not corrected the error on December 11, Although many of Haxall s beautification efforts, including the water features, have disappeared from view, visitors are still reaping the benefits of the landscape, abundance of flora, 161 Mary H. Mitchell, Ibid, Ibid, Ibid, 128. Page 36

41 fauna, and sculpture. A haven in the capital of Virginia, Hollywood Cemetery was accepted as a state historic landmark in Initiated by a member of the Virginia State Department in 1969, the site was surveyed for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, followed by acceptance as a National Historic Landmark in 1972, 166 for its national significance. Often referred to as a shrine to the South, the cemetery is also the residence of two United States presidents, James Monroe and John Tyler, and Confederate States of America president, Jefferson Davis, along with the 18,000 Civil War soldiers, generals, and figures of Richmond history. 167 Hollywood Cemetery has put great effort into restoring the 135-acre landscape of the site after various setbacks such as damage caused by Hurricane Isabel in 2003 and landscaping decisions such as the removal of the water features. Well known for its view of the James River and its rolling topography, Hollywood Cemetery is an enjoyable place to spend the afternoon walking or picnicking. Everybody loves this place. It just means a lot to a lot of people, David Gilliam stated eagerly History of Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta, Georgia: Differing from the private management of the other case studies, Oakland Cemetery, originally Atlanta Graveyard, was established as a city operated cemetery in 1850, nearly twenty years after 165 Ibid, David Gilliam, Interview Conversation, December 27, 2011; Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission, National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form, Hollywood Cemetery, 1969; George B. Hartzog, United States Department of the Interior, Letter to Hollywood Cemetery, Mary H. Mitchell, 62; Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission, National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form, Hollywood Cemetery, 1969; Hollywood Cemetery, About Hollywood Cemetery. 168 David Gilliam, Interview Conversation, December 27, Page 37

42 the opening of Mount Auburn and the start of the rural cemetery movement. 169 This discrepancy in development was most likely due to the status of Atlanta as a newly established city of less than 3,000 residents in In contrast to the opposition that Hollywood Cemetery faced, Oakland Cemetery, also located only a mile from downtown, was considered distant by residents of that city. 171 Proposed according to a geometric lot layout, the cemetery initially was only influenced by the rural cemetery movement to the extent of transferring Atlanta s burial grounds to the outer edges of the city. The original six acres derived from the land of the Wooding family in which Alfred Wooding s wife, Agnes, had already been buried. 172 Much like Hollywood Cemetery, the Civil War drastically affected the role and development of the cemetery but on a much lesser scale. The Battle of Atlanta in 1864, with Confederate Commander John B. Hood s headquarters located in the cemetery, caused thousands of deaths and the proximity of the hospitals resulted in the majority of the fatally wounded soldiers finding Oakland Cemetery as their final resting place. Dead soldiers were also brought in from nearby conflicts such as Kennesaw Mountain and Chattanooga. 173 In order to care for the graves of these deceased Confederates, the Atlanta Ladies Memorial Association was established in 1866 to honor each neglected hero, and the first Confederate Memorial Day at the cemetery was held on April 26, Oakland s Confederate Section, a mere six acres, has approximately 7,500 soldiers interred, 3,000 of whom were unknown Historic Oakland Foundation, Historic Oakland Cemetery, Historic Oakland Foundation, (accessed December 5, 2011); Marilyn Yalom, Historic Oakland Foundation, About Oakland: History, Historic Oakland Foundation, (accessed December 5, 2011). 171 Cathy J. Kaemmerlen, Ibid, David Moore, Interview Conversation, December 16, Diana Willams Combs and Elizabeth A. Lyons, National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form, Oakland Cemetery, 1975; Cathy J. Kaemmerlen, Page 38

43 As sentiments for garden cemeteries increased around the nation during the 1860s, the cemetery began to expand from its geometric pattern on the original six acres into a landscape of winding paths and picturesque scenes. Oakland became a place to care for the graves of loved ones, enjoy the scenery, and ponder the virtues of life, as it was the only cemetery in Atlanta until An acquisition of land in 1867 marked the final expansion and the current boundaries of the cemetery due to the encompassing development of property directly adjacent to the site. 176 In 1872, with a total of eighty-eight acres acquired, the abundance of oak trees on the property influenced the city to change the name to Oakland Cemetery. 177 In order to honor the soldiers lost during the Civil War, a memorial in the form of an obelisk, once a visible feature in the Atlanta skyline, was erected in 1874; it was followed by the Lion of the Confederacy in 1894, which symbolizes the agony of the Confederate defeat and designates the location of the burial of the 3,000 unknown soldiers. Oakland s Magnolia, a magnificent magnolia tree with a sixty-foot canopy, once shaded the Lion of the Confederacy and was a significant feature of the property, but it deteriorated and was lost in The year 1884 marked the sale of the last burial plot and a resulting downturn in the viability of Oakland Cemetery due to the lack of economic return produced by the sale of plots. 179 Without interest and care given to the cemetery for many years, associated with the shift in the philosophy of death and the distancing of families from their ancestors, Oakland s 175 David Moore, Interview Conversation, December 16, 2011; Combs, Diana Willams and Elizabeth A. Lyons, National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form, Oakland Cemetery, Historic Oakland Foundation, About Oakland: History. 177 Historic Oakland Foundation, About Oakland: History. ; Historic Oakland Foundation, FAQs, Historic Oakland Foundation, (accessed December 5, 2011). 178 Cathy J. Kaemmerlen, Historic Oakland Foundation, About Oakland: History. Page 39

44 visual appearance suggested that it had become completely forgotten. 180 Fortunately for the integrity of the historic site, some families of the interred were outraged by the condition of the cemetery. They pursued a program with the City of Atlanta to return the landscape to a more historically-sensitive condition through restoration and museum activity. 181 With the goal to emphasize the cemetery as a tangible link with Atlanta s history the program encouraged descendants to band together to form the Historic Oakland Foundation in Through perseverance and meticulous preservation of the site, historical recognition came to the cemetery in 1976 when Oakland Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 183 Still active as the cemetery s guardian, the foundation continues to provide care and maintenance for the 70,000 burials at the sacred site, the resting place of the majority of Atlanta s historical figures and prominent local citizens. Oakland Cemetery s uniqueness lies in its successful relationship with the city as a public/private organization, inclusion of the majority of Atlanta s founding fathers, and abundant acceptance from the community. Despite being the smallest burial site of the three case studies, at forty-eight acres, Oakland Cemetery has much to offer its visitors with its spacious park area, variety in landscaping, and rich cultural heritage. 184 Even in 1976, Diana Williams Combs and Elizabeth A. Lyons Monuments distinguished Oakland Cemetery as a museum due to its art, landscaping, sculpture, and cultural history when completing the inventory for the site s 180 Historic Oakland Foundation, About Oakland: History. 181 Combs, Diana Willams and Elizabeth A. Lyons, National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form, Oakland Cemetery, Combs, Diana Willams and Elizabeth A. Lyons, National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form, Oakland Cemetery, 1975; Historic Oakland Foundation, About Oakland: History. 183 Cathy J. Kaemmerlen, Historic Oakland Foundation, The Historic Oakland Foundation Presents 31st Annual Sunday in the Park Event, Historic Oakland Foundation, (accessed December 5, 2011). Page 40

45 inclusion on the National Register. 185 Monuments, such as the Neal Family memorial, in which a mother and daughter are both honored, reveal the sentiment and values expressed through Victorian symbolism, with emphasis on the afterlife. 186 According to Executive Director, David Moore, We like to think that everyone here has importance. There are 70,000 of them and so therefore, there are 70,000 stories to tell, 187 the majority of which were Atlanta residents, involved in the success of the city. Notable burials at Oakland Cemetery include the likes of Margaret Mitchell, Bobby Jones, and Mayor Maynard Jackson. The historic landscape is nestled just outside of Atlanta, creating a valuable area of green space filled with remarkable trees and memorials for the community to enjoy, as skyscrapers loom on the horizon (Fig. 8). 4.4 Case Study Comparison: In spite of such diversity in location, intention, and significance, Mount Auburn Cemetery, Hollywood Cemetery, and Oakland Cemetery share many similarities in the areas of management, funding, preservation efforts, community involvement, and heritage tourism initiatives. While at varying stages of implementation, each case study supplies beneficial insight into the practices and needs of garden cemeteries to thrive today. Gallant efforts have been made to ensure that these historic cultural landscapes remain an active element of their communities as historic, cultural, and educational resources. 185 Combs, Diana Willams and Elizabeth A. Lyons, National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form, Oakland Cemetery, David Moore, Interview Conversation, December 16, Ibid. Page 41

46 Management: Management is an integral aspect of any successful business, even when it comes to historic garden cemeteries. It is crucial that cemeteries in operation function not only for their continuing burial purpose, but also for their historic and cultural benefits for the community. All of the case studies are active in their burial function. 188 Friends support groups and foundations have been started to create an extra layer of financial protection for the sites. Mount Auburn Cemetery and Hollywood Cemetery differ from Oakland Cemetery as they are privately owned and operated. Owned by the lot owners themselves, these sites rely on subscribers to make decisions pertaining to the land and the business. Mount Auburn was originally founded in partnership with the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and Hollywood Cemetery has always been owned by a singular organization. 189 On the contrary, Oakland Cemetery operates as part of the Atlanta municipal administration under the Parks and Recreation and the Cultural Affairs departments. 190 This differentiation between private and public operation affects the management, funding, and maintenance of the cemeteries. All of these historic cemeteries operate as 501(c)(13) organizations, relying specifically on 501(c)(3) not-for-profit foundations or friends organizations to support their mission. As actively operating cemeteries, the sites are still functioning with the business objectives associated with cemeteries such as selling plots, maintaining the land, providing burial services, and promoting business. Mount Auburn even advertises by using the slogan, Beautiful, Timeless, and Still Available in order to inform the public that it is still actively 188 Oakland still has burials, but no longer sells plots. 189 David Gilliam, Interview Conversation, December 27, David Moore, Interview Conversation, December 16, Page 42

47 serving the community. 191 It is a common misconception that these historic sites are no longer accepting burials, when in fact, they are continuously updating to meet the needs of the public. Despite having sold their last plot of land in the 1800s, Oakland is not technically still active in the sense of marketing their land for interment, but there is still a steady flow of burials every year due to space still available in private lots. 192 In an effort to remain active for at least another half century, Hollywood Cemetery began reclaiming land under the Abandoned Burial Rights rule which allows reclamations of sold plots that have been abandoned for more than fifty years. This is legal due to the fact that lot owners merely buy the rights to use the land and not the actual piece of property, it does create a question of whether modern burials in historic sections would alter the integrity of the area. As a safeguard, Hollywood Cemetery evaluates each portion of land that has been reclaimed to assess what the best treatment of the land should be cremation burial, casket burial, or landscaping enhancements such as planting trees. Thousands of cremation niches have been installed along walkways throughout the cemetery, encouraging historically sensitive and appropriate burials in even the most significant sections of the cemetery, including President s Circle near the interment of James Monroe. 193 Mount Auburn has also addressed the need to continually update and provide innovative burial options at the historic site. Consistently a leader in cemetery development, the private organization has incorporated experimental plant gardens, shared memorials, green burial at a section of Mount Auburn known as Spruce Knoll, and cremation burial areas in sections of the cemetery that would otherwise be unfeasible for traditional burial. 194 Although Mount Auburn, Hollywood, 191 Mount Auburn Cemetery, Mount Auburn Cemetery, Mount Auburn Cemetery, (accessed December 5, 2012). 192 David Moore, Interview Conversation, December 16, David Gilliam, Interview Conversation, December 27, David Barnett, Phone Interview Conversation, February 9, Page 43

48 and Oakland Cemeteries remain dedicated to their role as burial grounds, current management is also concerned about the integrity and preservation of the historic designed landscapes. Friends groups and foundations are integral in the successful operation of these historic garden cemeteries. Oakland Cemetery was the first of the case studies to organize a support group, establishing the Historic Oakland Foundation in 1976, with the help of descendants. 195 The supportive foundation serves to partner with the city to preserve, restore, enhance, and share with the public as an important cultural resource and an island of tranquility in the heart of the city, and it has considerably contributed to the execution of the preservation master plan and landscaping at the site. 196 Ten years later, Mount Auburn Cemetery saw the need to implement Friends of Mount Auburn as a means to honor the historic attributes of the cemetery with proper care and awareness. Their mission is preservation and service with excellence and innovation, to conserve the natural beauty of Mount Auburn and promote appreciation of our cultural, historic, and natural resources, and to protect Mount Auburn and share it with future generations. 197 The most recent restoration project undertaken by the friends association is the Story Chapel Entryway Project, in which the original 1898 appearance of the chapel will be restored. 198 The most recent establishment of a friends organization among the case studies is that of Hollywood Cemetery, founded in 2007, to keep Hollywood a relevant and vital part of the community and Commonwealth through conservation, preservation, and education. 199 The restoration of President s Circle and the conservation of monuments in surrounding areas were 195 David Moore, Interview Conversation, December 16, Historic Oakland Foundation, About Oakland: Mission and Vision, Historic Oakland Foundation, (accessed December 5, 2011); David Moore, Interview Conversation, December 16, Mount Auburn Cemetery, Give, Mount Auburn Cemetery, (accessed December 5, 2012). 198 Mount Auburn Cemetery, Story Chapel Entryway Project, Mount Auburn Cemetery, (accessed December 5, 2012). 199 Friends of Hollywood Cemetery. A Gateway Into History 2, no. 1. (2011): (accessed January 5, 2012), 1. Page 44

49 principally funded through the efforts accomplished by the Friends of Hollywood Cemetery. 200 The main role of friends foundations is to secure funds through fundraising, which is then distributed for various needs at the cemetery, primarily preservation efforts. In addition to providing stewardship and protection of the valuable resources found at the cemeteries, friends groups and foundations also benefit the community by offering unique experiences and awareness of the benefits that these historic sites offer in return. Funding: A key issue pertaining to the management of historic garden cemeteries is adequate funding for programs, projects, and preservation. Due to the nature of non-profit 501(c)(13) cemeteries, they are only allowed to raise funds that will be directly used to aid the purpose of the company -- in this case, maintenance of the landscape and the burial sites. Throughout the history of the cemeteries, payment for burial rights, burial, and perpetual care of plots has been deposited into an endowment fund to provide care in the future, in addition to contributions from members of the cemetery company. 201 As long as they continue to stay active burial spaces by evolving and updating to meet the needs of the community while remaining congruent with the surrounding integrity, the endowment will continue to increase through sales and services. 202 Without the steady flow of financial resources to maintain and protect the property, cemeteries are at high risk of becoming unkempt and abandoned. 203 With operating budgets ranging from $1 million for Oakland Cemetery to over $2 million for Hollywood Cemetery, a cemetery s livelihood relies heavily on adequate funding, not just for 200 Ibid, David Gilliam, Interview Conversation, December 27, Ibid. 203 Kenneth T. Jackson and Camilo José Vegara, Page 45

50 operation, but for conservation as well. 204 At Mount Auburn, as far back as 1883, the income produced from maintaining the cemetery provided funds that went into a reserve fund for the future. 205 With 180 years of income going into the reserve, the cemetery attains the majority of its budget for such regular maintenance tasks and projects as cleaning, repointing, and landscaping, from the endowment even though it is still very much an active business. 206 At Hollywood Cemetery, endowment funding provides aid for operating costs including development of the cemetery such as building mausoleums, maintenance of the landscape, and assistance in the event of an emergency. 207 Despite no longer gaining revenue from the sale of burial lots, Oakland Cemetery does receive support from the city for general upkeep of the roads, drainage system, and offices. 208 Without the support of their friends groups and foundations, the cemeteries would not function at such a high rate, addressing all aspects of the cemetery. While Mount Auburn s general maintenance is covered through the endowment fund, large restoration projects and conservation efforts are not included. Designs to restore wildflower meadows or plans to restore a large section of monuments commonly require funding from Friends of Mount Auburn. 209 The Friends of Hollywood support group is responsible for the majority of the preservation and conservation efforts performed at the cemetery, including the President s Circle restoration undertaken between 2009 and The Historic Oakland Foundation provides fundraising for the same types of projects, specifically their ten-phase restoration master plan currently under 204 David Moore, Interview Conversation, December 16, 2011; Friends of Hollywood Cemetery. A Gateway Into History 1, no. 1 (2010): (accessed January 5, 2012), Moses King, David Barnett, Phone Interview Conversation, February 9, David Gilliam, Interview Conversation, December 27, Historic Oakland Foundation, FAQs. 209 David Barnett, Phone Interview Conversation, February 9, Friends of Hollywood Cemetery. A Gateway Into History 2, no. 1. (2011): (accessed January 5, 2012), 1. Page 46

51 way. They even received the Save America s Treasures grant from the National Park Service in 2009 to assist in the restoration of their historic collection of fifty-five mausoleums. The administration also documented that their special events, gift shop sales, and tours contributed generously to the income created by the foundation. 211 According to the Director, David Barnett, sales from heritage tourism events typically go into the Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery funds. 212 Furthermore, tributes in the form of benches, trees, and events provide funds for the cemetery to use toward maintaining the integrity of the site. 213 Preservation Efforts: Mount Auburn Cemetery prepared its first preservation plan in 1988, only two years after the Friends of Mount Auburn was organized. 214 In 2007, Mount Auburn drafted a Statement of Values and Commitments that contains issues marking the cemetery as a place of integrity, identifies its values, and outlines standards to follow. Under the values, the company outlined the reasons Mount Auburn should be preserved, foremost for its national significance and tangible and intangible record of cemetery development. The document expresses the cemetery s purpose as a defining issue drawing on excerpts from the master plan of 1992, which states that they will honor preservation over business, and from the mission statement of 1998, which declares that Mount Auburn protects its historic landscape, monuments [and] architecture. 215 Other factors that contribute to the value of the site include community heritage, perpetual care obligations, economic value of the historic site for future cemetery 211 David Moore, Interview Conversation, December 16, David Barnett, Phone Interview Conversation, February 9, Mount Auburn Cemetery, Plan Ahead, Mount Auburn Cemetery, (accessed December 5, 2011). 214 Blanche M.G. Linden, Mount Auburn Cemetery, Mount Auburn Cemetery Preservation Initiative, (Printout. Mount Auburn Cemetery, 2007), 1-2. Page 47

52 business, and safety. With these values identified, the Statement of Values and Commitments continues by explaining how Mount Auburn plans to preserve and honor those important aspects. The guidelines for preservation include: guarding the entire site as a cultural landscape, providing care for monuments and lots holding perpetual care, paying special attention to historic features of the site, implementing best practices with high standards, maintaining and monitoring on a regular basis, properly training those who will be in contact with the historic features, following conservation recommendations, documenting regularly, encouraging participation of descendants, and encouraging awareness of sources at the site. 216 Mount Auburn strictly adheres to this declaration and encourages preventive planning over reactive actions whenever possible. 217 The Statement of Values and Commitments is a beneficial method of identifying important aspects of the site that need to be preserved and providing guidelines to hold the business accountable. Hollywood s initial master plan was prepared in 1992, as director David Gilliam began brainstorming ideas to improve the cemetery s landscape, not only for business purposes, but also to preserve the integrity of the site. 218 The plan included a lengthy timeline in which the trees, monuments, and iron fences would be assessed. Reconnaissance surveys were performed between 1996 and 1997 in an effort to document the historic features at the cemetery and are currently stored at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Without a support organization to perform the fundraising needs, the plan was accomplished incrementally by improving roads, curbs, and drainage, hiring a landscape contractor to assess the landscape, and hiring an arborist to maintain the monarch trees those measuring 35 inches in diameter at breast height, a long-lived species, in good condition, structurally superior, and in a prominent 216 Ibid, David Barnett, Phone Interview Conversation, February 9, David Gilliam, Interview Conversation, December 27, Page 48

53 location and historic trees on the site. 219 When the Friends of Hollywood organization was established in 2007, the plan gained momentum as the support and incoming funds increased. Having been in catch-up mode, the cemetery has finally been able to focus on preservation actions. 220 While Hollywood Cemetery does not have its own set of preservation standards and guidelines, they rely on the standards of an out-sourced conservator. 221 Robert Mosko, owner of Mosko Cemetery Monument Services, follows the standards recommended by American Institute for Conservation, International Institute for Conservation, Association of Gravestone Studies, National Park Service, Preservation Trades Network and the Virginia Commonwealth Historical Commission and has completed conservation work in 64 cemeteries in the eastern United States, and repaired over 4,500 monuments. 222 During his three years at Hollywood Cemetery, Mosko has assessed the entire collection of markers at the site and has been active in the restoration project of President s Circle. 223 Throughout the restoration of this famous part of the cemetery, 192 monuments were stabilized, repaired/restored and 17 iron fences were rewelded and repaired. 224 Although the preservation component of the master plan has just recently been started, Hollywood Cemetery has been steady in its preservation and conservation efforts, focusing on both natural elements and the memorials. Gilliam is well aware of the value of the site, expounding that without attention very soon, some of Hollywood s most exceptional 219 Friends of Hollywood Cemetery, A Gateway Into History 1, no. 1 (2010): (accessed January 5, 2012), 8; David Gilliam, Interview Conversation, December 27, David Gilliam, Interview Conversation, December 27, Ibid. 222 Robert Mosko, Interview, February 12, 2012; Friends of Hollywood Cemetery. A Gateway Into History 1, no. 1 (2010): (accessed January 5, 2012), Friends of Hollywood Cemetery. A Gateway Into History 1, no. 1 (2010): (accessed January 5, 2012), Friends of Hollywood Cemetery. A Gateway Into History 2, no. 1. (2011): (accessed January 5, 2012), 1. Page 49

54 works will be beyond repair and lost permanently to future generations. 225 His comments illustrate just how crucial it is to prepare a preservation plan in order to have a well-maintained and conserved historic garden cemetery. As a means of accomplishing noticeable results, Historic Oakland Foundation is currently pursuing a ten-phase preservation plan that was established in 2002 (Fig. 9). 226 The foundation plans to concentrate preservation efforts on areas of high risk and visibility over the restoration and repair of individual monuments arbitrarily through the landscape. 227 The completed phases are distinctively different from the sections waiting to be restored. The plan s objective is to restore the landscape to a more historic interpretation by replanting trees, shrubs, and plants that typically would have been found in Victorian burial grounds, along with those that have been documented through photographs and records of individual burial lots. 228 The restored phases are primarily depicted in conjunction with Oakland s main period of significance, from the start of the cemetery in 1850 until the sale of its last lot in With each phase, the landscape is restored with attention to the paths, retaining walls, memorial markers, and horticulture. Special concentration is placed on restoration of the monuments in congruence with the original intention and original techniques used. 230 The crew has reached phase three, which focuses on the original section of the cemetery. 231 Not only does the cemetery employ its own preservation crew, but it also relies on insights and advice from professional organizations such as the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office and the Chicora Foundation, Inc. Following a devastating tornado in 2008, 225 Ibid, Historic Oakland Foundation, Restoration at Oakland, Historic Oakland Foundation, (accessed December 5, 2011). 227 David Moore, Interview Conversation, December 16, Historic Oakland Foundation, Restoration at Oakland. 229 Marilyn Yalom, 46; Cathy J. Kaemmerlen, David Westbrook, Interview Conversation, December 16, David Moore, Interview Conversation, December 16, Page 50

55 Oakland Cemetery relied heavily on the state preservation office, the foundation s crew, and volunteer assistance to restore the shattered condition of the site. With distinct crews, one specifically for preservation and one for grounds maintenance efforts, the preservation crew focuses on preservation, conservation, and restoration, adhering to the standards recommended by the Department of the Interior. 232 The formal establishment of a preservation plan is crucial to maintaining a successful garden cemetery. Many historic garden cemeteries, due to long-term neglect, must transition through a preliminary catch-up phase, much like Hollywood Cemetery is currently doing, in order to get to a point in which efforts are preventative rather than reactive. The landscape as a whole, including the natural features as well as the memorials, requires regular monitoring, maintenance, and treatment to retain the nineteenth-century appeal of these cemeteries. Public Awareness: All of the case studies have generally chosen the same techniques to create public awareness and involvement among local citizens and visitors of the cemeteries. These common strategies consist of newsletters, publications, newspaper articles, press releases for events, and websites. Each cemetery has its own newsletter that their friends groups send on a regular basis to members and to those interested in the updates and status of the historic site. The most effective of these methods may be websites and online resources, which inform unlimited numbers of people about the significance, history, calendar of events, and what is offered at the historic site. The choice of strategy method will vary depending on whether the goal is to attract visitors compared appeal to local residents. In addition to these examples, Mount Auburn 232 David Moore, Interview Conversation, December 16, 2011; David Moore, Interview, March 9, Page 51

56 Cemetery, Hollywood Cemetery, and Oakland Cemetery each explore unique methods of getting their mission and vision to the public. To encourage visitors to witness the historic landscape for themselves, Mount Auburn and Oakland prepare heritage tourism programs and educational events to showcase the value imbedded in the site. 233 While Hollywood does not formulate its own heritage tourism events, the Valentine Richmond History Center manages the tours through the cemetery, and Hollywood is actively pursuing the development of its own heritage tourism and educational programs. 234 They encourage visitation through special tours for their lot owners, Memorial Day observances, and advertising its rich history. 235 Oakland Cemetery has administered the role of properly promoting its historic site by establishing a public relations committee. 236 Crafting the actual visit is crucial to securing the interest of the visitor. If the visitor is well-informed about the site and how to navigate it, their experience will be exponentially more pleasurable. While many people may be inclined to participate in heritage tourism events, guided walking tours, and educational programs, some visitors are more interested in experiencing the landscape on their own. It is important to provide these individuals with enough information to make their visit worthwhile. Brochures and self-guided maps can be found at each of the historic garden cemeteries, as well as books for sale in the office or museum shops. When visitors arrive at Mount Auburn Cemetery, they are greeted by an informational kiosk to assist in their search of specific burial places. 237 Hollywood Cemetery directs visitors through the site by encouraging them to follow an unobtrusive painted blue line on the road, 233 Mount Auburn Cemetery. Mount Auburn Cemetery. ; Historic Oakland Foundation. Historic Oakland Cemetery. 234 David Gilliam, Interview Conversation, December 27, Ibid. 236 David Moore, Interview Conversation, December 16, Mount Auburn Cemetery, Enjoy Mount Auburn, Mount Auburn Cemetery, (accessed December 5, 2011). Page 52

57 introduced in their brochure, which weaves from remarkable views to notable burials and other points of interest (Fig. 10). 238 Mount Auburn and Oakland have utilized more technologically advanced forms of self-guided approaches, such as audio tours, which encourage visitors to enjoy the site at their own pace while still receiving beneficial information. 239 Additional efforts to inform the public of the value of the site include the implementation of programs and events. While heritage tourism reflects a more focused approach, to be discussed below, one of the first hurdles involves just getting more people to become familiar with the cemetery. Partnership with sister organizations is also a recommended solution as cosponsored events generally enhance the success of the event by gaining more support and reaching a broader audience. 240 Groups with common interests can partner with each other to reach a mutual goal, much like Oakland Cemetery pairing with Atlanta Preservation Center or Valentine Richmond History Center conducting walking tours for Hollywood Cemetery. 241 Oakland Cemetery supports such diverse events as Sunday in the Park, Run like Hell 5k, descendant days, and a music festival called Tunes from the Tombs. Although Tunes from the Tombs does not focus directly on the site, it does draw a significant number of people, approximately 5,000 in one weekend, to the cemetery and promotes the historic garden cemetery as a site that is still very much a value to the community. 242 Focus on children can also enhance the involvement of the community as the children become aware of the wide variety of benefits and educational purposes available. Hollywood Cemetery reports that local schools, from elementary to college levels, take advantage of the site for biology, history, and art classes, 238 David Gilliam, Interview Conversation, December 27, David Moore, Interview Conversation, December 16, 2011; Mount Auburn Cemetery, Enjoy Mount Auburn, 240 David Moore, Interview Conversation, December 16, David Moore, Interview Conversation, December 16, 2011; David Gilliam, Interview Conversation, December 27, David Moore, Interview Conversation, December 16, Page 53

58 whereas the Director of Mount Auburn Cemetery indicated that many schools are not even aware of the advantages of taking students to the historic site, indicating the need to create new avenues for awareness in the community. Compared to modern lawn park and memorial park cemeteries, these historic garden cemeteries provide an arboretum, a museum, a nature preserve. 243 Despite the current perception of cemeteries (see Chapter 3), promoting garden cemeteries properly will provide a new perspective for the community, revealing their value as cultural institutions. Not only are garden cemeteries economic resources to their local area due to the protected green space, but they also promote symbiotic relationships with the neighborhoods around them, encouraging residents to utilize the space for exercise and recreation (Fig. 12). 244 When planning events, it is essential to be sensitive to the fact that the site is a burial ground and a cultural landmark but also receptive to the original intent of garden cemeteries. Attending events will encourage people to feel welcomed into the site instead of feeling like it is off limits, resulting in a greater public awareness and involvement while enhancing the preservation of the historic designed cultural landscape. Public awareness and community involvement are invaluable to the success and sustainability of historic garden cemeteries. Heritage Tourism: With the earliest record of a guide book from 1839 for Mount Auburn Cemetery and a visit from the Prince of Wales at both Hollywood and Mount Auburn in 1860, all three case studies have proven to be significant tourism destinations for those interested in history, heritage, 243 David Gilliam, Interview Conversation, December 27, 2011.; David Barnett, Phone Interview Conversation, February 9, Peter Harnik and Hugh O Neill; David Moore, Interview Conversation, December 16, Page 54

59 and culture. 245 The implementation of heritage tourism activities increases the potential of visitation at historic cemeteries and provides a way for visitors to get information and personal perspective at the site. Mount Auburn, Hollywood, and Oakland cemeteries each offer an enlightening walking tour through their landscapes that addresses the history, burials, and sculpture throughout the cemetery. These tours offer a broad range of information, but more customized tours are also offered in order to target more visitors. The specialty tours also appeal to local residents, who would have an interest in continually learning something new from the site. Mount Auburn s forte and unique offering is its emphasis on and attention to horticulture due to their initial historical relationship with the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. With an advanced heritage tourism program, the cemetery offers focused tours pertaining to specific topics relating to the horticultural history of the site, nature throughout the seasons, influential artists and writers, civil war heroes, notable burials, and symbols and styles of sculpture and architecture found throughout the landscape. 246 Oakland Cemetery showcases a great variety of opportunities to witness the site with new perspectives (Fig. 13). The foundation has chosen a broad array of topics that are vital in the interpretation of the historic landscape, including tours focusing on the African American section, the Jewish grounds, the Civil War burials, fraternal organizations, mayors, and innovators of the Atlanta area. 247 Themed tours also include a Valentine s Day tour concentrating on love, a Halloween tour, and others pertaining to Victorian symbolism, representations of death in the nineteenth century, women of Atlanta, Gone with the Wind, and interesting epitaphs. 248 Although Hollywood Cemetery s heritage tourism program is 245 Nathaniel Hawthorne; Mary H. Mitchell, 45; Mount Auburn Cemetery, Two Trees Planted by Prince of Wales, Mount Auburn Cemetery, (accessed December 5, 2011). 246 Mount Auburn Cemetery, News, Mount Auburn Cemetery, (accessed December 5, 2011); Mount Auburn Cemetery, Enjoy Mount Auburn. 247 Historic Oakland Foundation, Guided Walking Tours, Historic Oakland Foundation. (accessed December 5, 2011). 248 Ibid. Page 55

60 currently being developed, the Valentine Richmond History Center offers a Civil War focused tour, as well as general walking tours, through the cemetery. 249 Heritage tourism is an integral part of management for historic garden cemeteries. In order to actively pursue their original intention of providing a space just as much to be used by the community as it was a burial ground, cemeteries must enhance their efforts by providing creative options for participation by community members and visitors alike. Conclusion: Variances in management, funding, preservation, public awareness, and heritage tourism efforts in addition to historical backgrounds render these historic sites excellent examples of the initiatives currently being performed in historic garden cemeteries. While these sites are acting progressively, the implementation of museum philosophy, often considered taboo in the cemetery preservation field, would provide added benefit to the historic sites as a means of reinstating the garden cemeteries as an integral aspect of American culture. While it is not expected for the entire population to change their views of death, it is important for the management and foundation organizations to make a conscious effort to return the garden cemetery to a cultural institution by interpreting the site for its original purpose. The care and focus needed to highlight a garden cemetery differs greatly from the interpretation of an eighteenth-century urban graveyard or a modern memorial park. The implementation of museum attributes in regard to management, conservation, community outreach, and protection, with respect to the differences between the two institutions would transform the preservation of historic garden cemeteries. 249 Richmond History Center, Programs and Tours: Richmond History Tours 2012 Public Season, The Valentine Richmond History Center, (accessed May 16, 2012). Page 56

61 CHAPTER 5 MUSEUM PHILOSOPHY AND GARDEN CEMETERIES: The original intent behind garden cemeteries was to provide a cultural institution for the community and, in doing so, to meet goals and purposes similar to those served by museums. But for many of these historic sites, those missions have been lost or neglected over time. Reputable garden cemeteries, such as those observed herein as case studies, have addressed the important issues of conservation, education, and protection to a certain extent. A dilemma that garden cemeteries are faced with choosing between focusing on business aspects to enhance the development of the property, or concentrating on the preservation of character defining features of the historic site. While the directors of each case study acknowledged that their site is a museum with valuable artifacts, many museum practices are not employed at the garden cemeteries. To reintegrate garden cemeteries as cultural institutions, the administrations must adopt museum philosophies and principles. There is an overall consensus that cemeteries are valuable cultural resources that should be preserved, but it is very difficult to get assistance other than on a volunteer basis. Only a select few cemeteries in the country have their own preservation and conservation team, while many rely on municipal resources that often provide the least amount of grounds maintenance as possible to keep up the cemetery. Many garden cemetery administrations do not even consider routine conservation and preservation a priority for their property. 250 Cemeteries, as cultural landscapes, are culturally and historically significant sites, and the same care techniques used to maintain parks should not be used to maintain such valuable cultural artifacts. Lynette Strangstad is the only author throughout my research to mention the need to preserve cemeteries as 250 National Conservation Advisory Council, Conservation of Cultural Property in the United States (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1976), vii. Page 57

62 museums. 251 This lack of information could be due to criticism toward the application of structured museum philosophy in sacred burial places as well as lack of funding, lack of security, and ownership rights, but it is also necessary to protect and care for the artifacts of a historic garden in order to retain the historical, cultural, and educational value. According to Knell, the common fundamental roles of museum stewardship have been found in protection, curation, exhibition, and education. 252 The International Council on Museums (ICOM) states, A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment. 253 Museums, acting as cultural institutions, provide benefits to the public by collecting, preserving, exhibiting, and interpreting the natural and cultural objects of our environment While community outreach through interpretation and educational programs is necessary to the museum s functions, it is not the most critical role. Rather, collections care is the imperative duty in regard to the operation of the institution. 255 Ambrose elaborates by describing these museums as treasure houses of the human race. 256 Cemeteries, in museum parlance, could be categorized as organized collections or systematic collections, in which the objects represent a common topic. 257 These types of collection categories would be especially relevant to garden cemeteries that witnessed different types of cemetery development, such as Hollywood Cemetery s application of lawn park 251 Lynette Strangstad, A Graveyard Preservation Primer (Walnut Creek: Altamira Press, 1995). 252 Simon Knell, ed., Care of Collections (London: Routledge, 1994), International Council on Museums, Museum Definition, ICOM: The World Museums Community, (accessed March 20, 2012). 254 National Conservation Advisory Council, Simon Knell, Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, Museum Basics (London: Routledge, 1993), Ibid, 125. Page 58

63 techniques, to illustrate a continuation of approaches at different points of their existence. Whereas museums actively collect objects to place in their institution, cemeteries have served as a deposit location for cultural resources for hundreds of years and have been assembled over time. In contrast to museums, cemeteries have collections that have already been defined and organized, and, therefore have one less step to accomplish when applying museum characteristics. Generally, museums are classified into categories according to the nature of their collections. Covering a multitude of disciplines anthropology, fine art, social history, natural sciences, conservation cemeteries appeal to a wide variety of visitors. 258 In order to get a better sense of the central values and practices of museums, it is important to study best practices of a successful institution. Concerns pertaining to collection care should be addressed primarily through preventative conservation and remedial conservation actions when necessary. Interpretation, including physical way-finding and intellectual awareness of the collection, is essential in providing a beneficial experience for visitors. While interpretation efforts concentrate on the understanding of the visitor, educational programs focus on the transfer of information for learning purposes. To provide protection for administration, visitors, and the collection, security measures and planning for unforeseen circumstances are sensible implementations for a highly visited and highly exposed museum setting. Management, including responsibilities of employees, policy making, and ethical matters, is essential for the museum to run efficiently and within the objectives established by the governing body regarding collection care, community outreach, and protection Ibid, United States organizations include the American Association of Museums (AAM) and the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC). Page 59

64 5.1 Museum Management: Management of museums consists of a hierarchy of members with the responsibility of upholding the objectives of the institutions, such as a board of trustees, director, and staff. While the board of trustees primary role is to oversee actions administered at the site, the entire organization, including staff and volunteers, is responsible for advocating and protecting the collection and promoting the institution according to the mission and policies. 260 Through the process of delegation, the initiatives approved by the board of trustees are passed to the director, who supervises staff to accomplish the initiatives. All of the cemeteries discussed as case studies already have a governing body and management structure due to their cemetery business and support organizations. If a cemetery does not have a formal governing body, one must to be established, comprised of a board of trustees, director, and any other necessary administrative staff. Responsible for the creation and implementation of policies, the board of trustees formulates strategies to enhance the operation, protection, preservation, and community outreach of the institution and the director acts as a liaison with the staff to implement their decisions. 261 The establishment of a formal statement of intent, including a mission and vision statement, is the launching point for all future policies and development at the museum and also serves as a measure against which to evaluate procedures. 262 Although a mission statement is a fundamental aspect of a museum, ethically it cannot stand alone. 263 It requires subsequent explanation in the form of policies, procedures, and guidelines to elaborate on its application and implementation to 260 David Dean and Gary Edson, Handbook for Museums (New York: Routledge, 1996), Committee on Ethics, Museum Ethics: A Report to the American Association of Museums (D.C. American Association of Museums, 1978), James B. Gardner and Elizabeth E. Merritt, The AAM Guide to Collections Planning (Washington, DC.: American Association of Museums, 2004), David Dean and Gary Edson, 240. Page 60

65 the administration and management of the collection. Essential plans include the management plan, forward plan, collections management policy, interpretive and educational planning, and security plan. Whereas museums require acquisition and collecting policies, cemeteries would not benefit from these policies due to the method in which the site accumulates its collection. The museum management plan and forward plan principally form the foundation of the organization. 264 Addressing goals, methods of management, responsibilities of members of the team, obligations to the cultural resources and community, and sources of funding, the management plan leads directly into the forward plan which elaborates on the implementation of the management plan and review of its execution after a set period of time. Additional policies within the plans should also be drafted, addressing the care and conservation of the collection, the role of education in relation to the collection, and the protection of staff, visitors, cultural resources, and the site. Each set of procedures and guidelines should uphold the mission and objectives set forth in the management plan in order to develop a museum with a strong foundation. 265 From the perspective of cemetery business, procedures and guidelines should also relate to the role of the cemetery as an active burial ground. While the primary obligation of a museum is to protect the collection of cultural resources, active cemeteries are still evolving as they accept new burials. While the International Council on Museums and American Association of Museums have their own Code of Ethics, each institution should develop its own Code of Ethics based on its scope of work and distinctive aspects. 266 Each member of the organization, from governing body to volunteers, should be responsible for supporting and maintaining the policies instituted 264 Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, ; David Dean and Gary Edson, 29; Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, David Dean and Gary Edson, ; Committee on Ethics; David Dean and Gary Edson, 256. Page 61

66 by the board of trustees and director. 267 Cemeteries should address their legal obligations, in regard to rights and ownership of the property, plots, and memorials, in their code of ethics. A museum that manages its staff, cultural resources, policies, and programs ethically will, as a result, establish its professional presence in the field it represents and create a strong awareness with community support. 5.2 Collection Care: Care of the cultural resources is a fundamental obligation of museums in order to continuously promote their role in the community. Central to every policy organized by the management of the institution should be that the collection of artifacts must be conserved, interpreted, presented to the public, and protected for the purpose of enhancement of the public s awareness and benefit. Loss of the resource s integrity and context would render interpretation and educational programs needless and of little value to visitors. Long-term conservation plans for the care of collections are crucial for the success and relevancy of the museum, outlining actions for preventative conservation and remedial conservation as needed. According to Bloom, There s a silent thief stealing away with millions of dollars of art work each year. The thief s name? Poor conservation. 268 A collections plan should reaffirm the institution s mission and state correlating objectives pertaining to the care of collections. Recognition of the history of the site provides an important point of reference in establishing the context and significance of the collection. 269 A 267 David Dean and Gary Edson, Joel Bloom and Earl Powell, Museums for a New Century (Washington, D.C.: American Association of Museums, 1984), Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, 158; David Dean and Gary Edson, 93. Page 62

67 preliminary inventory and assessment of the entire collection will provide a launching point for future monitoring of individual resource conditions, will present the entire scope of resources protected by the museum, and will evaluate which cultural recourses are of the most value to the site s context. The awareness of the collection s significant pieces, whether of historic, artistic, or cultural value, is instrumental in formulating the level of care and protection afforded to each object of the collection. 270 Cemeteries house a wide variety of cultural resources in the form of grave markers and memorials. While multiple memorials may demonstrate the same appearance and symbolism, this does not make them any less significant to the entire collection and context of the site as a whole. Even though each marker represents a different story and contribution to the site s history, on a historical, architectural, or aesthetic platform, some memorials may require more attention due to their associations to historical events, notable people, or exceptional artistic quality. Acknowledgment of issues that could pose damage or deterioration of the collection must be addressed in the plan. The plan should recognize various factors triggered by environmental concerns, biological influences, and man-made or natural emergencies, and these issues should be included in the conservation records. 271 Additional topics to discuss and create procedures for include handling and the responsibilities of the conservator and preservation crew. As the primary guardians of the collections, the conservators and crew should be wellequipped to properly and ethically treat the resources based on their knowledge, qualifications, and technical expertise. 272 Based on sources of funding, some cemeteries may not be able to afford their own conservator and preservation crew, but there should be an understanding that 270 David Dean and Gary Edson, 87; James B. Gardner and Elizabeth E. Merritt, 19; Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, Simon Knell, 15; David Dean and Gary Edson, Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, 187. Page 63

68 even if the conservation work is outsourced, a conservation plan should still be established and maintained by management to ensure that the level of professionalism required is achieved. The goal to be established by the conservation plan should be to provide preventative conservation methods as means to reduce the extent of remedial conservation performed and to protect the collection from unnecessary harm. With reference to its Preservation Initiative, Mount Auburn has established a set of values that correlate with the mission and elements of the site. The initiative provides an overview of what is valued at the cemetery and general guidelines to follow. 273 Preventative conservation focuses on housekeeping, security, monitoring, documentation, and minor intervention to remove deterioration risks from the collection. 274 This approach benefits the entire cultural landscape of a cemetery by treating every memorial with the same consideration, even at a minimal level such as cleaning with a biocide, to ensure retention. The overall philosophy of preventative conservation is that the benefits outweigh the time and effort to implement precautionary efforts. Not only does Ambrose establish the economic benefit of preventative conservation, Knell supports the concept for its ethical role in museum collection conservation. 275 We will certainly not arrest the march of time, Knell writes, but we can slow it down sufficiently so that these objects can be more true to themselves in years to come. 276 The first stage of consideration involves educating the employees, maintenance workers, security, and volunteers about safe handling and reporting signs of deterioration or damage to 273 Mount Auburn Cemetery, Mount Auburn Cemetery Preservation Initiative. 274 Simon Knell, 83; David Dean and Gary Edson, Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, 162; Simon Knell, Simon Knell, 87. Page 64

69 objects in the collection. With this training, every member of the institution will be aware of the collection s value and its care, providing the best protection possible. 277 Simple upkeep, cleaning and maintenance work, or housekeeping, of the museum will eliminate clutter and conditions of potential emergency. 278 In regard to cemeteries, housekeeping refers to the removal of leaves, debris, vegetation, and excessive water to eliminate the threat of fire or moisture damage. Working in close proximity to the cultural resources of a cemetery, maintenance workers must attend regular workshops and training programs to be trained to observe the objects, understand proper handing procedures, avoid unnecessary damage, and report deterioration or damage. Documentation in the form of inventories, surveys, and assessments enhances knowledge of the site. The more information about the collection that is recorded and preserved, the more efficient preventative conservation efforts will be. Inventories should be performed as a basis for future condition assessments and should be reviewed and assessed annually. 279 This is not a common process in cemeteries due to the expansiveness of the site, but it can provide beneficial records if performed or devastating damage if ignored. Not only does this method facilitate good recordkeeping for a garden cemetery s historical database, but it also promotes constant observation of the memorials in order to detect signs of deterioration at an early stage before a serious treatment is necessary. The goal of preventative conservation is to intervene at a point in which minimal intervention is still a viable treatment option. 280 While preventative conservation seeks to avoid the damaging effects of deterioration, at times, it can be unpreventable. Deterioration due to environmental factors, biological factors, 277 Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, David Dean and Gary Edson, Ibid, 87 & Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, 162. Page 65

70 human error, and natural disasters is inevitable during the lifespan of a museum, but the severity is greatly lessened when preventative precautions are actively followed. 281 Remedial conservation requires more advanced forms of intervention than preventative, resulting in the expenditure of increased time and funding to repair the damage. Serving as a reactive technique, remedial conservation seeks to either stabilize an object from the collection or restore it to its condition before damage. 282 Appropriate treatments should be elaborated on in the conservation plan, including guidelines for degrees of treatment and ethical intervention in regard to reversibility, technique, and the importance of valid documentation for verification of restoration actions. 283 For recordkeeping purposes, documentation of the stabilization and restoration methods performed during remedial conservation efforts, in the form of detailed chronicling and photographic evidence, should be kept for future analysis and used for reference in the case that conservation efforts fail or continue to be present. 284 Museums require ownership rights to their collection in order to provide conservation services, but this is a controversial topic within a cemetery due to the variation between private and publicly owned memorials and the feature of perpetual care. Many cemeteries believe that the degree of maintenance and conservation that the cemetery organization can exercise is directly related to the contract signed by the plot owner requesting perpetual care. Mount Auburn s preservation initiative focuses on the entire landscape, repairing memorials regardless of having perpetual care or not, with the precedence of safety and integrity. 285 This issue of preservation restrictions based on ownership is affecting cemetery conservation across the 281 David Dean and Gary Edson, Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, Simon Knell, David Dean and Gary Edson, 59; American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, Code of Ethics and Guidelines For Practice, American Institute for Conversation of Historic and Artistic Works, 9verityDatadummy.txt (accessed May 16, 2012). 285 David Barnett, message to author, May 19, Page 66

71 country, and it must be resolved in order to provide adequate care for the entire cultural landscape of garden cemeteries. The conservation of the monuments and grave markers is vital to integrity of the site. Without the historic markers and natural topography, the cemetery loses its character defining features. Although cemeteries cannot regulate the environment in which the artifacts reside, they can apply the methods of preventative conservation by taking care of the objects collectively. The conservation plan for garden cemeteries should specifically outline the types of materials at risk, generally stone features and metal, as well as the deterioration factors that affect these materials such as ground water, excessive moisture, salt crystallization, biological growth, pollution, and human fault. 286 Outdoor spaces should acknowledge this threat and take preventative measures. While museums advocate storing collections in a setting in which the environmental conditions are completely controlled at all times, it would be unfeasible for an outdoor museum such as a cemetery to do so. Not only are the stability of the environment and collection never guaranteed in an exposed cemetery, but it would also be insensitive to remove the entire sacred objects from their original burial locations on the site. Often lot owners chose the location of their plots based specifically on the natural setting and topography afforded to the chosen site. Only in the incident that a memorial has loose or broken pieces should the sacred objects be removed from their site, inventoried, catalogued, and stored for protection until the conservation crew is able to repair the memorial. Every cemetery should strive to have buildings devoted to conservation efforts. 287 Retention of the integrity of the markers, regarding original features, context, and purpose, is crucial for conservation efforts at a sacred site. 286 David Dean and Gary Edson, Robert Burke and David Liston, eds., Museum Security and Protection: a Handbook For Cultural Heritage Institutions (New York: Routledge, 1993), 306; Building an Emergency Plan: A Guide For Museums and Other Cultural Institutions (Getty Conservation Institute) (Los Angeles: Oxford University Press, USA, 2000), 160; Simon Knell, 8. Page 67

72 The examination of historic district ordinances can provide insight into the appropriate development within a historic area. The setting of a historic garden cemetery can be compared to the setting of a city. Hollywood Cemetery holds areas of cultural and historical significance, such as President s Circle and the Confederate burial grounds, which would be comparable to historic districts. There are also areas that would constitute reduced requirements of historical accuracy and authenticity, such as the areas developed in response to the lawn park cemetery approach. By utilizing established ordinances, such as the City of Savannah Historic District Ordinance and recreating them to apply to historic garden cemeteries, guidelines can be implemented to regulate standards for new construction and replacement in significant areas. 288 Markers should not be reproduced or encased unless requested by the owner of the memorial, and these sacred objects should never be disposed of. If descendants of the deceased insist on a reproduction, the cemetery should request to retain the original marker for use as an educational tool to facilitate the spread of conservation techniques and knowledge in visible storage space. If not used for demonstrations and learning opportunities, where would these stones be otherwise after disposal by the family? It is clear that cemeteries already have a plethora of grave markers, but, instead of disposing of stone markers that are no longer being used as burial indicators, they could be used for visible storage or conservation education efforts. 288 Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission, References: City of Savannah Historic District Ordinance, Chatham County, Savannah, Metropolitan Planning Commission, (accessed May 19, 2012). Page 68

73 5.3 Community Outreach: Appealing to the public involves engaging them in the museum atmosphere. It is the institution s responsibility to assemble valuable interpretation and educational programs to inform and educate the public based on their needs and interests in relation to the museum s collection. Without a proper understanding of the context of the site, the history, and the significance of the collection, visitors may feel unfulfilled and unsatisfied. Whereas educational programs represent a form of transmitting interpretation, these programs specifically seek to involve the visitor and encourage communication and analysis rather than just understanding. 289 Interpretation is divided into two critical aspects, way-finding and intellectual awareness. 290 As visitors migrate through a museum, the sense of space is important for their understanding of physical location. Forms of way-finding and signage provide a source of recognition that raises the visitor s sense of awareness. Knowing their location in the context of the site provides effortless wandering of the museum without fear of getting lost or confusion. This can be achieved through sufficient and appropriate location and presentation of signage. 291 Way-finding is essential at any site to direct the public. Edson makes a valid point by clarifying the importance of signage at a museum due to the reliance of signs and labels to dictate our lives on a daily basis, such as traffic signage or way-finding in a hospital setting. 292 A cemetery itself is much like an open display case and visitors need help interpreting the collection of memorials. Regulating handling is difficult at an outdoor cemetery due to the lack of rule enforcement and freedom of visitors to roam and come in direct contact with the memorials. Enforcement of 289 David Dean and Gary Edson, Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, Ibid, David Dean and Gary Edson, 56. Page 69

74 proper behavior is crucial to the sustainability of the cultural resources. This being said, the freedom of guests to wander the cemetery on their own, often lends itself to problematic behavior that may lead to irreparable damage, and the implementation of behavioral indicators, or signs specifying regulation of certain inappropriate actions, will aid in the well-being of each piece of the collection. 293 Another way to discourage inappropriate contact with memorials and curbing is the use of strategically-placed benches, which can be assigned as tributes to raise money and also provide places for tired visitors to rest. 294 Although Ambrose suggests introduction, section, and object labels in reference to exhibition signage, 295 way-finding at a cemetery requires an entrance sign, road and path markers, section markers, and significant memorial indications and even a large map at the entrance to illustrate the context of the space. Hollywood Cemetery offers a brochure with a map of the entire cemetery property which includes an illustrated blue line that snakes through the paths of the site to provide a route which leads visitors through the landscape and circles back to the entrance to ensure that visitors are able to explore on their own without fear of getting lost. A painted blue line on the actual road associates with the map for easy way-finding without the overuse of signage detracting from the picturesque scenery. 296 With less concern about finding their way, visitors will be able to focus on the intellectual interpretation of the collection and site. To understand the importance of the collection, there must be interpretation provided to translate the language of the objects. 297 Without this translation, an elaborately embellished memorial with various symbols and figures carved in high relief to signify the life of a 293 Ibid, Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, 218; David Dean and Gary Edson, Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, Hollywood Cemetery, Historic Grave Sites. 297 David Dean and Gary Edson, 146. Page 70

75 distinguished person is simply a slab of stone to denote someone s burial location. Examples of intellectually-oriented interpretation methods that would be useful for a better understanding of garden cemeteries include, but are not limited to, history orientation spaces, live interpreters, videos, lectures, guidebooks, guided tours, and self-guided tours with the employment of a brochure or audio feature. 298 To combine intellectual and physical orientation into an accessible form for visitors, a brochure should be offered, including a map with points of interest and information. Oakland Cemetery has recently installed an audio interpretation feature throughout a section of the cemetery in which visitors are able to roam the property at their own pace and receive information through their cell phone as they arrive at audio checkpoints. 299 In order to familiarize guests to the site at the beginning of their visit, an orientation room found in a main structure -- visitor s center, gatekeeper s house, or chapel could establish what the visitor will see during his or her visit. By explaining the social and political atmosphere in which rural cemeteries were developed, the site s history, and symbolism and values expressed throughout the cemetery in funerary artwork, the visitor will be more aware of the meaning and significance of their surroundings. Incorporating the discussion of cultural change could also be implemented into the orientation room to illustrate a comparison of current beliefs with Victorian values of the nineteenth century. 300 Adding museum principles essentially means that the cemetery adds a service to visitors in addition to normal cemetery business, fundraising, and preservation. Throughout the cemetery, signage is not just used for physical orientation, but also for intellectual orientation and interpretive information. 301 In museums, object labels generally 298 Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, David Moore, Interview Conservation, December 16, Molly Quackenbush, Lenora Henson, Stanton Hudson, Jr., and Robert Noll, The Historic House Museum for the 21 st Century: Introducing New Approaches for Engagement and Relevancy, Lecture, National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference, Buffalo, NY, October 20, Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, 67. Page 71

76 provide insight about the memorial s designer, type of material, age of object, and use, 302 but most of this information is already located on the actual memorial. Interesting aspects about the person the memorial commemorates, pertaining to their life or accomplishments and contributions to society, are often not listed at the gravesite and could be incorporated into a brochure or audio tour. To avoid a clutter of plaques detailing the information of each gravesite, uniform and identifiable numbers could be placed along the path to denote brochure information or an audio option about significant stories or memorials. If the latter feature is implemented, the audio message should be short and establish the importance quickly. 303 Just as assessment is necessary to evaluate the success of policies, visitor surveys should be performed to assess the degree of understanding accomplished by the interpretive methods and continuously improved upon to accommodate visitors. 304 The interpretation of cemeteries should be appropriate in respect to the established mission of the organization 305 and to the original intentions of rural garden cemeteries established during the Victorian Era of American history. Issues should be relevant to the rural cemetery movement, history, leisure activities, nature, topography and setting, and Victorian values. Ethically, the institution s interpretation methods should provide well-researched information from written and photographic evidence in order to establish a well-respected and truthful presentation of information. 306 Cemetery organizations, much like museums, must realize the value of their property as a cultural resource, site of civic pride, and public benefit for education and awareness through informative programs, tours, and interpretation David Dean and Gary Edson, Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, David Dean and Gary Edson, Ibid, Ibid, Joel Bloom and Earl Powell, 28. Page 72

77 Educational programming, the method of communicating with the public through observation, application, and conceptual analysis, appeals to audiences of all ages. Similar to the objective of exhibits, to create a better understanding of the collection, educational opportunities at museums are designed to provide specialized interaction for the visitors on topics associated with the museum s collection and presented to attract those with specific interests. 308 Edson suggests three different forms of museum education. He maintains that programs are either object-oriented, in which the collection is the main subject of examination, conceptoriented to express an enlightening idea or communicate information, or a combination of the two in which there is a narrative centralized around the collection. 309 In relation to garden cemeteries, a program that focuses on the collection could be a conservation workshop to address the care and value of the collection. Lectures and presentations could address the history of the site or the social and political context of its formation. To unite the two approaches, educational programs should focus on a theme, such as Pioneers of Atlanta: The First Twenty Years, and incorporate the memorials of the city s founding fathers to better illustrate the concept or story being explained. 310 Efforts to implement educational programs go further than appealing to adults in the community. Museums should provide outreach for school systems ranging from preschool to college age. 311 Often school administrators and teachers do not realize the potential educational value found at historic garden cemeteries, perceiving them exclusively as burial grounds. Whereas loaning pieces of the collection or taking them to local schools would be impossible due to the fact that the landscape is so crucial to the interpretation of the site and that relocation 308 David Dean and Gary Edson, Ibid, Historic Oakland Foundation. Guided Walking Tours. 311 Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, 38. Page 73

78 of memorials would be insensitive, field trips to study the cultural landscape, natural elements, and architecture would be more appropriate. 312 As discussed by all of the directors of the case studies, historic garden cemeteries can be utilized for a wide variety of areas of study history, civics, biology, chemistry, math, and art. A scavenger hunt is an engaging method to encourage school children to analyze the landscape. While in-depth examination and handling is not conducive to the preservation and retention of these historic cultural resources, they can provide valuable forms of conservation education for the community. David Barnett commented that, occasionally, families of descendants have elected to replace markers completely, generally due to extreme deterioration or irreparable damage. 313 As stated in the International Council on Museums Code of Professional Ethics, no items from the collections of a museum should be disposed of except in accordance with the ethical principles. 314 With respect to cemeteries, visible storage of obsolete stone fragments would provide a source and means to educate the public about conservation and preservation techniques employed at the cemetery. 315 If this option is employed, the descendants should be asked if they would like to donate the original piece for conservation education. Even though the marker loses context and integrity when removed from the plot, it still has an interactive purpose for serving the public. Presenters and guides should be knowledgeable of not only the site s history and significance, but also the history of the rural cemetery movement and the factors that arrested the popularity of garden cemeteries, the life stories of those buried in the cemetery, and the symbolic 312 Ibid, David Barnett, Phone Interview Conservation, February 9, David Dean and Gary Edson, Simon Knell, 9 &179. Page 74

79 association of the features found on Victorian memorials. 316 The implementation of interpretation, in the form of signage and information, and educational programs will aid in the mission to return cemeteries to their original purpose as cultural institutions by conveying information, ideas, and emotions relating to the material evidence in addition to developing a relationship with the community Museum Protection: A significant difference between museums and cemeteries is the amount of security afforded to each. At cemeteries, little protection is administered in the form of property and collection security and disaster preparedness. In order to establish a safe area, not only for the well-being of employees and visitors, but also for the safety of the collection, policies pertaining to protective measures such as security and disaster planning should be addressed for consistent, long-term protection. 318 Security takes many forms in the museum setting, from observation to physical defense to vigilance. This starts with a method as simple as proper training of the professional staff, volunteers, and security personnel to recognize hazards including fire threats and to observe signs of damage within the collection. 319 Quick follow-up actions are necessary to mediate further damage. The collection of a cemetery, including the records of inventories and history in addition to memorials, are always at risk. Memorials are directly affected by the environment due to their constant exposure. Regular checks of preventable issues should be performed to 316 Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, J. Verhaar and H. Meeter, Project Model Exhibitions, (Leiden: Reinwardt Academie, 1989), Robert Burke and David Liston, Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, 195. Page 75

80 assess, for example, fire and water damage dangers within the building housing the records or environmental and biological deterioration affecting the monuments and sculptures. 320 Liston stresses that security is not just the responsibility of the guards, but that is it everyone s business. 321 With garden cemeteries of such large scale and varied topography as those discussed as case studies, damage could go unnoticed if not monitored regularly. These procedures coincide with precautions mentioned in the preventative conservation section. Physical barriers provide a border that is generally understood by the public as a boundary beyond which they should not enter. As visitors meander through the cemetery, barriers are methods to communicate to the guest areas that are dangerous due to preservation work being performed, equipment within reach, or unstable memorials. If a monument is at risk, it should be isolated with barriers to warn the public. In addition, behavioral signage and cautionary notices should be displayed throughout the cemetery to remind guests of the behavior required on a sacred property and inform them of any sections that are off-limits due to preservation or maintenance. Boundaries are also crucial to designate the property of the museum. A major difference between museums and cemeteries involves the amount of protection that separates the public from the collection itself. While a museum has three lines of security defense against vandalism and theft the property line, building shell, and non-public perimeter cemeteries have to rely on the barrier surrounding the property. 322 Exposed and vulnerable to human interaction even during non-operational hours, that one line of defense, the property line, must be adequately enforced. 320 Robert Burke and David Liston, 41 & Ibid, Ibid, Page 76

81 Due to the lack of security measures available to outdoor museums, additional measures must be implemented. Whereas most museums store their collection within an alarmed and highly monitored storage space in addition to hiring security guards to defend the valuable objects, 323 garden cemeteries often merely protect their collection from intruders by a fence or wall and a locked gate. Easily accessible, cemetery property is prone to vandalism, but with the incorporation of an acceptable security program, memorials will no longer be subject to defacement or inappropriate treatment. The implementation of security lights around the property, alarms on the entrance gates and buildings, and patrolmen monitoring the paths and property line will significantly increase the level of protection afforded to the site. 324 During the night, a well-lit area will deter vandals from victimizing funerary memorials, especially when security guards are present. Although the grounds of a garden cemetery are expansive and easily exposed to harm, the presence of security will better protect and resolve dangers. Patrols not only serve the role of night watchmen but can also be employed to welcome visitors at the gate to monitor the flow of visitors during operating hours or oversee activities held at the site. 325 According to Liston, these security measures actually are the more economical and ethical way to protect the cultural resources of a museum, compared to the possibility of having to repair or replace an invaluable piece of artwork. 326 A disaster is defined as, An emergency event that occurs with little or no warning, causing more destruction or disruption of operations than the museum can correct by application of its own ordinary resources. 327 Although none of the case studies examined have implemented a disaster plan into their operations, each expressed interest in doing so. Museums often feel that 323 David Dean and Gary Edson, 49 & Robert Burke and David Liston, Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, 220; David Dean and Gary Edson, 49 & Robert Burke and David Liston, Ibid, 291. Page 77

82 if a disaster is to occur, it is uncontrollable and recovery is judged on a case by case basis. While natural disasters are out of our ability to regulate, emergency policies and procedures provide actions and guidelines that will make the experience more manageable and potentially prevent additional harm, such as keeping trees pruned to reduce the risk of decayed branches falling onto the markers. 328 This is accomplished through observation of potential threats, staff involvement for training and developing responsibilities, and careful planning for budgeting, prevention and implementation of procedures. The necessary steps of an emergency plan include preventing, preparing, responding, and recovering. 329 Emergencies and natural disasters are certain to happen during a museum s existence, but precautionary prevention and the course of action followed in response will determine the ability to resume the museum s routine. Prevention is the preliminary stage of the entire disaster planning procedure. Establishing the potential risks that could affect the operation of the museum or the condition of the records or collection, this phase should include a foundational threat analysis to identify risks and their probability. 330 For threats that are controllable, for example timeworn electrical systems, preventative measures such as replacement of the dated system or a fire safety training session would reduce unnecessary fires. 331 For hazards that are unmanageable possibly a hurricane, earthquake, or tornado the preparation section of the emergency plan establishes procedures to accomplish tasks needed in the case of a major disaster. Making arrangements prior to accidents involves dedication to the mission of the institution and takes into account its ethical responsibility. Developing preparation measures and organizing supplies requires a knowledgeable team of staff members, familiar with the threats 328 Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, Building an Emergency Plan, 15 & Robert Burke and David Liston, Building an Emergency Plan, 12. Page 78

83 and characteristics of the collection, to arrange all of the necessary actions. Preparedness would consist of identifying a team to assist immediately after a disaster and assigning responsibilities for each member. 332 In regard to outdoor museums and cemeteries, the team would be made up of the director to manage and supervise recovery, preservation crew to assess and protect damaged objects, arborist or horticulturalist to assess damage of the vegetation, security to monitor access to the site, and staff who have been trained in the execution of the response and recovery plans and artifact handling policies to assist the preservation crew. Supplies and equipment to aid in a smooth recovery should be stored in a safe space that will be accessible to the team. Each type of institution will require a different set of supplies based on the scope of their collection, property, and potential threats. A supply list can be elaborate, but, for disasters affecting a cultural landscape such as a garden cemetery, the disaster bag would include first aid, hard hats, hand tools, inventories for identification, contact lists, sandbags, handcarts, plastic sheathing, and damage assessment forms and equipment. 333 Supplementary precautions include digitalizing records, relocating copies of records to a secure, off-site location, and contacting support agencies, such as partnered organizations and police and fire officials, for advice and assistance during times of emergency. 334 The response plan should be developed during the preparatory stages of the disaster planning with the goal to prevent injury and limit losses. 335 The necessity of a prompt response is not just a reactive practice. If the institution is aware of impending danger, a response plan can initiate protective measures ahead of time. The method of anticipatory response efforts is practiced by the Barbados Museum and Historical Society in the West Indies 332 Ibid, Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, 192; Robert Burke and David Liston, Robert Burke and David Liston, 294; Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, Building an Emergency Plan, 15. Page 79

84 through the procedure of prepping the site for hurricanes, starting when there are at least 48 hours before the potential disaster. 336 The National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT) has produced a video illustrating a technique in which plywood is placed, angled over the gravestone, to protect it from falling branches during vegetation trimming. 337 This practice also would be beneficial to protect stained glass windows of mausoleums and other significant pieces of artwork found throughout the cemetery from falling branches and projectiles when the probability of a disaster is known. Regarding recovery plans, John Hunter states, They are designed to enable the museum and its collection to return to normalcy in an orderly, phased, reasoned and methodological fashion. 338 Depending on the type of institution and category of disaster, this recovery process could take between days and years to complete. As responsibilities, guidelines, and procedures have already been arranged in advance and practiced several times prior to a disaster, those involved should have a concrete understanding of the process. When recovering after a catastrophe, contact with support organizations, such as partner organizations or the police and fire department, and documentation and assessment of damage are the first steps to be performed for a cemetery. 339 Museum disaster plan strategies usually suggest moving harmed objects to a safer place, however, with cemetery disaster planning, this poses an issue due to the potential lack of storage space and the inability to move such massive pieces of the collection across the property. Broken pieces of memorials should be relocated to a storage facility to protect the stone from being stolen, vandalized, or further damaged, using special equipment to lift the 336 Ibid, National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, Free Webinar: Addressing Landscape Maintenance in Cemeteries (video, March 29, 2010), (accessed May 19, 2012). 338 John E Hunter, Preparing a Museum Disaster Plan, in Southeastern Museums Conference, 1991 Disaster Preparedness Seminar Proceedings, ed. Martha E. Battle and Pamela Meister (Baton Rouge, La: Southeastern Museums Conference, 1991), Building an Emergency Plan, 64. Page 80

85 stones and temporarily relocate them (Fig. 14 & 15). Whereas normal operations and regular preventative conservation routine will be postponed during recovery after a disaster, Liston reminds the institution not to completely disregard the care of the collection by providing at least a minimum level of adequate conservation and physical protection throughout the recovery process. 340 Evaluation is crucial after each practice and actual emergency to continuously develop the disaster reaction plan to better suit the institution s goals and system. 341 The emergency plan for one museum institution may not be the same as it is for another, just as a garden cemetery in Georgia will not have the same emergency needs as one in Massachusetts. For reference in planning a detailed course of action, the Getty Center Emergency Planning Handbook provides a reputable example for comparison. 342 While developing an effective emergency response plan does require focus and determination, the benefits associated include a sense of preparedness, ethical accountability for the collection and the institution, as well as an economical benefit compared to facing a disaster blindly. 5.5 Benefits of the Implementation of Museum Philosophy: This thesis considers cemeteries as outdoor museums because of their value for public benefit, cultural association, and preservation of an expansive collection. Although it is not advised that cemeteries rename themselves museums, the acceptance of museum management goals and principles is a viable option to better protect the resources at historic garden cemeteries. The implementation of museums philosophies and practices management, 340 Robert Burke and David Liston, Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, 192; Building an Emergency Plan, Getty Center, Emergency Planning Handbook (photocopy, Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Trust, 1997). Page 81

86 collections care, community outreach, and protection generates ethical, educational, and economic benefits. Museum practices help preserve the social and cultural the values of the garden cemetery as well as the natural elements. With so many factors working against a cemetery s cultural resources, it is simply an ethical imperative to maintain the significance of the site and the value of the cultural resources present. Cemeteries, comparable to museums, have the ability to create a better understanding of their mission, context, and evolution through public outreach. With an appropriate preservation and community outreach plan, cemeteries have the potential to become sites of civic pride that provide cultural and educational benefits to the community. Simultaneously, the opportunity for volunteerism, involvement, and educational programs contribute to the funding of preservation and conservation efforts at the property. With an increase in tourism at the site, the economic benefits extend into the community by diversifying sightseeing opportunities and attracting more people to visit the region. 343 Support organizations and foundations can play a fundraising role, providing necessary resources to help cemeteries adopt museum practices. The establishment of the garden cemetery as a cultural institution is advantageous to the community, descendants, employees, as well as the entire cultural landscape, and collection as a whole. Garden cemeteries began with the objective of providing a cultural institution in connection with a burial ground, and they should continue to offer these services through ethical management, conservation efforts, community outreach, and museum protection initiatives. While the case studies chosen represent a reputable group of garden cemeteries in which the business and friends groups have collaborated to establish a suitable environment for their memorials, the implementation of museum philosophy, principles, and practices would better 343 Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine, Page 82

87 enhance their ability to ethically and economically care for their artifacts and provide educational opportunities to generate community involvement. Museum principles should be embraced by cemeteries in order to protect the cultural resources found within their gates and provide a public benefit and civic pride for the community. Page 83

88 CHAPTER 6 RECOMMENDATION PLAN: Recommendation Plan to Reform Preservation Initiatives in Historic Garden Cemeteries through Management, Conservation, Outreach, and Protection In correspondence with the Master of Fine Arts Thesis The Cemetery as a Cultural Institution: Reforming Preservation Efforts in Garden Cemeteries through Management, Conservation, Outreach, and Protection Written By: Margaret Puglisi Spring 2012 Page 84

89 Preservation Philosophy and Objectives Initiated as cultural institutions, garden cemeteries were the product of the rural cemetery movement, providing a setting for inspiration, leisure, recreation, education, and artistic exposure, in addition to interment. Many garden cemeteries served as the first public parks and public arts museums throughout the country and offered a medium in which to express Victorian principles and beliefs through symbolic memorials. Valued for the juxtaposition of the built environment and the natural scenery, these nineteenth-century innovations serve today as potential sites to engage the community and enrich their lives in aspects of history, social history, culture, and preservation. With the intention of reestablishing historic garden cemeteries as integral aspects of American culture, this recommendation plan follows practices demonstrated by reputable garden cemeteries as well as procedures employed by museums. Each garden cemetery and its context is unique and will require attention on an individual basis as these recommendations do not propose fixed standards but rather guidelines of effective practices. These guidelines may vary among each garden cemetery based on current conditions and efforts, context of the area, and significance of the site. Taking into consideration the sensitivities concerning the burial ground, recommendations, including minimum and best practices, are based upon the need to provide structured and accountable management, collections care policies, interpretive and educational components, and protection features. The main principles directing the plan pertain to protection of the character-defining features of the site and promotion of the site as a cultural institution. Page 85

90 Recommendation 1. Establish Management Structure A strong management that can be held accountable is crucial for the success of a garden cemetery. The administration is in charge of defining obligations and upholding those duties for the well-being of the cultural landscape as well as the business activities. Responsible for policy-making and ethical issues pertaining to the historic cemetery, the organization is responsible for the enhancement and promotion of the property. a. Implement administration order A hierarchy of employees is crucial to delineate decision makers, supervisors and those charged with carrying out policies. A governing body, or board of trustees, is in charge of managing and supervising the administrative actions of the cemetery business and support organizations, as well as efforts to protect the character-defining features. The director is the authority who guides staff, maintenance workers, security personnel, and volunteers based upon the initiatives agreed on by the governing body. This order of command will enhance the operation of the procedures of the entire historic site because execution of burial processes, care of horticulture, preservation efforts, community outreach strategies, and protection methods rely heavily on an appropriate management system. b. Establish mission statement A statement of intent, containing a mission statement declaring the purpose of the business and a vision and goals for the future, serves as the foundation for every policy created and implemented by the administration. The mission and objectives must Page 86

91 recognize the continuing business aspects of burial policies and development of the property, the ideals associated with the significance of garden cemeteries, including the retention of integrity, and the characteristics that render the site a public benefit. Although the statement and goals form a set foundation for the purpose and values of the site, they cannot stand alone, requiring additional policies to guide and elaborate on their proposals. c. Enact policies, plans, and procedures The creation of strategic plans is essential for the operation and management of tasks and aspects involving the property and artifacts. Necessary policies should cover management, collections care and conservation, community outreach, and protection. The management plan should discuss how the mission of the organization will be realized, including identification of major goals to be accomplished and methods to accomplish the goals. Major goals in the plan might generally include business objectives, preservation objectives, and outreach objectives, methods of acquiring funding, and ethical standards. The plan should delineate what actions are appropriate for the retention of the integrity of the site as well as the economic development of the cemetery business, both critical facets of the historic cemetery. Procedures and guidelines for preventative and remedial conservation should be addressed throughout the collections care and conservation plan. Principles and objectives for way-finding, intellectual interpretation, and educational programming should be outlined in the community outreach policy. The protection plan should discuss security and emergency and disaster planning efforts for the site. While each policy and plan defines Page 87

92 responsibilities, it is important to specify that each member of the management hierarchy is responsible for the care, conservation, protection, and promotion of the site as a whole. An issue that must be addressed in these strategic plans is ownership of the memorials. When markers are privately owned or not included in perpetual care, the issue of preservation arises. In order to address this topic, the company must adopt a method to accomplish conservation efforts collectively throughout the cultural landscape. This may be achieved by taking the precedence of safety to repair any monument that poses a risk to visitors or other memorials, even if it is not covered under perpetual care or it may be by instating a new section of the burial contract that allows the conservation crew to maintain the plot and its memorials. d. Apply evaluation techniques Measures and procedures for assessment and evaluation should correspond with each policy created and implemented. All practices should be measured against the defined mission, goals, and objectives established by the organization including the policies and procedures. This ensures the implementation of appropriate treatments and procedures, holds the organization accountable, and gauges the success of the current practices in regard to the well-being of the cemetery site. A formal process and timetable for evaluation should be integrated into each policy. e. Institute a support organization Due to the inevitable need of resources for conservation, protection, and interpretive programs, garden cemeteries need reliable forms of funding support. Some Page 88

93 may benefit from endowment funds, which generally have been designated for specific purposes, such as maintenance and operating costs; others may have little or no endowment resources to draw upon. The successful promotion of the site and care for its character-defining features rely heavily on adequate funding in order for the cemetery organization to function at a high level. Friends groups and support foundations provide financial protection for the historic cemetery by securing funds for preservation, conservation, and education efforts. These organizations should function compatibly with the goals and vision of the cemetery administration and act as a corollary, but establish goals and objectives specific to their own purpose, as seen with Historic Oakland Foundation. Support organizations are able to fundraise through donations, profits from programs and events, museum shop revenue, and selling tributes in the form of trees and benches, illustrated by The Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery. These groups also provide opportunities for the community to become involved with the cemetery through volunteer assistance, resulting in a financial benefit for the support organization as well. The ideal management system would be a private, not-for-profit organization with a fundraising foundation and local government support. Page 89

94 Recommendation 2. Institute Collections Plan The cultural landscape as a whole, encompassing natural features, paths, and memorials are all integral to the context of the site. The cemetery and support organization has an obligation to conserve, interpret, and present the site, and this cannot be accomplished without the retention of contextual and topographic integrity. Although there may be preliminary efforts to advance to the point at which preventative methods are the primary means of care, the conservation plan should be a set of guidelines that will be followed regularly a. Establish a collections care policy and plan for the site To create a collections care policy and strategy, the plan should first identify the cultural and historic value of the cemetery and in response, develop guidelines respectively. It is crucial to determine the course of action when a decision needs to be made whether to prioritize the cemetery business or the well-being of the historic site. Mount Auburn addresses this issue in its 1992 Statement of Master Plan Principles, preservation of the landscape will take precedence in decisions regarding cemetery development. 344 The Preservation Initiative establishes the important aspects of the Page 90 site, followed by standards to retain the values. Inventories and assessments of the current scope of the cemetery are essential to provide a comparison for future condition assessments and to determine potential treatments and interventions in addition to identifying significant assets at the cemetery. Examples of significant attributes of a historic garden cemetery could be the cultural landscape, the tangible artifacts, the intangible values and heritage, community heritage, social history, anthropology, and horticulture, but are not limited to these cases. The 344 Mount Auburn Cemetery, Mount Auburn Cemetery Preservation Initiative.

95 inventories will also establish the types of materials at risk, priorities for preservation and conservation, as well as factors contributing to their deterioration environmental, biological, human error, etc. The plan should set exact procedures for the conservator and preservation crew to abide by, including preventative and remedial mediation, maintenance and monitoring, proper training of those in contact with the memorials, efficient documentation methods, and the formulation of historically appropriate treatments. A best practice to follow, as seen at Oakland Cemetery is the implementation of traditional techniques to repair damaged monuments. The collections care policy should be strategically planned, such as Hollywood Cemetery s establishment of timeline for progress and Oakland Cemetery s implementation of a ten-phase plan. Oakland Cemetery s practice of restoring the cultural landscape to its historical representation based on documented evidence is valuable for its ability to return entire sections of the cemetery to their Victorian state. Based on areas with potential risk and significance, the horticulture, retaining walls, and memorials are repaired collectively throughout a section instead of arbitrarily throughout the property. With historically sensitive interventions, this best practice restores the landscape to an earlier era, typically only witnessed in photographs. b. Determine source of conservation efforts It is imperative to have an arranged plan for conservation efforts for the retention of the cultural artifacts. At the minimum, the cemetery should contract with an outsourced conservation crew. While the outsourced crew may develop their own Page 91

96 conservation initiatives, it is crucial to ensure that their standards adhere to the cemetery s collection care and conservation plan in addition to the cemetery s mission statement, goals, objectives, and priorities, and that they submit a proposal before intervention begins. 345 For best practices, the cemetery should have its own conservation crew, separate from maintenance due to the differing expertise needed for each team. c. Implement preventative procedures The collections care policy should include a well-defined plan for preventative measures. Preventative measures reduce the extent of remedial efforts needed and spread conservation consideration collectively among the memorials with the goal of risk management. Techniques such as routine maintenance, monitoring, documentation, minor interventions, and security precautions aim to keep the memorials stable and deteriorating factors managed. In regard to maintenance, the main goal is to keep excess debris, vegetation, and standing water away from the monuments. Staff should be educated about the values and vulnerabilities of the cultural resources on the property, as well as safe handling and how to observe signs of deterioration. A regular monitoring routine, supported with documentation, will aid with maintenance. Documentation and evaluation of the memorials should occur regularly in the form of inventories, surveys, and condition assessments in addition to continuous observation. Minor interventions pertain to cleaning with a gentle biocide to halt the unwanted effects of algae and fungal growth. It is important to distinguish between a natural patina and a harmful agent of 345 American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, Code of Ethics and Guidelines For Practice. Page 92

97 deterioration. The ethical and economic benefits of this approach offset the time and effort associated with the procedures. d. Formulate remedial efforts Deterioration and damage are unavoidable in an exposed outdoor site, and there should be a plan to approach these repairs. Remedial efforts are typically more expensive and time and labor intensive because more drastic intervention techniques are required to stabilize or restore the individual memorial that has been damaged. The cemetery should determine the level of treatment desired based on types of damage, for example stabilization or restoration. The interventions should be ethical in their technique employed, the reversibility of the treatment, and the amount of evidence and documentation used to complete a restoration accurately. Documentation should occur throughout all remedial efforts to record the techniques performed and results of the intervention in comparison to previous conditions. e. Address issue of resource replacement and disposal Due to severe deterioration or irreparable damage, descendants occasionally find it necessary to replace or reconstruct a monument. The descendant s ownership of the marker makes it possible for them to make this decision, but cemetery management should attempt to mitigate the removal of the cultural artifact. By examining historic district ordinances, guidelines should be established to regulate replacement in order to protect the integrity of the property. Replacement renders the original stone pieces functionally obsolete in regard to their role as a burial marker. The life of these stones Page 93

98 does not need to end with this result. The cemetery administration should develop a policy for acquiring replaced monuments if there is a viable option of implementing educational resources. As cultural and architectural artifacts, they should still be included in the efforts of the collection care and conservation plan. The descendant should be asked permission for retention of the original material for educational purposes relating to visible storage or conservation. Recommendation 3. Develop Community Outreach Program Historic garden cemeteries historically have been considered cultural institutions and tourist attractions. In order to enlighten, engage, and educate visitors, forms of community outreach must be implemented in the form of way-finding, interpretation, and education. Way-finding and interpretation provide an understanding for the context, history, and significance of the particular cemetery while education focuses on enhancing analysis of the site. The community outreach plan must organize knowledgeable application of information and should correlate with the cemetery s established mission and objectives outlined in the management plan. The goal of outreach, as a strong cultural influence, is to develop a relationship with the community and create a welcoming environment for enlightening exploration. a. Institute marketing and advertising Promotion of the site to encourage public awareness and involvement is important in the success of community outreach efforts. A public relations committee should be formed to publically announce information about upcoming activities, educational Page 94

99 programs, or events to be held at the site as well as a follow-up to publicize the success of the event. In order to have a community presence, regular publication should be distributed through the local newspaper, cemetery newsletters, press releases, and online resources. A website is beneficial in reaching a large audience due to its ease of accessibility, and should include the history and significance of the garden cemetery, an updated calendar of events, a map of the property, and information about what is available upon a visit. A streaming view of the cemetery on the website would also give visitors an awareness of the weather and events occurring at the site. b. Develop partnerships Increasing relationships with organizations that have similar goals as the cemetery organization or support organization is advantageous. The exchange of information, advice, and resources has proven to have mutual benefits for partnered organizations, for example, the relationship between Hollywood Cemetery and The Richmond Valentine History Center. Co-sponsored events also appeal to a more diverse audience, introducing the cemetery to a group of the community that may have not been aware of the benefits of the historic site. c. Implement way-finding systems and signage For guests to have an enjoyable visit at a historic garden cemetery, they need to be able to navigate the property on their own, with the option to freely explore the grounds instead of joining a group for a guided tour. This harkens back to the original intent of garden cemeteries. The implementation of signage with historically compatible Page 95

100 appearance at strategic locations entrance, paths, sections, plots, and significant memorials is a form of physical interpretation. Signs indicating expected behavior and rules should also be installed. Consideration should be given to the placement and presentation of these signs to avoid detracting from the cultural landscape. Each of the case studies employs brochures and maps to orient the visitor in addition to unique wayfinding techniques. While Mount Auburn Cemetery provides an information kiosk for locating specific plots and graves, an audio tour is employed at Oakland Cemetery to allow visitors to wander at their own pace through a numbered sequence while still receiving the valuable information. Hollywood orients the visitor with a painted line on the road that matches the recommended path in the brochure, which leads through the landscape, returning the visitor to the entrance. The more understanding the visitor has about where they are in context of the site, the more enjoyable their experience will be. d. Organize interpretation In order for visitors to walk away with a beneficial experience, they need to be able to comprehend what is presented to them. History orientation rooms, interpreters or docents, videos, lectures, and guided or self-guided tours are types of interpretation that allow visitors to gain a greater appreciation of the site. History orientation rooms, as a best practice for intellectual orientation, should establish the social and political atmosphere of the rural cemetery movement, the site s history, symbolism, Victorian values and beliefs expressed, and the cultural changes expressed throughout the cemetery. Lectures, videos, and interpreters are beneficial additions to the orientation room. As the first stop for guests, this will familiarize them Page 96

101 with the context of the site so they have a better understanding of the significance during their visit. During guided tours, the interpreter should identify significant areas and provide well-researched information about the area or memorial. On a self-guided map of the cemetery, points of interest such as impressive views, notable horticulture, significant burials, sculpture expressing Victorian values and symbolism, and stylistic memorials should be accentuated to emphasize particular areas to intellectually orient the visitor. Interesting aspects and accomplishments of a person s life that are not revealed on the memorial should be included in the brochure-guided and audio-guided tours. Once again, the cemetery should avoid clutter of excess signage. An alternative would be to place a plaque, level with the ground, on the walking path to denote that more information can be found in the brochure or as an audio feature. The interpretative plan is always based upon documented research and photographed evidence to provide a truthful and consistent depiction of the site to the visitor. e. Establish educational programs and resources Cemeteries are more than just burial grounds; they are arboretums, museums, preserves, and cultural institutions. Educational programming involves creating a setting of specialized interactions to enhance observation, application, and analysis. The organization should aim for a program that incorporates a topic or theme with the tangible memorials or natural features to better illustrate the idea. Concept oriented Page 97

102 lectures and object focused programs, such as conservation education, are also appropriate. Specialty tours should address history, heritage, culture, burials, or sculptures on a more in-depth level than do regular walking tours. Mount Auburn Cemetery emphasizes horticulture, seasonal changes, artists, writers, and the Civil War while Oakland Cemetery highlights Atlanta s pioneers, mayors, innovative women, epitaphs, and sections exhibiting unique cultural heritage. Other themed tours for Valentine s Day, Halloween, and Gone with the Wind fans are performed at Oakland Cemetery. The implementation of specialty tours gives the organization the opportunity to develop creative options by producing tours uniquely based upon what the cemetery has to offer. Incorporating programs to appeal to school systems for field trips and college classes for site visits increase public awareness by marketing to a different group in the community that may be unaware of the value and benefits of a historic garden cemetery. School groups would find the cemetery a beneficial landscape to analyze for biological, chemical, historical, civic, mathematical, and artistic purposes. For younger classes, the implementation of a scavenger hunt or worksheet would increase interactive engagement at the cemetery. To encourage the utilization of the educational programming at the site, the cemetery organization must publicize directly to the school systems because they often do not realize the benefits associated with this type of cultural landscape. This strategy will encourage young people to become familiar with and connected to the site, increasing the likelihood of their interest continuing in adulthood and developing into long-term support. Page 98

103 Historic material that has been replaced at the request of descendants and procured with their permission can be used for the benefit of conservation education and be incorporated into the educational programming. The fragments can be recycled and utilized for in-depth examination and handling that would not be appropriate on stones that are still fulfilling their role as burial markers. Records, inventories, and assessments should be kept to document its original location in the cemetery. While the stone loses its contextual integrity which it would lose if disposed of anyway it is assigned a new interactive purpose of providing a resource for the instruction of preservation and conservation techniques. f. Promote community events To continue outreach efforts, community events can be implemented to draw the public to the site, encouraging renewal of the original intention when garden cemeteries were introduced. Even if the activities are not focused on heritage of the site, they will still promote a positive relationship with the community through awareness. Examples from case studies include use of Mount Auburn Cemetery s buildings and landscape for meetings and weddings, Memorial Day festivities at Hollywood Cemetery, and community events such as the Tunes from the Tombs Music Festival, Run like Hell 5k Race, and Sunday in the Park Picnic at Oakland Cemetery (Fig 11). The cemetery administration must set guidelines and expectations for allowing community events to be held on the property in order to ensure that the space is used in a sensitive manner, respecting the sacredness of the cemetery, and returned to its condition prior to the event. Page 99

104 Recommendation 4. Implement Protection Initiatives Cemeteries have a significant role in the community, and the cultural resources they hold are valuable to the public, but there are seldom adequate security procedures employed to protect the site and its artifacts. Exposed to the environment and vandalism, cemeteries as outdoor museums are exposed to many dangers, including disasters. The administration is responsible for creating a safe environment for people, memorials, and horticulture by establishing consistent security precautions and putting disaster planning into effect. a. Employ security measures There are several methods that should be implemented in an outdoor museum space. The philosophy that everyone employed at the cemetery is responsible for security through constant observation and watchfulness is crucial. Persistent monitoring is necessary due to the scope of the collection, expansiveness of the site, and vulnerability and exposure of the memorials and property. If a response is prompt, it is more likely to reduce further damage. Preventative issues should be addressed immediately to ensure that there are no avoidable emergencies. This includes proper training to recognize hazards and signs of deterioration and to respond in an appropriate manner. Physical defense is important. Barriers should delineate boundaries, not just for property borders, but also to separate the public from dangerous unstable monuments or to protect memorials in need of remedial conservation from the curious hands of visitors. Cemeteries only have one line of defense protecting the artifacts and the property during closed hours throughout the night in comparison to the three lines of defense protecting museum artifacts. The boundary of the cemetery property must be adequately enforced Page 100

105 with well-lit areas, alarms on the entrance gate, and guards or police to survey the site to prevent vandalism. Special monitoring should be afforded on times of increased vandalism risk such as Halloween. Guards can also be employed during open hours to greet guests and monitor behavior. The installation of security cameras would offer an added level of security, as security guards and lot owners would be able to monitor lots. Instituting protective measures in the form of security is an economical and ethical practice. b. Establish an emergency/disaster plan Emergencies and disasters, avoidable and unavoidable, put a hold on normal procedures, transferring focus to recovery and human safety. To create a more manageable situation, a disaster plan should be established to provide guidelines and procedures. Developing a disaster plan involves observation, training, budgetary allocations, careful planning, and implementation. The strategy should include four phases: prevention, preparation, response, and recovery. The goal of the prevention phase is to analyze potential threats. Preventative measures should be implemented for avoidable risks while procedures will need to be enacted for uncontrollable threats. Preparation should involve the organization of disaster supplies, identification of the response and recovery team, assignment of responsibilities, relocation of record copies, communication with support organizations for advice and assistance, identification of command centers, and the development of a response and recovery plan. Page 101

106 With the team assembled and responsibilities defined director for supervision, preservation crew for assessment, documentation, and protection of the memorials, horticulturist for assessment of the vegetation, trained staff for assistance, and security personnel for monitoring and protection of the site the course of action for a quick response should be in place. It is important to remember that the course of response should be preventative as well as reactive. Protective measures should begin as soon there is knowledge of a pending disaster to prepare the site. Recovery should be accomplished strategically and systematically, based on the procedures outlined during the preparation phase. The recovery team should have an understanding and familiarity with the established plan and guidelines. Relocating damaged pieces of memorials will provide protection from further damage or vandalism. Throughout the recovery phase, which may last from days to years, the memorials and landscape should still receive as much preventative conservation efforts as possible. Summary This recommendation plan establishes best practices that should be employed at historic garden cemeteries. By implementing management, conservation, community outreach, and protection techniques, more cultural and educational opportunities will be created to fulfill the original goals established by the rural cemetery movement for garden cemeteries. The execution of these recommendations not only benefits the prosperity of the historic cemetery, but it also supports the cultural and educational needs of the community. The protection of the cemetery and enhancement of interpretation opportunities aids diversity to tourism in the area. As established in the recommendations plan, preventative measures are key to the retention of the Page 102

107 integrity of the area, and as resources become available, techniques for increased public awareness and collection protection should be employed. Through economical and ethical approaches, the historic site will be able to retain its integrity, engage the public, and recreate the original purpose and objective of garden cemeteries, to juxtapose the natural environment with reflective memorials and opportunities to study and absorb the meanings expressed through stone. The recommendations plan should be implemented, in order to accomplish the goal of developing the historic cemetery to its maximum potential as a cultural institution. Page 103

108 Bibliography Alexander, Edward P. The Museum in America: Innovators and Pioneers. Walnut Creek: Altamira Press, Allen, Bob. Old Trinity keeps preservation alive at annual Visitation Day: Eldersburg Cemetery celebrates past with annual gathering. The Baltimore Sun, October 20, Accessed on October 20, 2011, Ambrose, Timothy, and Crispin Paine. Museum Basics. London: Routledge, American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. Code of Ethics and Guidelines For Practice. American Institute for Conversation of Historic and Artistic Works. 9verityDatadummy.txt (accessed May 16, 2012). Barnett, David. Phone interview with author. February 9, Barnett, David. message to author. May 19, Berg, Shary Page. Approaches to Landscape Preservation Treatment at Mount Auburn Cemetery. Association of Preservation Technology 24, no. 3 (1992): Bloom, Joel, and Earl Powell. Museums for a New Century. Washington, D.C.: American Association of Museums, Building an Emergency Plan: A Guide For Museums and Other Cultural Institutions (Getty Conservation Institute). Los Angeles: Oxford University Press, USA, Buggey, Susan. Conserving Historic Landscapes. Association of Preservation Technology Bulletin, Vol. 24, No. ¾, Burke, Robert, and David Liston, eds. Museum Security and Protection: A Handbook For Cultural Heritage Institutions. New York: Routledge, Cemetery Not a Place to Party. The Virginian-Pilot, October 19, Accessed on October 19, 2011, Combs, Diana Williams and Elizabeth A. Lyons, National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form. Oakland Cemetery Committee on Ethics. Museum Ethics: A Report to the American Association of Museums. D.C.: American Association of Museums, Page 104

109 Conley, Linda. City s Oldest Cemetery Throwing a Picnic. October, Davis, William C. and James I. Robertson, Jr. eds. Virginia at War. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, Dean, David, and Gary Edson. Handbook for Museums. New York: Routledge, Deetz, James. In Small Things Forgotten. New York: Doubleday, Duncan, James S., and Duncan, Nancy G. The Aestheticization of the Politics of Landscape Preservation. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 91, No. 2, June Editors of Time-Life Books. This Fabulous Century, New York: Time-Life Books, Fivecoat-Campbell, Kerri. Are Cemeteries the New Dog Parks? October, Accessed on October 23, 2011, French, Stanley. The Cemetery as Cultural Institution: The Establishment of Mount Auburn and the 'Rural Cemetery' Movement. American Quarterly 26, no. 1 (March 1974): htext=mount&searchtext=cemetery&list=hide&searchuri=%2faction%2fdobasicsear ch%3fquery%3dmount%2bauburn%2bcemetery%26acc%3don%26wc%3don&prevs earch=&item=7&ttl=467&ret(accessed May 15, 2012). Friends of Hollywood Cemetery. A Gateway Into History 1, no. 1 (2010): (accessed January 5, 2012). Friends of Hollywood Cemetery. A Gateway Into History 2, no. 1. (2011): (accessed January 5, 2012). Gardner, James B., and Elizabeth E. Merritt. The AAM Guide to Collections Planning. Washington, DC.: American Association of Museums, Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Historic Preservation Division. Preserving Georgia's Historic Cemeteries. Atlanta: Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division, Getty Center. Emergency Planning Handbook. Photocopy. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Trust, Gilliam, David. Interview with author. Richmond, VA. December 27, Page 105

110 Greene, Meg. Rest in Peace: A History of American Cemeteries. Minneapolis: 21 st Century, Grey, Philip. Historic Mount Olive Cemetery gets a Makeover in Clarksville. October 23, Accessed on October 23, 2011, Olive-cemetery-gets-makeover-Clarksville?odyssey=tab topnews text FRONTPAGE. Harnik, Peter, and Hugh O Neill. The Landscape Effect: Quantifying the Value of Parks and Landscapes on City Economics. Lecture, National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference, Buffalo, NY, October 20, Hartzog, George B. United States Department of the Interior. Letter to Hollywood Cemetery Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Picturesque Pocket Companion and Visitor s Guide through Mount Auburn. Boston: Otis, Broaders and Company, Historic Oakland Foundation. About Oakland: History. Historic Oakland Foundation. (accessed December 5, 2011).. About Oakland: Mission and Vision. Historic Oakland Foundation. (accessed December 5, 2011).. FAQs. Historic Oakland Foundation. (accessed December 5, 2011).. Guided Walking Tours. Historic Oakland Foundation. (accessed December 5, 2011).. Historic Oakland Cemetery. Historic Oakland Foundation. (accessed December 5, 2011).. The Historic Oakland Foundation Presents 31st Annual Sunday in the Park Event. Historic Oakland Foundation. (accessed December 5, 2011).. Restoration at Oakland. Historic Oakland Foundation. (accessed December 5, 2011). Hollywood Cemetery, About Hollywood Cemetery, Hollywood Cemetery, (accessed March 1, 2012).. Historic Grave Sites. Brochure. Richmond: Hollywood Cemetery. Page 106

111 . Notable Trees & Roses. Brochure. Richmond: Hollywood Cemetery. Hovey, Lonnie J. Managing the Environmental Change and Cultural Landscapes. Association for Preservation Technology International (blog), October Hunter, John E. Preparing a Museum Disaster Plan, in Southeastern Museums Conference, 1991 Disaster Preparedness Seminar Proceedings, ed. Martha E. Battle and Pamela Meister. Baton Rouge, La: Southeastern Museums Conference, International Council on Museums. Museum Definition. ICOM: The World Museum Community. (accessed March 20, 2012). Jackson, Kenneth T., and Camilo José Vegara. Silent Cities: the Evolution of the American Cemetery. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, Kaemmerlen, Cathy J. The Historic Oakland Cemetery of Atlanta: Speaking Stones. Charleston, SC.: The History Press, Kear, Matthew. In Reverence: A Plan For the Preservation of Tolomato Cemetery, St. Augustine, Florida. lulu.com, King, Moses. Handbook For Cambridge and Mount Auburn. Boston: Moses King, Keister, Douglas. Stories in Stone: a Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, Knell, Simon, ed. Care of Collections. London: Routledge, Linden, Blanche M.G. Silent City On a Hill: Picturesque Landscapes of Memory and Boston's Mount Auburn Cemetery. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, Llewellyn, John F. A Cemetery Should Be Forever: the Challenge to Managers and Directors. Glendale, CA: Tropico Press, Luce, Ray W. The Legacy of Cemeteries. Preserving Georgia's Historic Cemeteries. Atlanta: Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division, McCabe, Robert. Runners Help Raise Spirits, Money for Norfolk Cemeteries. The Virginian- Pilot, October 23, Accessed on October 23, 2011, Meyer, Richard, ed. Cemeteries and Gravemarkers: Voices of American Culture. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, Minium, Harry. Norfolk Lays to Rest Proposal for Cemetery Party. October Page 107

112 Mitchell, Mary H. Hollywood Cemetery: The History of a Southern Shrine. Richmond: Library of Virginia, Moore, David. message to author. March 9, Moore, David. Interview with author. Atlanta, GA. December 16, Moore, Kevin. Museum Management. New York: Routledge, Mosko, Robert. Interview. February 12, Mount Auburn Cemetery. Enjoy Mount Auburn. Mount Auburn Cemetery. (accessed December 5, 2011).. Give. Mount Auburn Cemetery. (accessed December 5, 2011).. Mount Auburn Cemetery. Mount Auburn Cemetery. (accessed December 5, 2011).. Mount Auburn Cemetery Preservation Initiative. Printout. Mount Auburn Cemetery, Mount Auburn Cemetery. News. Mount Auburn Cemetery. (accessed December 5, 2011).. Plan Ahead. Mount Auburn Cemetery. (accessed December 5, 2011).. Story Chapel Entryway Project. Mount Auburn Cemetery. (accessed December 5, 2011).. Two Trees Planted by Prince of Wales. Mount Auburn Cemetery. (accessed December 5, 2011).. What Makes This Place Special? Mount Auburn Cemetery. (accessed December 5, 2011).. What Makes This Place Special? History Mount Auburn Cemetery. (accessed December 5, 2011). National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, Free Webinar: Addressing Landscape Maintenance in Cemeteries. Video, March 29, (accessed May 19, 2012). Page 108

113 National Conservation Advisory Council. Conservation of Cultural Property in the United States. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, National Trust for Historic Preservation. Archaeology and Historic Preservation. Preservation Information: One in a series of Historic Preservation Information Booklets. Washington D.C.: National Trust for Historic Preservation, Newton, Josh. Purposeful Preservation: Families with descendants at the Price Cemetery recently an association, and encourage other communities to do the same for preservation purposes. Tahlequan Daily Press, October 18, Accessed on October 18, 2011, Paine, Cecelia. Landscape Management of Abandoned Cemeteries in Ontario. Association of Preservation Technology 24, no. 3 (1992): Quackenbush, Molly, and Lenora Henson, Stanton Hudson, Jr., and Robert Noll. The Historic House Museum for the 21 st Century: Introducing New Approaches for Engagement and Relevancy. Lecture. National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference. Buffalo, NY, October 20, Richmond History Center. Programs and Tours: Richmond History Tours 2012 Public Season. The Valentine Richmond History Center (accessed May 16, 2012). Richmond Whig and Public Advertiser, 27 August Rosenzweig, Roy, and Elizabeth Blackmar, The Park and the People, A History of Central Park. New York: Cornell University Press, Safford, William H., and Jas. Derby Jr. Mount Auburn Cemetery: Visitor's Reference Book. Boston: Dakin, Davies, and Metcalf, Sarapin, Janice Kohl. Old Burial Grounds of New Jersey: a Guide. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission. References: City of Savannah Historic District Ordinance. Chatham County, Savannah, Metropolitan Planning Commission. (accessed May 19, 2012). Schlereth, Thomas J. Victorian America: Transformations in Everyday Life. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Sloane, David Charles. The Last Great Necessity: Cemeteries in American History. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, Page 109

114 Smith, Julian. Cultural Landscape Theory And. Lecture, National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference, Buffalo, NY, October 20, Story, Joseph. An Address Delivered On the Dedication of the Cemetery at Mount Auburn: September 24, Boston: Joseph T. & Edwin Buckingham, Strangstad, Lynette. A Graveyard Preservation Primer. Walnut Creek: Altamira Press, Strangstad, Lynette. Preservation of Historic Burial Grounds. 3rd ed. National Trust for Historic Preservation, Striegel, Mary. Best Practice Recommendations for Cleaning Government-Issued Marble Headstones. National Center for Preservation Technology & Training, August Tuskan, Beverly. Graveside Journey on Krebs Cemetery Tour reconnects present to historic past. The Mississippi Press, October 23, Accessed on October 23, 2011, Unger, Harlow Giles. The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness. Book Club (BCE/BOMC) ed. Philadelphia: Da Capo Press, Verhaar, J., and H. Meeter. Project Model Exhibitions. Leiden: Reinwardt Academie, Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission, National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form. Hollywood Cemetery Walvin, James. Victorian Values. Athens: Univ of Georgia Pr, Watt, Laura A., Raymond, Leigh, and Eschen, Meryl L. On Preserving Ecological and Cultural Landscapes. Environmental History, Vol. 9, No. 4, October Westbook, David. Interview Conversation. December 16, Yalom, Marilyn. The American Resting Place. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Page 110

115 VISUAL AIDS Fig. 1 Example of an Urban Graveyard Colonial Park Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia Defining Features: Cluttered and haphazard placement of graves, no lot or family plot delineation, Puritan beliefs and symbolism Source: Photograph by author, Fig. 2 Example of a Garden Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts Defining Features: Emphasis on horticulture and topography, Plots defined by fencing or curbing, Victorian beliefs and symbolism Source: Mount Auburn Cemetery, Page 111

116 Fig. 3 Example of a Lawn Park Cemetery Greenwich Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia Defining Features: Standardized memorials, no lot or family plot delineation, lack of expression, open space Source: Photograph by author, Fig. 4 Example of a Memorial Park Cemetery Forest Lawn Memory Gardens, Savannah, Georgia Defining Features: Level-with-the-ground grave markers, floral arrangements, open space Source: Photograph by author, Page 112

117 Fig. 5 Cimetière du Père-Lachaise in Paris, France Source: Photo courtesy of Thomas Taylor, Fig. 6 Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts Source: Mount Auburn Cemetery, Page 113

118 Fig. 7 President s Circle at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia Source: Photograph by author, Fig. 8 Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia Source: Photograph by author, Page 114

119 Fig. 9 Ten-Phase Restoration Plan at Oakland Cemetery. Source: Historic Oakland Foundation Page 115 Fig. 10 Way-finding at Hollywood Cemetery. Visitors are encouraged to follow the historic route which is denoted by a blue line. Source: Photograph by author, 2011.

120 Fig. 11 5K race at Oakland Cemetery. Source: Historic Oakland Foundation Fig. 12 Recreation at Mount Auburn Cemetery. Source: Mount Auburn Cemetery, Page 116

121 Fig. 13 Gone With the Wind Tour at Oakland Cemetery. Source: Historic Oakland Foundation Fig. 14 Tornado Damage at Oakland Cemetery in Source: Historic Oakland Foundation Page 117

122 Page 118 Fig. 15 Recovery from Tornado Damage at Oakland Cemetery in Source: Historic Oakland Foundation