Sweet Auburn: The Magazine of the Friends of Mount Auburn Inspiring All Who Visit | Page 5

Work will continue along the west side of the
Administration Building this summer with the repointing
and cleaning of the exterior façade. Soil will then be
excavated to improve moisture seepage problems, and
finally additional groundcovers and low shrubs will be
installed to visually connect the landscape to the plantings
in front of Story Chapel.
The new entrance to Story Chapel, erected in 2012
and made possible by funding from another Massachusetts
Cultural Facilities Fund grant, has worked very well to
create a more ceremonial entrance for this multi-functional
building that hosts memorial services and public programs
and serves as our Visitors Center. We are particularly excited
to be implementing this summer, because of a significant
private gift, the next phase of our “visitor entry experience
improvements” with the installation of a pathway connecting
Story Chapel to Asa Gray Garden. The path, with associated
seating areas, will provide a clear visual and functional
connection between the Chapel and Asa Gray Garden
while separating pedestrians from vehicles at this busy and
confusing intersection.
Concurrently with this pathway connector project, we
will be working behind the scenes to finalize design details
of the long-planned renovation to Asa Gray Garden, which
we hope to implement during the summer of 2016. The
renovation will include improved vehicular circulation and
parking, an enlarged fountain centerpiece, and a beautiful

garden worthy of our storied history and designed to make
a great “first impression.”
In the nineteenth century, during the height of Mount
Auburn’s popularity, the entrance was one of the Cemetery’s
most iconic and celebrated features. Guidebooks wrote
poetically about our Egyptian Revival Gateway and commented on the change of mood and scene that could be
observed immediately upon entering through the impressive
granite structure. In the late nineteenth century, visitors
were greeted with ornate plantings and displays of exotic
specimens along Central Avenue and within the Lawn
(renamed Asa Gray Garden in the 1930s). In 1898, Mount
Auburn completed the construction of the Administration
Building and Story Chapel complex to meet the needs of
late-nineteenth century visitors and clients.
Today our goals are to recreate this celebrated historic
character while improving the entry experience for all who
enter Mount Auburn – whether it be clients and families
seeking assistance at their time of need from staff in the
Administration Building, or visitors seeking information
from self-serve information racks or the interactive kiosk in
our Gatehouse, or from staff and volunteers at our Visitors
Center. We apologize for the temporary disruption at our
entrance, but we are confident that it will all be worth it.
Follow the status of these projects!

Administration Building, May 29, 2015. A newly installed, more inviting landscape now welcomes families and visitors