Preservation of the Egyptian Revival Gateway
By Jenny Gilbert , Senior Gifts Officer
As the point of entry for more than 200,000 visitors annually , Mount Auburn ’ s Egyptian Revival Gateway is the Cemetery ’ s main entrance and a celebrated local landmark . For 182 years , the Gateway has welcomed visitors from around the world . Today its lodges provide shelter as well as interpretive materials for visitors about the history , art , and horticulture of Mount Auburn . An electronic kiosk is available year-round for Cemetery maps and to look up grave locations .
The Gateway is probably the most widely recognized symbol of Mount Auburn today , just as it was in the 19th-century . Dr . Jacob Bigelow ( 1786 – 1879 ), one of the Cemetery ’ s founders , designed this portal to the Cemetery in 1832 to be imposing , enduring , sacred , and sublime , and he chose the “ Egyptian style ” to express those intentions . First built in wood dusted with sand to look like stone , it was rebuilt in Quincy granite by Octavius T . Roger in 1842 . The cornice stone is thought to be the largest piece of granite placed in a built structure in the United States at that time . Other improvements followed soon after , including construction in 1845 of the richly detailed cast-iron perimeter fence also in the Egyptian style .
Today the imposing granite Gateway and historic castiron fence are in urgent need of preservation . In June
2014 , the Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery received a $ 130,000 Capital Grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund ( CFF ) to help fund a major $ 525,000 project to clean and repair the building ’ s granite exterior and to preserve the original cast-iron fence . In order to receive the CFF grant , the Friends must raise $ 130,000 in contributed funds and are seeking support from institutions and individuals to complete the required match . Once the grant is matched , work will begin on the fence and gates while the Friends continue to fundraise for the completion of the project .
Mount Auburn Cemetery ’ s Egyptian Revival Gateway is the first fully realized Egyptian Revival structure in the United States and served as a national model for later Egyptian cemetery gateways .
The much-needed preservation of the Egyptian Revival Gateway is part of an ongoing effort to improve the Cemetery ’ s Entrance Precinct . This project follows closely the 2012 completion of a new covered and accessible entrance to Story Chapel .
To learn more about the project or to make a gift , please contact Jane Carroll , Vice President of Development at jcarroll @ mountauburn . org or 617-607-1919 .
Left to right : Tours and programs begin at the Gatehouse . Damage to window molding and moss growing out of masonry joints . Detailed view of corrosion on horizontal rail .
Winter 2015 | 21