Escape to the Silent Cities

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Girl in the Shadow Box

This beautiful monument is located at Bellefontanie Cemetery in St. Louis, MO. Wish I could have gotten better photos. She is quite beautiful but the glass and the sun were not cooperating with me.

She comes with an interesting story. According to A Journey through History Touring Bellefontaine Cemetery (a pamphlet I picked up at the front office of the cemetery):

During a trip to Italy in the early 1900's, Herman Luyties, owner of the first proprietary drug store in St. Louis, met a voluptuous model for an Italian sculptor. He fell in love with her and proposed, but she declined. Heartbroken, Luyties commissioned the sculptor to render a 12-foot marble statue of his beloved. The statue was shipped to St. Louis, where he kept it in the foyer of his Portland Place home. The several-ton statue was soon moved, because of its extreme weight, to the family burial plot in Bellefontaine Cemetery. When the weather began to deteriorate the marble he had her enclosed in the glass-fronted case. Luyties died at the age of 50 and was buried at the foot of "the girl in the shadow box".

Tombstone Tourism article By Douglas Keister

'Tombstone Tourism' on the rise, allows you to get close to your favorite celebs....
http://www.gadling.com/2010/08/03/tombstone-tourism-on-the-rise-allows-get-close-to-your-favorite-celebrities/

Superman

(Located at Park Cemetery in Carthage, MO.)

More info on Cody Sanders.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Elks Rest

I just really like this Elks monument. It is placed in the center of a group of grave stones that form a circle around it. It is located at Bellefontanie Cemetery in St. Louis, MO.

Previous post with information on the Elks.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Sunday Styles: Flush Marker

Flush marker -- A flat, rectangular grave marker set flush with the lawn or surface of the ground. No frills but makes maintenance easier. Many military markers are flush markers.