June 9-15, 2005

mixpicks

Dead Glamorous

architecture tour

Never mind the cramped "cookie-cutter graves of churchyards," says Thomas H. Keels, historian and author of Philadelphia Graveyards and Cemeteries. The Victorian elite went out in style. They valued a good home in the ground — a safe, sophisticated rest stop for the entire family. Laurel Hill, the first American cemetery to be designed by an architect, boasted such a landscape, complete with a beautiful garden and huge, ornate memorials. Prominent locals like John Notman, John J. McArthur and William Strickland designed its monuments and mausoleums piled high with elaborate symbols. Decipher them on your own, or join this Sunday's "Designing for the Dead: Art & Architecture" walking tour, where Keels will read these structures for clues about the people buried underneath them.

He'll also examine how grave markers have changed since Laurel Hill was founded in 1836. Look out for trends: urns, angels, crosses, skinny bronze plagues, an "obelisk forest." Fierce competition between designers meant prettier graves and lots of "one-upmanship," which sort of explains why Victorians spent their spare time strolling around the grounds. "It's not because they were weird and creepy," says Keels. "A cemetery on a warm summer day can be a wonderful place."

"Designing for the Dead: Art & Architecture," Sun., June 12, 2-4 p.m., $15, Laurel Hill Cemetery, 3822 Ridge Ave., 215-228-8200.

—Tami Fertig