Oakridge Abbey - Hillside, IL
Posted by: 
adgorn
N 41° 51.672 W 087° 53.448
16T E 426065 N 4634749
The only compartment mausoleum built on the cruciform plan, brilliant wide white marble steps lead to the columned entrance, whose massive doors of solid bronze are works of art.
Waymark Code: WMBX31
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 06/29/2011
Views: 1
Continued from their website:
"One enters an impressive vestibule beyond which is a Chapel whose beauty commands unbounded admiration. The Chapel is a symphony in sacred architecture, its splendid pillars and soaring arches blending with the beauty of masterpiece mosaics in windows and art glass ceiling, through which soft light streams down on floors of Italian marble. Forming a background for the exquisite solid marble altar is a lovely figure in heroic size, "The Lady of Eternity", marvelously wrought in art glass, the creation of Edgar Miller, the celebrated artist.
On either side of the Chapel, just back of the pillared aisles, are private rooms, each guarded by bronze grilles of superb design, with five burial compartments on each side. An Italian carved marble bench, placed under the art glass window in each room, invites to rest and reverie.
Great aisles leading from the Chapel, and intersecting aisles as well, present new vistas of beauty wherever the eye may rest. The vast building is so arranged that not only the many magnificent private rooms on both floors but the individual compartments along the stately corridors are flooded with the mellow sunlight which streams in through lovely windows of rich art glass.
The Abbey, both the main floor and the chapel floor, is of marble and bronze throughout, and its massive foundations reach to solid rock. It is built for all time; a permanent home where loved one may forever rest in an environment of beauty and of peace."
Their description is perhaps a bit over the top, but it is a very interesting place. The art glass windows are lovely when the sun streams in. I did notice that quite a few of the "compartments" were empty and unfinished, perhaps awaiting remodeling. There is a columbarium on the second floor.
The one famous person resting here is Harold Lincoln Gray (January 20, 1894 - May 9, 1968). He was an American newspaper artist and cartoonist, best known as the creator of Little Orphan Annie, which he worked on for 45 years. The strip became the basis for the 1977 Broadway musical Annie and its 1982 film adaption. (wikipedia)
Mr. Gray rests on the north side of the chapel area, which has a beautiful colored glass ceiling.
The steps of the Abbey were also used for the funeral of the eight unknown victims of serial killer John Wayne Gacy on June 12, 1981. One of these tragic victims is buried nearby.
Other good resources on the mausoleum and cemetery are Graveyards of Chicago (
visit link) and Bellamorte (
visit link)