From the Friends of the Cemetery website at: (
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"The mausoleum was built by the Heller Brothers monument firm and erected in 1929. It was constructed in the popular Art Deco style for the Cermak family after the death of Anton Cermak's wife. In addition to Cermak and his wife, other family members are also entombed here.
Anton Cermak was born in Bohemia and emigrated with his family as an infant. He became active in Chicago politics and was elected mayor in 1931. On February 15, 1933, while riding in a parade with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Miami, Florida, Cermak was shot by an assassin. He died from his wounds on March 6, 1933. An estimated 150,000 people crowded into the cemetery for his entombment on March 10, 1933.
On October 2, 1933, President Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor made a pilgrimage to the cemetery to place a wreath at the Cermak mausoleum, an act of respect and commemoration for the assassinated mayor that has been repeated by many visiting Czech dignitaries over the years.
An inscription on the marble enclosing Cermak's tomb has the famous words of Cermak to Roosevelt: "I'm glad it was me instead of you"."
Excerpted from (
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"Born in Austria-Hungary (now the Czech Republic) in 1873, Cermak emigrated with his parents to the United States in 1874. Cermak was prominent in establishing the Democratic Machine in Chicago, which has been Democratic ever since. On February 15, 1933 while in Miami with FDR on a presidential campaign, Cermak was shot by a bullet that some claimed was intended for FDR. The mayor struggled for 20 days until he met his final fate. The story goes that while in hospital, Cermak told FDR, “I’m glad it was me instead of you.” A few months after Cermak's death, 22nd Street was renamed after him, now Cermak Road.
Cermak’s body was carried back to Chicago on March 8, 1933. It stayed at his last residence for one full day before the city funeral on March 10. The final destination for Mayor Cermak was the Bohemian National Cemetery."
More about the cemetery from their website: (
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"The Bohemian National Cemetery of Chicago is a Fraternal not for profit cemetery founded in 1877 by Bohemian, Moravian and Slovak immigrants and their descendants to provide a dignified place for burials free of religious restraints. The cemetery is available to all religions, nationalities and races. The cemetery is located on the north side of Chicago. It is situated on 122 acres bounded by Pulaski Road on the West, Foster Avenue on the South, Bryn Mawr Avenue on the North and Central Park Avenue - Northeastern Illinois University - on the East."
There are numerous waymarks of artistic grave markers and monuments at Bohemian National. If you have a chance to take one of the tours offered, it is definitely worth it.