Lemon Mausoleum - Mount Mora Cemetery - St. Joseph, Missouri - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

1907
Architect/Builder: Pfeiffer Stone Co.

The Lemon mausoleum is an example of Classical Revival, the eclectic blending of Greek and Roman forms without regard for purism. The form is pure Greek, a classic gabled cube with pilasters at each corner and a broad continuous entablature with deeply carved cornice and architrave. The walls between the finely honed limestone pilasters, however, are of rough quarry-faced limestone blocks laid in a running-bond pattern. The entablature above this rough wall is of finely dressed limestone; above the plain frieze is a continuous horizontal cornice that is repeated in the ornamental edge of the roof slabs. A keyed capstone runs continuous along the ridge, providing structural stability to the many granite roof slabs, as well as accentuating the pediment at the front and rear. "LEMON" is incised into the frieze centered over the entrance doors.

At the front of the building, paired columns with Roman Ionic capitals rest on a plinth base three steps up from the ground. The plinth extends forward beyond the steps at each side of the door to become a base for an urn. At the recessed entrance opening, double-leaf bronze gates are framed by a Greek key door surround. Beyond the simple vertical bars of the gates, the elaborate bronze doors utilize a variety of Greek and Roman molding details. The upper part of each door has a grille composed of Greek key shapes interposed with stylized swirls that form an "C'. Below the grille, beribboned laurel wreaths and horizontal bronze handles are centered on the door leaves. Lower panels are framed in simple molding with stylized square motifs at each corner.

The interior of the mausoleum features a central aisle of polished black marble in 6-inch squares, with four crypts stacked to the ceiling at each side. Each dressed limestone crypt has a pair of heavy twisted bronze handles. Directly opposite the entrance doors, a window is set into the rear wall of the structure. Mottled glass in green and gold is leaded in a traditional diamond and lozenge pattern. The coffered ceiling is of the same dressed limestone as the exterior of the building.