As promised, today I’ll share some pictures of Spring Grove Cemetery. This is actually the second post I’ve written today. I liked the first post a great deal, but didn’t quite feel it was the right time to share it, so I think I will store it away until a more appropriate time and in the meantime I will share my two of my favorite places in the cemetery with you.
The first is of Cedar Lake. This picturesque area is one of several lakes on the grounds. It is not the largest, but it is one of the most peaceful, as it is surrounded by a grove of cypress trees. I love to take pictures of the knobby roots sticking up from the ground.
Geese like it too. And it offers a beautiful view across the lake of the nearby monuments.
The Dexter Chapel and Mausoleum may be the most dramatic feature of the cemetery. Built in 1870, the Gothic-styled chapel was intended as the final resting place for the Dexter family. At the time of its construction, this was the only building in Cincinnati to boast flying buttresses.
The chapel was never completed, and services were never held here, as was the original intent. The sandstone exterior is worn and yielding to the elements of nature. A large spire has broken off somewhere in time, and moss and ferns decorate the window frames. All this adds to the beauty of this monument that connects the lives of the past with those of the present.
I love this chapel so much. Every time that I see it, I’m overcome by its power to evoke such feeling in my soul. I’m lost somewhere in time as I stand in its shadow – I hover on the edges of melancholy and longing – not sure if my feet stand on earth or heaven. I wonder if that might not be the unspoken desire of the monument; to blur the barriers between worlds that sight and time have separated. Here in this space the boundaries seem to overlap again and it is holy ground.
Blessings to you,
Sarah
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