Westview Cemetery ~ Atlanta, Georgia

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There is a hidden jewel in Atlanta, Georgia.

Okay ~ It can't very well be hidden...it's the largest cemetery in the Southeast;

but, it is often overshadowed by the more well-known Historic Oakland ~

I hadn't heard of it at all until I looked up Atlanta cemeteries on a whim,

not really expecting anything in the same league as Oakland.

Surprise!

Westview Cemetery is comprised of over 582 acres, half of which are still undeveloped.

The land that would become the cemetery was the site of a portion of the

Battle of Ezra Church, a Civil War battle. (Read more about the Battle of Ezra Church here.)

Unlike Oakland, which has long been celebrated for its rich history and

 architecture, Westview hasn't received as much acclaim.

The cemetery was established in 1884 on Atlanta's west side when

Oakland Cemetery was almost filled.

(Westview's Main Gate is one of the oldest standing structures in Atlanta.)



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Yes, it is H-U-G-E....a giant necropolis.

Photos don't do it justice; it has to be experienced.

Less manicured than Oakland, true...it's sort of like Oakland's

slightly less "proper" sister.

 But wonderful!

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This angel knocks at the door (symbolizing the transition from one realm to the next)

of the tomb of Nannie Rucker Crenshaw, and it is actually a newer one;

Mrs. Crenshaw was born in 1861 and died in 1940.

I couldn't find much information about her (I can't find information on everyone

whose monuments I photograph, of course (or I'd be an even slower blogger than I am,

 if that's possible)...and many times I don't even get the name in my course of

cemetery-wandering...and for that I apologize) ~ but I do try to find out about the

more striking ones...why someone had such a large monument, their standing in the community.

But I digress; I did find that Nannie attended the University of Chicago,

quite an accomplishment for a woman of her time!

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The tomb of William Chapin, born in Virginia in 1856, died in Atlanta in 1936.

I think the angel has a bit of a "Deco" look to her, with her headband.

She has an abundance of detailed lilies!

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This magnificent monument...truly a monumental monument...

titled "The Spirit of Achievement"

marks the final resting place of lumber and railroad magnate Jesse Parker Williams

(read more about him here and at Findagrave...) and his wife Cora Best Taylor Williams.

The memorial was created by American sculptor Daniel Chester French,

best known for his sculpture of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

assisted by his frequent collaborator (also on the Lincoln Memorial) architect Henry Bacon.

"Achievement" is a classically garbed woman, whose outstretched arms rest atop the square

 side-columns of the monument...in her left hand she holds a Laurel-Wreath (immortality) ,

and in her right, a Winged Globe (pre-eminently a Rosicrucian symbol, although the

Illuminati may lay claim to it, and it may be admitted that it is of Egyptian origin. The Winged Globe

is the symbol of the perfected soul making its flight back to the source of its creation).

(Source, here.)
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You can see the size of "Achievement", comparatively, here.

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The columned monument above marks the interment of another well-known Atlanta

businessman, Robert Winship Woodruff, president of Coca-Cola from 1923 to 1954.

His father purchased Coca Cola from Asa Candler (also buried at Westview) in 1919.

When the company faced financial difficulty, they elected Robert president, who was then 33.

Under his leadership, Coca Cola became the international entity it is today.

Woodruff is also known for his philanthropic efforts, having donated millions to Emory University.

The Woodruff Arts Center, home of the Atlanta Symphony and Atlanta Opera,

is named in his honor.


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Columns and more columns...

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The grave of Atlanta businessman Stephen Andrew Ryan is marked by a large,

rough-hewn stone cross (covered with climbing, down-turned roses)

with a young woman seated at the base...

I found it so intriguing...the woman is presumably a mourner, but her steady, straight-ahead gaze

and the set of her jaw convey something more than sadness...

Resignation? Just patiently waiting? Boredom? She honestly looks a bit miffed.

She holds a sheaf of papers in her hand...what could that symbolize?

An enigma, for sure.

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This angel holds a cluster of grapes in her right hand, and a wreath of

them in her left... Grapes represent the Eucharistic Wine, the blood of Christ.

I've seen very similar figures many times, but usually holding lilies.

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 "And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I

make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for 

theses words are true and faithful.

And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and

Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto

him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I

will be his God, and he shall be my son."

Revelation 21

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One of the seven Virtues, Hope.

In art, she is almost always depicted with wings...

In funerary art, she seldom has wings ~ but she is almost always seen with an anchor,

an ancient symbol of hope.

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This angel holds a very large feather-quill!

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An angelic beauty...

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Lichens will eventually cover this pretty mourner's face...

In some cemeteries where there is a "perpetual care" option (like Bonaventure in Savannah),

monuments are "power-washed" on a regular basis to prevent this.


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A mossy angel...

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Storm-clouds chased me (as I chased the sun) all day...

it made for some interesting skies!

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A lovely figure holding a mixed-floral garland...

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Another figure with the aforementioned lilies...

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Two angels on one monument...unusual!

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More of the ever-popular lilies, and a lovely face...

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The tomb of Thomas R. Egleston, Jr.,who founded Henrietta C. Egleston Children's Hospital

(now known as Children's Healthcare of Atlanta  ~dedicated to 'All better'),

 named after his mother who had four children die at an early age.

 The hospital pioneered programs that directly involved parents

in their children's care, beginning with a policy of allowing parents

to spend the night in the child's hospital room.

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The Egleston family monument is a beautiful rose-covered Celtic cross with

carved seats on each side also adorned with Roses...so many roses!

  The rose has become the Queen of Flowers because of its fragrance, longevity,

and beauty. It has inspired lovers, dreamers and poets for countless generations.

Venus, the Goddess of Love, proclaimed it as her own...

Cleopatra stuffed pillows full of rose petals.

 Nero arranged for rose petals to rain down upon his guests... 

But, the early Christians were reluctant to use the rose as one of their symbols

because of its association with decadence. However, people's love of the rose was strong

and long-lived, so the Christians made some tactical adjustments and made the rose one of

their own symbols. In Christian symbolism, the red rose became a symbol of martyrdom, 

while the white rose symbolized purity. The rose in Paradise did not have thorns, 

but acquired them on Earth to remind man of his fall from grace; 

however, the rose's fragrance and beauty remained to suggest

 to him what Paradise is like. Sometimes the Virgin Mary is called

"the rose without thorns" because she was exempt from original sin.

In Victorian-Era cemeteries, the rose frequently adorns the graves of women.*

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These seating areas are also known as Exedrae; from the Greek word

"out of a seat". They defined the burial plot and "allowed guests to sit and talk while

focusing on the tomb, not unlike a contemporary living room with a conversation

pit and a coffee table in the middle".*

(* Source; Stories in Stone ~ A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography

by Douglas Keister)


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Reading...names? A proclamation from Heaven?

Another Star-Angel!

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A large draped and tassled obelisk marks the tomb of  Atlanta surgeon Dr. Hunter Pope Cooper;

 Dr.Cooper became ill with meningitis while his family was vacationing in Europe in 1906...

though they hurried home, they were unable to reach Atlanta before his death. His epitaph

reads in part; "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends ~

15th Chapter of John, 13th Verse". This makes me wonder if Dr.Cooper

contracted the illness from a patient...he was only 46 years old.

Behind the obelisk on the left is the tomb and memorial statue of

 Major Daniel Norwood Speer ~ 1836-1893;

he was a Quartermaster in the Confederate Army and a Georgia State Treasurer.

His epitaph reads "Who in life's battle, firm doth stand,

Shall bear hope's tender blossoms into the Spirit Land".


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High atop another lofty, draped and festooned pedestal,

an angel holds a garland...and I believe she also has a star.

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"This old world we're livin' in
is mighty hard to beat,
you get a thorn with every rose
but ain't the roses sweet!"

Frank Lebby Stanton ~ born February 22, 1857 in Charleston, South Carolina;

  died January 7, 1927 in Atlanta, Georgia ~ was an American lyricist.

He was also the initial columnist for the Atlanta Constitution and became the first poet laureate

 of the state of Georgia, a post to which he was appointed by Governor Clifford Walker in 1925

and which Stanton held until his death.

Stanton has been frequently compared to Indiana's James Whitcomb Riley, and called

"the James Whitcomb Riley of the South"; in actuality Stanton and Riley were close friends who

frequently traded poetic ideas. Although Stanton frequently wrote in the dialect of black

Southerners or poor whites, he was an opponent of the less-admirable aspects of the culture

in which he lived, and he tended to be compatible in philosophy with the Southern

progressivism of his employer, the Atlanta Constitution, for which he wrote editorials.

He collaborated with African American composer Harry Thacker Burleigh in the sheet

music for Stanton's poem "Jean" (Burleigh composed and harmonized the tune).

Stanton wrote the lyrics for Ethelbert Nevins' tune in "Mighty Lak' a Rose" supposedly

sung by a mother to her young son. The first line, by which the song is occasionally known,

is "Sweetest li'l feller" (sweetest little fellow).

Shortly after his death Stanton was commemorated in the naming of

Frank Lebby Stanton Elementary School in Atlanta.



(Source, PoemHunter.com, Frank Lebby Stanton )


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Possibly a depiction of the virtue "Faith", usually depicted with a cross...

(another Passion Flower (the Passion of Christ) entwined one.)

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The Ryan cross, with the Water Tower looming in the background.

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The Water Tower

This structure could easily be mistaken for a battlefield look-out point,

 but was only used to hold water. Look at the top of the tower to see an example of

crenellated adornment, or a repeat of square indentations.

The top looks more like a castle than that of a water tower!


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The Confederate Memorial was erected by the Confederate Veterans Association of

Fulton County to honor its fallen soldiers.  The monument features a stone soldier holding

a flag and standing on top of small cannon balls. Two cannons lie just beyond a circle of Confederate

graves and mark a path leading to the historic monument.

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Queen Victoria.

(Who would have have thought...?)

Her parents must have been fans of the Queen!

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Have a little FAITH...

You can see some of the expansive cemetery here...


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More of the view from the main road through the cemetery.

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Storm clouds gathering...

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Beautiful Westview Abbey, a mausoleum and chapel, was constructed in 1943.

Artwork abounds...twenty-seven stained glass panels adorn the Romanesque chapel and depict

the life of Jesus Christ from Nativity through Crucifixion and Resurrection.

I want to explore here more on my next visit...I didn't stay long inside this trip,

as I thought it was going to start pouring rain and I had a lot more grave-snappin' to do...

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The detail on this chapel is amazing!

Here you can see part of a tile mosaic mural on the second floor balcony.

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"Resurgens ~ Atlanta, GA ~ 1847-1865"

A direct reference to the burning of Atlanta and its rise

(as Phoenix from the ashes), again.

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Classical adornments of scallop shells, acanthus leaves and scrolls

cover the exterior of the Abbey.

Gorgeous!

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Another lovely tile mural inside the loggia at the main entrance...Jesus as the Good Shepherd.

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A portion of the majestic interior...

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I wish I'd taken the time to get "Hope" and "Charity" as well...next trip!

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Since Westview Cemetery actually was a battlefield, and Frank Lebby Stanton

is also buried here, I thought this was fitting ~


"An Old Battlefield"


The softest whisperings of the scented South

And rust and roses in the cannon's mouth;


And where the thunders of the fight were born,

The wind's sweet tenor in the standing corn:


With song of larks, low-lingering in the loam

And blue skies bending over love and home.


But still the thought: somewhere ~ upon the hills,

Or where the vales ring with the whip-poor-wills,


Sad wistful eyes and broken hearts that beat

for the loved sound of unreturning feet.


And, when the oaks their leafy banners wave,

Dream of the battle and an unmarked grave.


Frank Lebby Stanton