There are people who really
don't want to be cremated, for various reasons, but who
also don't like the idea of being buried in the ground. A
compromise might be the type of entombment seen here,
where the coffin is sealed into place above ground. These
more ornate, and hence more expensive, alternatives are
usually fascinating to my students who wonder who these
people were, why they would spend so much on their final
resting places, and if anyone ever comes to visit. The
plainer graves seem to have more things left behind by
visitors than these vaults and crypts do. The one shown
here is the exception rather than the rule, with a few
flowers in the permanent vases. 
Not only is this person above ground, they are indoors. This ornate sarcophagus is rather unusual for the Bay Area, and is often photographed (or described) by my students.
This year (January and February of 1997) has been
exceptionally rainy, and being permanently indoors was an
attraction that several students mentioned.
A nice example of an above
ground vault, with beautiful wrought iron gates to peek
through. No one seemed to mind that gates were kept
locked, but did appreciate being able to look inside.Structures such as these are meant to last a very long
time, and it is interesting to consider having your own
or a loved one's remains in permanent storage like this,
compared to the simple wooden coffin that will soon
(relatively speaking) disintegrate away. Who will be
around to come and visit several hundred years from now?
At what point might the land become so valuable that even
these places of perpetual rest are torn down or moved
away? How perpetual is perpetual care? These and
other questions are a focus of discussion in class as we
attempt to utilize the theoretical framework of the
course, the symbolic interactionist perspective as first
described by the sociologist Herbert
Blumer.
Although the colors and
resolution are not as good online as in the original
photograph, you still get a sense of the beauty of this
setting. The combination of marble or granite, wrought
iron, stained glass, and bronze urn is quite striking.The photographs on this page represent the movement
that began in this country in the 1830s that brought
burial grounds away from local churches and private
backyards and into the rural setting of the large
"memorial parks" that were meant to surround
death with beauty, peace, and sentimentality and ignore
the finality and decay of death. It was believed that
mourners would grieve less knowing that their loved ones
were well cared for in beautiful and permanent settings
like those shown here.
While only a minority of families or individuals ever
chose these types of vaults, they are perhaps also
symbolic of the wealth and status these people enjoyed in
life. The family estate, or house on the hill surrounded
with acres of gardens (and privacy), are replicated here
in the memorial park.
This and the following photograph reveals a fascination
with Egyptology, with the art-deco Sphynxes and pyramid
shaped tombs.
Note that at the same time the structures shown here were being erected for the safe-guarding of their precious contents, archaeologists (sometimes referred to as "professional grave robbers") were busy in Egypt digging up pyramids built millenia ago and not only removing their precious contents but putting them on display as well.
Most of my students do not like this type of above ground
vault, with no windows and with a solid door. Not only is
it too claustrophobic, there is no place to really
"visit" a loved one nor is there anywhere
suitable to leave flowers. This brass door has the names,
dates, etc. of the family members who are inside, and
there doesn't seem to be room for anyone else.
A
vault similar in size to the one depicted above, this one
is more attractive to my students. Although one cannot
see inside the solid door, there is a nice stained glass
window in one of the otherwise rather stark walls. "At rest" for eternity should not include boredom or exclude fresh air and sunshine. Some cemeteries charge a premium price for a plot with a view... and some people choose those plots for that very reason.