Woodlawn’s grand mausoleums and monuments showcase a living history of individuals who contributed to the vitality of the motor city. Woodlawn’s park-like 140 acres, designed by Frank Eurich, was founded in 1895.
J.L. Hudson (1846-1912), department store magnate, died of pneumonia in England. The Hudson department stores became the third largest in the U.S. in 1927, behind Macy’s and Marshall Field’s.
Clara and William Harrison are buried beneath the most-photographed grave in Woodlawn which boasts a life-sized statue of the Virgin Mary.
The three steps leading up to the statue read “Faith, Hope, Charity.”
Henry Barber’s (1879-1928) Celtic cross features the four Evangelists.
Levi Lewis Barbour (1840-1920) was an attorney and “Father of the Park” having been instrumental in purchasing Belle Isle for the city in 1879. His monument is an exact replica of the Scipio Barbatus Sarcophagus, the earliest known Roman sarcophagus.
Horace and John Dodge, founders of the Dodge Brothers motor cars, are interred in an Egyptian Revival Style Mausoleum, flanked by two Sphinxes.
The Dodge brothers passed away due to complications related to the Spanish Flu in 1920.
Constantine Eisenhardt’s (1838-1913) glass-encased statue. Eisenhardt was a noted German photographer.
C.J. Whitney’s (1832-1903) Art Nouveau style entrance doors are topped by a keystone with the 32nd degree Scottish Right masonic eagles insignia. Whitney owned a piano/organ and a theater chain.
Lemuel Warner Bowen’s (1857-1925) Italian Renaissance Sarcophagus was designed by Philadelphia architect Paul Phillipe Cret.
The Waldo Avery (1850-1914) Egyptian Revival style Mausoleum features a winged sun disk flanked by cobras and papyrus-capped columns.
I am curious about the glass encased statue on the grave of Constantine Eisenhardt. Is the statue that of the Virgin Mary? A relative? What caused it to be encased? Any info would be appreciated.