Friday, May 20, 2011

In one of my dollar book runs to Strand Book Store I purchased The Faber Book Of America. It is a collection of essays about America. A few weeks ago I read an essay by Frank Lloyd Wright about Louis Sullivan. Sullivan was one of the pioneering architects of sky scrapers. In the essay Wright mentions The Getty Tomb which Sullivan designed.

He said, "The Getty Tomb in Graceland Cemetery was entirely his own; fine sculpture. A statue. A great poem addressed to human sensibilities as such. Outside the realm of music what finer requiem."

This interested me, so I did further research on Wikipedia (click here). Researching the tomb even inspired me and I sketched out some designs.

I had forgotten about the tomb. While in Chicago Brigham said that he wanted to visit Graceland Cemetery. It sparked my memory and I hoped that "this was the cemetery that that one tomb was in". It was a race against time as the ground keeper told us that he was locking the gate in 40 minutes. I rushed all over that place trying to find it. Finally in a back corner I saw it. I recognized it as soon as I spotted it. This tomb is a registered Chicago Landmark.




Louis Sullivan is laid to rest in the cemetery. I didn't know that and I didn't see his tomb, but others in our cemetery party had come across his grave.
Brigham found the spookiest tomb he could and documented it.

P.S.– Frank Lloyd Wright lived and worked in Brig's parents neighborhood. The 'hood' is packed with original Frank Lloyd Wright homes around every corner.