Graceland Cemetery

I love wandering through old cemeteries, and Graceland is one of my favorites. Definitely take a tour if you can — there’s so much history to learn about here.
Some notable people who are buried here include Louis Sullivan, Mies Van der Rohe, Burham (the architects), Spaulding (of tennis fame), Palmer (the Palmer house), Marshall Fields. You’ll also recognize people who streets were named after (Wacker, McCormick, Kimball). If you’ve ever visited the University of Chicago, you might find it interesting to pay a visit to Ida Noyes, Ryerson, and Hutchinson.
So many of the stones are crypts are breathtaking. I would recommend going when the weather is nice — you can easily spend two hours walking around and still not be able to see everything.

Just finished reading Eric Larson’ s «Devil in the White City» and booked my tour with Weird Chicago Tours for December’14. Meanwhile, being under such a strong impression from the book, and living so close to the places which it was devoted to, I couldn’t wait to follow some of the sights described by the author.
The Graceland Cemetery is located in one of my favorite neighborhoods of Chicago, the Uptown. The weather was glorious: warm Sunday in October, golden trees reaching out to the blue sky.
I like old cemeteries. During my last trip to Paris, I spent 2 days wandering through the tombs and monuments of Père Lachaise Cemetery. I still get very inspired, by just looking at the pictures taken there.
Graceland Cemetery has this very elegant feel about it. It’s not gloom or scary or sad. The place looks more like a well groomed park, where you can learn about history of Chicago and it’s prominent residents. I would even suggest this cemetery for a date, if you happen to be one of the people that are curious about architecture, life and death (in a philosophical kind of way), or if you have a good cemetery story to tell.
My visit was eye opening. I learned so much about the past of my city, googled some names, saw more than few unusual burial sights with engraved symbols that keep me up at night. I love this mysterious feeling you get from visiting the graveyards.
If you get too melancholic, walking among the dead, I suggest you go explore nearby blocks. The houses are beautiful, varying in design, age, shape and color. You will be surprised by the fullness of life outside the Graceland wall and you would want to turn around to say goodbye to the Eternal Silence, watching you leave.

I’ve never been on a Cemetery tour before but I can’t wait to go back. This place blew me away. It’s like an architectural sculpture garden set in a mature, bucolic, serene garden. You can’t help be inspired by stories of the history of the men, women and families resting here and what they achieved, and endured in heir lives, and their lasting impact on Chicago and society.
Buried here are many of the the great architects, socialites, athletes, politicians, captains of industry and others that made Chicago great, all with unique, tasteful and sometimes unusually modest headstones, exquisite mausoleums or monuments marking their plots. These are very unique and progressive designs for their day.
No one does it better than Chicago Architectural Foundation. They are truly world class and I strongly suggest going on a guided tour with them. John, our guide was terrific and very well informed which really made the visit for us..

Beautiful historic cemetary! Pullman, Palmers and Deering all buried here. Gorgeous landscaping and makes a pretty drive in the fall.

My last review was almost 2 years ago so thought I would do a
small update.
Today, February 14, 2014 I went to Graceland Cemetary to visit
my Mom’s Grave and during my long walk in and long walk out
I had a few thoughts I wanted to share.
Every single review I have read on Graceland is from people/​reviewers
who constantly talk about the history of Graceland and all the famous
people that are buried here.
None of the reviewers have had any actual family member buried here,
Now, honestly, when my Mom passed away at the age of 62 in 1999
I had thought that she would be buried out where my other family members
have been buried, St. Adalbert’s in Niles.
However, my other family members decided to have her buried here at
Graceland, because it would be a closer and more convenient location
for people to have access for visitation.
And, I have appreciated that aspect of it very much. however,
the more I learned about Graceland Cemetary and it’s popularity with
the public the more I started to dislike certain things about it.
You see, My Mom was neither famous or Infamous, her name was
Christine Campbell and she is buried at Graceland Cemetary in the
Evergreen Section across from the lake.
When I walk in to Graceland I don’t go in to see The Famous Field’s
or Burnham’s, but I do come in to see my Mom, and only her.
So, what I’m saying is that at my age of 52 I know enough about
Chicago History and Historians and where they are buried. and that’s
all fine and good but please don’t forget there are regular, everyday
people buried here as well, Like my Mom.
So, nice thing that Graceland is 5 blocks away from me.
Just sad that it has basically become a Tourist Trap for the most part.
And that is unfortunate…

The most amazing aspect of this place is that it manages to be so serene & peaceful even though there is parking for Wrigleyfield across the street. It’s seriously like walking into a separate little world inside of Chicago.
As everyone has already said a number of times, there are some really beautiful things to see here including the little island!
Now, does anyone know what that groupings of plots with all the little kids is?! I tried looking up their names but got nada.

I just finished bringing yet another uninitiated visitor to Graceland on a sunny and cool fall afternoon. Possibly one of the best times for a visit. I used to live two blocks away back in the day, and I had many a walk and even a few chats with the deceased movers and shakers of Chicago. It is one of those rare places in the city, where you can actually be alone in what is an astounding and overwhelming combination of natural beauty and architectural wonders. On this past visit, my reaction was not unlike a person, shall we say, in an altered state, shall we say, having smoked something funny. Maybe it’s the whole Pre-​Halloween anticipation or those brownies I ate that morning, but Graceland seemed a bit surreal. It shimmered in a background of bright blue sky, fall colors and gorgeous carved monuments. Like so many other locals in Chicago that are so rich with history and big stories about big people, one could spend a good long time here visiting many a famous grave. I always end my visit by hanging out with the Burnhams who are buried on this delightful little island and who have these very modest stones as remembrances. And I think about the one 89-​year-​old guy who when I conducted a bus tour through here jokingly yelled from the back of the bus: «Just let me out and leave me here. No need to bring me back to the home.» I could kind of understand.

AWESOME way to spend an afternoon. Stop at the welcome center and have them buzz you in, grab a map, and head out for a stroll. The first piece I couldn’t wait to see was «Eternal Silence» aka the Statue of Death. Monument of Dexter Graves, Chicago’s first colonist. It is a truly stunning, spooky piece that used to be all black and now the bronze is a brilliant teal all except for the face, which is still black.
Other notable points of interest, the Palmers tomb, Kimball, Getty Mausoleum, Schoenhofen Pyramid, Marshall Field. I never came across the girl, Inez, killed at age 6 after being struck by lightning– whose sculpted likeness is said to leave its glass box and walk to grounds when there is a bad storm.
We were there for more than 2 hours and covered a lot of the grounds, took great photos.
It’s a peaceful escape, and a great place to take in life, death, art, architecture, and history.

If you want a free peek into Chicago’s history (and to be considered a true Chicagoan), this is one place you MUST check out. The cemetery is fenced in, well-​kept and has paved streets creating a labyrinth. I recommend visiting the Main Office at the entrance first to receive a map marking all the celebrity graves. Then you may not get lost since you can’t see beyond the graves from one side to the other. Be sure to set aside 2 hours to explore, as it’s huge and some graves are difficult to find. Basically as you walk around, you will see all the city street names (Kimball, Kinzie, Altgeld, Wacker, etc). That’s how key this place and its dead are to Chicago. Here are a few of my favorites graves to visit, including all the famous architects, of course:
–John Kinzie, the first known Chicago settler
–Loredo Taft’s «Etermal Silence» grave for Dexter Grave
–George Palmer Greek Columns
–Marshall Fields statue and pool
–William Kimball grave with grim angel
–Famous architects including Louis Henri Sullivan, Daniel Burnham, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Bruce Goff
–The Burnham family island connected to land with a bridge
–The Henry Harrison Getty Tomb/​Mausoleum
–Inez Clark’s spooky crystal box statue and grave
The cemetery is basically a gorgeous park with amazing mausoleum architecture, it just happens to be dedicated and made to house dead people. It is one of the few places in the city where you can find some peace and quite. If you’re not too grossed out, this is the perfect spot for a picnic.
You can see my album of pictures here:

Very grand.
Kind of dead on weekdays though.

This place is beautiful. We went on our trip to Chicago for 5 nights, 6 days, and Graceland was one of our favorites. We went on a overcast tuesday afternoon and no one was there (except one girl who was sitting under a tree writing in her diary, who, we concluded was a ghost). We got a map from the shack at the entrance and the woman was very nice to point out some «must sees».
We walked all the way to the end of the cemetery and were greeted by a beautiful pond with a weeping willow and magnificent «tombstones»… which were more like greek columned palaces!
We made the loop and walked back down to see the statue of the little girl who was enclosed in the plexiglass (I googled her history, turns out she died at age 5 by a lightning bolt!!!).
All in all, it was a wonderful destination, unique experience, and the whole time (since we were ALONE there) we were looking around for strange things… we didn’t find anything, but at one point my phone stopped working. The photograph application I was running started getting weird… so, I’d like to THINK that was my moment with something scary happening (but probably just my iphone freezing and messing up on its own).
I would totally recommend going. We took the architecture bus tour (the boat tour might be better and faster), got some good information about the architects and their work, and visited them at their graves later that day. Best photo op location we had on our beautiful trip to Chicago :)

You’re not a Chicagoan if you haven’t visited this Cemetary.
I remember coming here for the first time when I was 17 years old. I was part of an «urban camping» experience. This was my first encounter with the North side of Chicago and all I could say was, «Really? Marshall Field is buried here?»
If you’re like me and are fascinated with cemetaries and ghosts you have to walk through Graceland Cemetary.
I could not believe that Daniel Burhnam is buried here! How exciting and how lucky are we to be able to visit his grave site?! Chicago architect and city planner, Burnham along with others designed the plans for the 1893 World’s Colombian Exposition. Thanks to Burhnam today we enjoy the Lakefront. His vison was for the Lakefront to be enjoyed by the public and to never become private property. Burhnam is buried on the island at the park which is surrounded by weeping willows that are prettier to look at in the summer. It’s a nice quiet place to take a nap or read a book. I don’t recommend that you do this alone. The buddy system works for a reason.
Charles Dickens brother is also buried here. Who knew?! I stumbled upon him by accident.
I could go on and on. There are maps at the front office. Pick up a map and go for a stroll in the Spring. I learn something new everytime I’m there.
«Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably will not themselves be realized.» Daniel Burhnam

Pointing to the tool shed, the tour guide from the Chicago Architectural Foundation says, «And to your right, you will see the mausoleum created for the man who started Home Depot.» Who doesn’t love a little cemetery humor?
Definitely spend a few extra bucks and spring for the tour. I would like to think of myself as fairly well-​versed in Chicago history, but I definitely received a few extra nuggets of wisdom on my tour of Graceland this past Sunday. Many of the people buried here are the people who shaped the city and it’s important we learn a little bit about them. If we were required to take American and world history in school, shouldn’t Chicagoans be required to know the history of the city in which they live? I’m just sayin’.
The tour lasted two hours, but one could easily spend a day there. While on the tour we walked past a couple sitting by the lake eating their lunch. If you can get past the creep factor, it’s actually a beautiful area to picnic and collect your thoughts. These massive park-​like cemeteries were originally built for that purpose, so it isn’t as weird of a concept as it sounds. This is the time of year to go; the weather is still beautiful and you can get some peace and quiet while you look at the leaves change.
If you are looking to go to Graceland for the purpose of gaining historical knowledge though, either map out the sites you want to visit beforehand or take a tour. Had I gone solo without doing my research, there’s no way I would have seen everything I wanted to see. It’s impossible. The place is just too big and it’s way too easy to get lost. Here is a link to the online map if you wanted to plot out your own plan of attack:

If you are a fan of architecture, history, ghost tales, or landscaping I highly highly recommend you visit Graceland. Check out this website before you go as it really gives you a ton of interesting history on the famous people at rest in Graceland. I can’t recommend visiting this cemetery enough. Enjoy and you can thank me after…

The grounds of Graceland Cemetery are mysteriously beautiful. The grass is immaculately well-​kept and the long walk around is more tranquil than creepy (as you may find the opposite at any other cemetery).
Quite a lot of people buried here, and many of them have left their footprint in both Chicago and US history. I was in awe of the spectacular mix of fine architecture and perfectly intact statues.
I never thought I’d review a cemetery… but this one deserves it. It is a little gem on the Chicago Northside. If you are a history buff or just love beautiful nature walks, give Graceland a visit.

I know it’s strange that though the thought of being buried after death frightens me more than anything in the world, I’ve always been fascinated by cemeteries.
Graceland is one of the most beautiful cemeteries I’ve ever seen. From the ornate mausoleums to the meticulously kept grounds, the entire place is flawless. Well, save for that bush that two bikers just urinated on. Oh yes, they did. If there hadn’t been a huuuuge gang of them, I would’ve beat them over the head with my purse. Who does that, really?!
On a slightly related note, I now understand why dogs are not allowed.
We visited near Halloween but it’s great to wander in any time to escape the ceaseless din of the city streets. Save for the occasional roar of the red line, you almost forget you’re in the middle of a huge city.

Being part of the findagrave family, I can honestly say this is by far one of my favorite cemeteries’ anywhere. I come here more-​so to find the peace, after all the dead do not talk back do they. I know it sounds macabre, but graceland holds a special place in the history of Chicago. At one time, the first Cemetery in Lincoln Park, had some of their bodies moved here and surrounding cemeteries back in the day.
One of the most veered inhabitants of Graceland would be Pullman. Who OWNED the Pullman district on the South side of Chicago. His wife buried him under 20 feet of cement due to having a fear that the people of the Pullman district would take him out of the grave due to him being such a jerk. But of course the cemetery has some more «nicer» citizens such as Ruth Paige, she was a ballet dancer for the City who made it big in the world. SO many stories to tell and yet so little time. Graceland has a beautiful lake that is just so serene and sometimes it may be filled with ducks that pass Chicago to migrate.
Respect the cemetery though, it is a beautiful place with so much to offer, and of course, this is where I will eventually be interred in. A beautiful cemetery indeed. While here don’t forget to visit Little Inez Clark, the little girl who at the tender age of 14 was struck by lightning while holding a parasol at a family picnic. She is the one people say that on stormy nights, is so afraid of thunder that she disappears from her glass encased tomb. A Security guard quit the same night many years ago due to saying he actually saw this. But you will often find pennies and toys left for her by the citizens of Chicago.
Oh Graceland we love you!

I am in love with Graceland Cemetery. I have a B.A. in American History, so I was obviously impressed with the preponderance of persons of distinction who now rest at Graceland. Lives that shaped the City and our great nation now sleep here. The grounds are immaculate and surprisingly empty, perhaps because most of the residents are elite and it can be hard for newer people to get a plot, as it is attractive and space is at a premium. That said, I saw many tombs or graves that had deceased persons from over a hundred years ago with floral plantings or arrangements well-​tended. Perhaps they had a pre-​arranged trust?
The monuments, statues, and flora and fauna were stunningly beautiful, artistic, opulent, and inventive in their design. If you want a terrific and helpful writeup, visit their website; it more than adequately summarizes the biographies and monument’s makers.
My favorite monuments were, of course, the island (coming around the corner of the lake you will be surprised to find a bridge and tiny island, wherein a family has their plots and stones. Quite inventive, if you ask me), the pyramid, eccentric and interesting, considering when it was errected, (Schoenhofen), Pinkerton’s mausoleum, and Palmer’s Greek Temple.
I will be buried here. The only space left is on the east side and is well-​shaded by sporatic trees.

I always thought of cemeteries as creepy places where the undead hangout. As I now view death as a part of life, I now longer fear them but look at them as a place for the living to visit and keep connected to their loved ones that have moved on to the next life.
I’ve never visited this particular cemetery until now but have done lots of research on it, as I am a Chicago enthusiast. The grounds were beautifully covered in a blanket of fresh white snow. But while the city’s streets are filled with snow, Graceland’s ground keepers were plowing so crazy people like me could visit.
I began looking for statues and found Dexter Graves (Eternal Silence) right away. I was also able to find George Pullman, Marshall Field, Potter Palmer (of Palmer House fame), William Kimball, Daniel Burnham, Carter Harrison Sr. (Chicago’s first mayor) and many others. During my self-​guided tour I met one of the ground keepers who told me a little more about the cemetery and suggested I visit the office for a map and listing of the local residents. There I learned that the office has public restrooms and outdoor facilities available when they’re closed.
There is so much to see here and so much history. I could have easily spent the whole day taking photos of the headstones while looking for some Chicago’s most elite and historic people.

Yes, I understand that reviewing a cemetery borders on «creepy-​weird,» but I have a different spin… ok?
I have probably paced hundreds of miles around Graceland. My pooch and I faithfully trot the perimeter almost daily.
I use it to meditate. I find it soothing, peaceful. The clip of my steps, my trotting pup, no ipod, no talking, just breathing and walking (ok and inhaling some bus exhaust on Irving Park). A quiet loop in a chaotic world. A path so familiar I barely have to think about where I’m going… a nice change of pace, ya know?
There is something reassuring about Graceland. Unmovable. Indestructible. Forever etched in time. Some of the oldest trees, greenest grass and gnarliest wired fences around.
«The unreal is more powerful than the real, because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. because its only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. stone crumbles. wood rots. people, well, they die. but things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on.» –Chuck Palahniuk
I’d actually love to tour the interior, as morbid as that may sound. Pay homage to those that keep me company on my walks… or something like that :)