The Graceland Cemetery
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Cemetery Regulations |
View the Graceland Cemetery Section Map |
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A visit to a cemetery should convey a feeling of warmth and beauty.
This has been the goal of the operators of Graceland Cemetery in Decatur, and is
the reason it is visited by thousands each year.
Visitors include not only relatives and friends who seek out the graves of their
loved ones, but many others who come to see the flowers, trees, and unusual
attractions in much the same way as they would visit a park.
Meandering drives are laid out in such manner as to make each section of the
cemetery readily accessible and to display to best advantage the statuary,
hedges, and other park-like features.
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The special attractions in Graceland can be described most logically in the
historical sequence of their development. The cemetery had its beginnings in
1919, when a group of Decatur and Niantic men acquired 54 acres of land on the
northwest edge of Decatur for the purpose of establishing a modern perpetual
care fund cemetery.
Development work was begun with crews that cleared the land of old buildings and
fences, built roads, and added a new fence around the tract. New drives were
laid out and extensive landscaping undertaken. The landscape policy called for
extensive use of evergreens, which are not only attractive in summer, but which
keep the cemetery green in winter and offer almost fairyland effects when laden
with snow, frost, or ice.
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Character and distinction have been given to the cemetery by development of
unusual features. First of these innovations was development in 1946 of the
Veterans Section or "Garden of Memories", for those who have served their
country in time of war, and members of their immediate families.
A second addition to the Veterans Section was developed and about two-thirds of
the 1,000 veterans buried in Graceland are in the two sections. A Field of
Honor, with a flagpole, is in the center of the veterans sections.
In 1950, two 105-millimeter howitzers were brought by truck from the Rock Island
arsenal and placed in the Field of Honor, which is 80 feet square.
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There is a circle walk of colorful Crab Orchard stone around the field pieces
and flagpole, and outside this walk are bronze plaques placed by familes of
servicemen buried overseas or lost at sea.
Memorial Day programs honoring war veterans have been held in Decatur's
cemeteries for more than 100 years. Since the late 1940's, Graceland has held
ceremonies at the Field of Honor in Graceland.
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Second of the innovations developed at Graceland was the Babyland "Isle of
Innocence". Heart-shaped, this plot is completely surrounded by drives.
At the center of the island is a bronze statue of a Dutch boy and girl created
by a Duluth sculptor. It is mounted on a Minnesota Odessa granite pedestal.
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In 1953, a white Carrara marble statue depicting Christ in the Garden of
Gethsemane was placed at the west side of the Estate Gardens.
The statue, mounted on a pyramid of three granite slabs and placed on a slightly
elevated spot of ground, is readily seen from the drives and is the most
outstanding architectural feature in the cemetery.
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The Garden Estates are in themselves a feature of the park-like layout of the
burial sections. In 1956, Section R was opened and is said to be the first in
the country to deviate from the traditional cemetery layout of graves row on
row, which places the memorial monuments directly behind each other. In Section
R, the lots are staggered and all can be seen from the drives that give access
to the sections.
Another feature of architectural artwork introduced in the cemetery was the
marble "Garden of Angels" statue in the Babyland section. It depicts boy and
girl cherubs and a dog, and is mounted on a granite pedestal in blue pearl
imported from Sweden.
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A crowning achievement at Graceland was completed for use in September, 1969.
The Star of Hope Mausoleum which, though not the largest or most elaborate, is
probably the finest in central Illinois. The middle section is in A-style
architecture, which houses a 60 feet high chapel, and its steep roof is covered
with buckingham slate.
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Two wings, 20 feet high, extend east and west from the chapel, and overall
length of the building is 322 feet. The exterior is principally of split face
Lannon stone, in a random ashlar pattern with limestone trim.
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An "eternally lighted" cross of stainless steel is mounted on the exterior of
the chapel's front wall. Interior walls are predominantly marble and the
surface is polished to a mirror finish, exposing some of nature's finest works
of art.
Potted plants and bouquets of cut flowers are always on display on handsome
tables and other suitable settings, and help establish a feeling of closeness
to nature.
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This atmosphere is added to by the V-shaped plate glass windows at the ends of
several side corridors and which offer a 180-degree view of the beautifully
landscaped surroundings. Adjacent to the Star of Hope Mausoleum are the
Valhalla sections. In the middle of the development is a large fountain that
dances with the Illinois wind. At night, it is beautifully displayed with
lights that bring a peacefulness to one's soul.