Lakewood Cemetery Memorial Chapel, Minneapolis

The Memorial Chapel at Lakewood Cemetery (3600 Hennepin Avenue) in Minneapolis is one of the few buildings that can claim to be modeled after two World Heritage Sites. Its exterior, designed by architect Harry Wild Jones, was inspired by the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Its interior was designed by J&R Lamb Studios of New York and drew inspiration from St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice.

In 1908, Lakewood Cemetery Association hired local architect Harry Wild Jones to design a chapel for its grounds. A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Jones had already designed buildings around the world in various styles. Because the chapel needed to house a crematorium and a columbarium (urn storage room), which were relatively new building types, Jones visited crematoria in five Western cities as part of his planning process.

Lakewood Association members took the fairly unusual approach of awarding a separate design contract for the building’s interior finishes. They chose J&R Lamb Studios, a decorative arts company that specialized in ecclesiastical architecture as well as furnishings, metalwork, stained glass, mosaic, and sculpture. The studio was headed by Charles R. Lamb, a well-known architect, city planner, and decorative designer. Its creative team included Ella Condie Lamb (Lamb’s wife), who was herself a highly accomplished designer of murals and mosaic tile installations.

Lamb recruited six skilled mosaic artisans from Italy to fabricate over ten million pieces of marble, colored stone, and glass for the chapel. These were placed on gummed cloth and brought to Minneapolis for installation, a process that took nearly three years. An arts journal later declared that Lamb’s work at Lakewood “shows quite conclusively that Byzantine vaulting and Byzantine decoration constitute the best treatment for a chapel.” Another writer described the chapel as having “the most perfect example of Byzantine mosaic art in the United States.” Credit for the project was variously ascribed to its architect (Jones) and its interior designer (Lamb). Although critics praised the work by Lamb Studios, they often overlooked Ella’s significant contribution. She did receive recognition, however, from the New York Herald, which in 1911 dubbed her “The Mistress of Mosaic.”

Jones based the architecture of the chapel on a Greek cross plan, modified at the crossing with transept-like extensions running north (and, later, south). At the center of the crossing is a floor panel that can be opened to lower a casket by hydraulic lift to the crematorium in the basement. The chapel is topped with a double dome consisting of an exterior structural roof and an interior decorative ceiling suspended approximately three feet below the exterior shell. As was the tradition with Byzantine architecture, the apse (the section behind the altar) is located on the east side of the building. Light from the clerestory windows in the dome streams across the colorful mosaics throughout the day, creating a shimmering and glowing effect described as “a sundial of masterful proportions.”

Every part of the building’s design is layered with symbolism. The dome rests on four arches sitting on a base that forms a square. The circle has historically been seen as a symbol of heaven, particularly when found in a dome; the square has traditionally represented earth. Combining the two symbolically creates a sacred space. The dome is decorated with twelve angel figures representing departing spirits. Four of the angels, located at the four points of the compass, hold red roses symbolizing the four corners of the earth.

The transition from the circular dome to the square floor area was completed with curved triangular wall sections at the four corners, known as pendentives. Here, the Lambs placed four circular mosaic portraits of seated women representing Faith, Hope, Memory, and Love. Mosaic geometric patterns adorn most of the other surfaces of the Chapel.

Because of the working crematorium in the basement, the architect opted for fire-safety reasons to use virtually no wood, nails, varnish or paint. The building exterior is constructed with pink ashlar granite layered in alternating widths, and features a red tile dome. Brick segmental arches support the interior floors and roof. There are virtually no flat ceilings in the building, as all horizontal surfaces are vaulted.

A 1996 renovation updated the chapel’s mechanical systems and added an expanded crematory designed by the architects Brooks Borg Skiles of Des Moines, Iowa. These additions are located below grade and covered with landscaping. The building, which can seat two hundred visitors, continues to be used for funeral and memorial services. It also hosts musical performances and other cultural activities for the general public.

Editor’s note: The writer of this entry thanks George F. Cook III (the great-grandson of the original contractor of the Lakewood Chapel, George Cook), Julie Carpenter, and the staff of Lakewood Cemetery for their assistance.