Rafters of Satin, Roofs of Stone, The Funerary Architecture of Mount Auburn Cemetery

Dedicated in 1831, Mount Auburn was the first garden cemetery in the United States. Whereas local burials had previously been conducted in constricted urban graveyards, civil or religious, nonsectarian Mount Auburn offered a rural environment of undulating hills, winding pathways and abundant plant materials.

Comprising a landscape of memory, these picturesque features mirrored the Romantic Era's evolved understanding of death. What previous generations had viewed as a passage to eternal reward or punishment had become an invitation to ceaseless slumber. Here, beneath the arching trees, nineteenth-century Bostonians erected monuments to their honored dead for the aesthetic contemplation of the living.

Addressing the distinguished buildings of the cemetery, this tour will consider a selection of its significant gates, chapels and mausolea. In their array of architectural materials and motifs, these elements present an evocative catalogue of revival styles that continues to stir reflection.

William Young
William’s lifelong interest in architectural history was sparked at an early age, growing up on the coast of Maine admiring local works by Richard Upjohn, John Calvin Stevens and McKim, Mead & White. After earning degrees in English from Boston College, he entered the Boston University graduate program in historic preservation; this led to more than two decades on the staff of the Boston Landmarks Commission, from which he retired as Director of Design Review. As an independent consultant, William now guides his clients to meet historic preservation regulations at the local, state and federal levels, while remaining active on the lecture and walking-tour circuit. His recent projects include residential renovations in the Back Bay and on Beacon Hill, and new-construction retail and life-sciences buildings on Newbury Street and in the South End. William has also served three times as a commercial juror for Traditional Building magazine's Palladio Awards, most recently in 2022.