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Description :
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Berwind Mausoleum
West Laurel Hill Cemetery
Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania
The Berwind mausoleum is a remarkably authentic adaptation of the Tower of the Winds in Athens. The only difference is the Berwind mausoleum is minus the porticos found on the original. The mausoleum sports eight frieze panels, each carved to represent one of the personified winds. In the center of the photograph, above the entry is Kaikias, the Northeast Wind; on the right, holding a oil lamp is Boreas, the North Wind and on the left holding a splay of flowers is Apeliotes, the East Wind.
The Tower of the Winds in Athens was designed to measure time by means of a water clock inside the structure and a sun dial mounted on the outside. The Berwind mausoleum, by contrast, houses only Berwinds.
The Berwind mausoleum was designed by architect Horace Trumbauer, who also designed the Berwind family’s estate, The Elms, in Newport, Rhode Island. Horace Trumbauer (1876-1938), is buried in a sarcophagus in another section of West Laurel Hill. Trumbauer was a noted architect of the early twentieth century. His buildings in Philadelphia, New York, Newport, Washington D.C. and Grosse Point, Michigan, were frequently modeled after European structures and designs.
Edward J. Berwind (1848-1936) is best described as a capitalist whose fortune was made in the coal business. As with most Capitalists, he had a number of diversified businesses. When he died in 1936, his estate was valued at 31 million dollars. |
