Bohemian National Cemetery

It was a beautiful sunny, not too hot, day in Chicago so Allison and I went to the historic Bohemian National Cemetery on Chicago's north side.

We were on the search for a family mausoleum (Like this one for former Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak) we've heard about over the years. The office gave us a list of family gravesites but we never came across a mausoleum. I feel a bit misled. We did find five family tombstones though.

This statue is "Mother." According to the cemetery's web site, Renowned Czech-American sculptor Albin Polasek was commissioned by the cemetery association to produce the statue for the cemetery's 50th anniversary in 1927.

This is the Civil War Veterans Memorial.

This is the Chicago Cubs Columbarium added to the cemetery in 2009.

This statue is called The Pilgrim and it's pretty creepy. It has a face but you can't really see it, even up close. From Roadside America: "This sinister bronze by Albin Polasek is one of the highlights of Bohemian National Cemetery. Larger than life, 'The Pilgrim' is caught mid-stride, headed toward the Stejskal Mausoleum. If you dare to peek beneath the hood, the statue is clearly a depiction of a woman. Legend has it that if she ever reaches her destination and enters the mausoleum doors, Doomsday has arrived."

This is the Eastland Disaster memorial. We were a little disappointed that it wasn't more elaborate. The section the memorial is in opened just before the boat tipped over in the Chicago River on July 24, 1915, and apparently sold out to bury the victims.