Doorway to Eternity: Part 16

The Colma Necropolis is located outside of San Francisco and is a vast city of souls for about 1.5 million people sleep within the gates of its sixteen cemeteries. Although the Necropolis was founded in 1924, entire church graveyards and neighborhood cemeteries predating the 1900s were relocated to Colma, from San Francisco.

Today, the cemeteries contain burial grounds, columbaria, private and public mausoleums, chapels and a treasure trove of hidden art. Within the gates of the various cemeteries can be found priceless stained glass windows, hand carved monuments, and beautifully engraved metal doorways into private mausoleums. Several of the hand engraved private mausoleum doors captivated me with their intricate beauty & spiritual symbolism. During a recent visit to the Necropolis I captured several images of them, which I will be posting.

In essence the doors were made to be portals into spirit, doorways into eternity and entrances to private chambers, where loved ones could find consolation.  Many of the crypts are deteriorating with age and much of the beauty Tiffany glass has disappeared sadly due to theft. My visit was a rare opportunity to view the vanishing art of the Necropolis and an opportunity to share what I found with others. Although this is funeral art; in the end it is simply art with the capability of transcending death.

Door to Eternity: Part 15

The Colma Necropolis is located outside of San Francisco and is a vast city of souls for about 1.5 million people sleep within the gates of its sixteen cemeteries. Although the Necropolis was founded in 1924, entire church graveyards and neighborhood cemeteries predating the 1900s were relocated to Colma, from San Francisco.

Today, the cemeteries contain burial grounds, columbaria, private and public mausoleums, chapels and a treasure trove of hidden art. Within the gates of the various cemeteries can be found priceless stained glass windows, hand carved monuments, and beautifully engraved metal doorways into private mausoleums. Several of the hand engraved private mausoleum doors captivated me with their intricate beauty & spiritual symbolism. During a recent visit to the Necropolis I captured several images of them, which I will be posting.

In essence the doors were made to be portals into spirit, doorways into eternity and entrances to private chambers, where loved ones could find consolation.  Many of the crypts are deteriorating with age and much of the beauty Tiffany glass has disappeared sadly due to theft. My visit was a rare opportunity to view the vanishing art of the Necropolis and an opportunity to share what I found with others. Although this is funeral art; in the end it is simply art with the capability of transcending death.

Door to Eternity: Part 14

The Colma Necropolis is located outside of San Francisco and is a vast city of souls for about 1.5 million people sleep within the gates of its sixteen cemeteries. Although the Necropolis was founded in 1924, entire church graveyards and neighborhood cemeteries predating the 1900s were relocated to Colma, from San Francisco.

Today, the cemeteries contain burial grounds, columbaria, private and public mausoleums, chapels and a treasure trove of hidden art. Within the gates of the various cemeteries can be found priceless stained glass windows, hand carved monuments, and beautifully engraved metal doorways into private mausoleums. Several of the hand engraved private mausoleum doors captivated me with their intricate beauty & spiritual symbolism. During a recent visit to the Necropolis I captured several images of them, which I will be posting.

In essence the doors were made to be portals into spirit, doorways into eternity and entrances to private chambers, where loved ones could find consolation.  Many of the crypts are deteriorating with age and much of the beauty Tiffany glass has disappeared sadly due to theft. My visit was a rare opportunity to view the vanishing art of the Necropolis and an opportunity to share what I found with others. Although this is funeral art; in the end it is simply art with the capability of transcending death.

Persephone in the Underworld: Part 12

This is opalescent glass in the Great Mausoleum of Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, California. It was made by Louis Comfort Tiffany, Harry and Bert Hopps, Frederick S. Lamb or Charles J. Connick before World War I. The Cypress Lawn Collection comprises one of the largest displays of opalescent glass in the United States. This somber paradises sparkles like Persephone in an underworld of jewels and colors. This is part 1, of a twelve part series that I am posting on Princess Haiku 2014-2015. Enjoy! It wasn't easy venturing into The Great Mausoleum and peering into tombs, but I wanted to capture some of this beauty before it disappears. Priceless glass, monuments and other funeral art is disappearing from cemeteries across the United States and represents a valuable heritage of art. It is my hope that historical societies will do all that is possible to preserve and save that which is still intact.

Door to Eternity: Part 13

The Colma Necropolis is located outside of San Francisco and is a vast city of souls for about 1.5 million people sleep within the gates of its sixteen cemeteries. Although the Necropolis was founded in 1924, entire church graveyards and neighborhood cemeteries predating the 1900s were relocated to Colma, from San Francisco.

Today, the cemeteries contain burial grounds, columbaria, private and public mausoleums, chapels and a treasure trove of hidden art. Within the gates of the various cemeteries can be found priceless stained glass windows, hand carved monuments, and beautifully engraved metal doorways into private mausoleums. Several of the hand engraved private mausoleum doors captivated me with their intricate beauty & spiritual symbolism. During a recent visit to the Necropolis I captured several images of them, which I will be posting.

In essence the doors were made to be portals into spirit, doorways into eternity and entrances to private chambers, where loved ones could find consolation.  Many of the crypts are deteriorating with age and much of the beauty Tiffany glass has disappeared sadly due to theft. My visit was a rare opportunity to view the vanishing art of the Necropolis and an opportunity to share what I found with others. Although this is funeral art; in the end it is simply art with the capability of transcending death.

Door to Eternity: Part 12

The Colma Necropolis is located outside of San Francisco and is a vast city of souls for about 1.5 million people sleep within the gates of its sixteen cemeteries. Although the Necropolis was founded in 1924, entire church graveyards and neighborhood cemeteries predating the 1900s were relocated to Colma, from San Francisco.

Today, the cemeteries contain burial grounds, columbaria, private and public mausoleums, chapels and a treasure trove of hidden art. Within the gates of the various cemeteries can be found priceless stained glass windows, hand carved monuments, and beautifully engraved metal doorways into private mausoleums. Several of the hand engraved private mausoleum doors captivated me with their intricate beauty & spiritual symbolism. During a recent visit to the Necropolis I captured several images of them, which I will be posting.

In essence the doors were made to be portals into spirit, doorways into eternity and entrances to private chambers, where loved ones could find consolation.  Many of the crypts are deteriorating with age and much of the beauty Tiffany glass has disappeared sadly due to theft. My visit was a rare opportunity to view the vanishing art of the Necropolis and an opportunity to share what I found with others. Although this is funeral art; in the end it is simply art with the capability of transcending death.

Persephone in the Underworld: Part 11

This is opalescent glass in the Great Mausoleum of Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, California. It was made by Louis Comfort Tiffany, Harry and Bert Hopps, Frederick S. Lamb or Charles J. Connick before World War I. The Cypress Lawn Collection comprises one of the largest displays of opalescent glass in the United States. This somber paradises sparkles like Persephone in an underworld of jewels and colors. This is part 1, of a twelve part series that I am posting on Princess Haiku 2014-2015. Enjoy! It wasn't easy venturing into The Great Mausoleum and peering into tombs, but I wanted to capture some of this beauty before it disappears. Priceless glass, monuments and other funeral art is disappearing from cemeteries across the United States and represents a valuable heritage of art. It is my hope that historical societies will do all that is possible to preserve and save that which is still intact.

Door to Eternity: Part 11

The Colma Necropolis is located outside of San Francisco and is a vast city of souls for about 1.5 million people sleep within the gates of its sixteen cemeteries. Although the Necropolis was founded in 1924, entire church graveyards and neighborhood cemeteries predating the 1900s were relocated to Colma, from San Francisco.

Today, the cemeteries contain burial grounds, columbaria, private and public mausoleums, chapels and a treasure trove of hidden art. Within the gates of the various cemeteries can be found priceless stained glass windows, hand carved monuments, and beautifully engraved metal doorways into private mausoleums. Several of the hand engraved private mausoleum doors captivated me with their intricate beauty & spiritual symbolism. During a recent visit to the Necropolis I captured several images of them, which I will be posting.

In essence the doors were made to be portals into spirit, doorways into eternity and entrances to private chambers, where loved ones could find consolation.  Many of the crypts are deteriorating with age and much of the beauty Tiffany glass has disappeared sadly due to theft. My visit was a rare opportunity to view the vanishing art of the Necropolis and an opportunity to share what I found with others. Although this is funeral art; in the end it is simply art with the capability of transcending death.

Door to Eternity: Part 10

The Colma Necropolis is located outside of San Francisco and is a vast city of souls for about 1.5 million people sleep within the gates of its sixteen cemeteries. Although the Necropolis was founded in 1924, entire church graveyards and neighborhood cemeteries predating the 1900s were relocated to Colma, from San Francisco.

Today, the cemeteries contain burial grounds, columbaria, private and public mausoleums, chapels and a treasure trove of hidden art. Within the gates of the various cemeteries can be found priceless stained glass windows, hand carved monuments, and beautifully engraved metal doorways into private mausoleums. Several of the hand engraved private mausoleum doors captivated me with their intricate beauty & spiritual symbolism. During a recent visit to the Necropolis I captured several images of them, which I will be posting.

In essence the doors were made to be portals into spirit, doorways into eternity and entrances to private chambers, where loved ones could find consolation.  Many of the crypts are deteriorating with age and much of the beauty Tiffany glass has disappeared sadly due to theft. My visit was a rare opportunity to view the vanishing art of the Necropolis and an opportunity to share what I found with others. Although this is funeral art; in the end it is simply art with the capability of transcending death.

Persephone in the Underworld: Part 8

This is opalescent glass in the Great Mausoleum of Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, California. It was made by Louis Comfort Tiffany, Harry and Bert Hopps, Frederick S. Lamb or Charles J. Connick before World War I. The Cypress Lawn Collection comprises one of the largest displays of opalescent glass in the United States. This somber paradises sparkles like Persephone in an underworld of jewels and colors. This is part 1, of a twelve part series that I am posting on Princess Haiku 2014-2015. Enjoy! It wasn't easy venturing into The Great Mausoleum and peering into tombs, but I wanted to capture some of this beauty before it disappears. Priceless glass, monuments and other funeral art is disappearing from cemeteries across the United States and represents a valuable heritage of art. It is my hope that historical societies will do all that is possible to preserve and save that which is still intact.

Persephone in the Underworld: Part 7

Door to Eternity: Part 8

 The Colma Necropolis is located outside of San Francisco and is a vast city of souls for about 1.5 million people sleep within the gates of its sixteen cemeteries. Although the Necropolis was founded in 1924, entire church graveyards and neighborhood cemeteries predating the 1900s were relocated to Colma, from San Francisco.

Today, the cemeteries contain burial grounds, columbaria, private and public mausoleums chapels and a treasure trove of hidden art. Within the gates of the various cemeteries can be found priceless stained glass windows, hand carved monuments, and beautifully engraved metal doorways into private mausoleums. Several of the hand engraved private mausoleum doors captivated me with their intricate beauty & spiritual symbolism. During a recent visit to the Necropolis I captured several images of them, which I will be posting.

In essence the doors were made to be portals into spirit, doorways into eternity and entrances to private chambers, where loved ones could find consolation.  Many of the crypts are deteriorating with age and much of the beauty Tiffany glass has disappeared sadly due to theft. My visit was a rare opportunity to view the vanishing art of the Necropolis and an opportunity to share what I found with others. Although this is funeral art; in the end it is simply art with the capability of transcending death.

Persephone in the Underworld: Part 6

This is opalescent glass in the Great Mausoleum of Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, California. It was made by Louis Comfort Tiffany, Harry and Bert Hopps, Frederick S. Lamb or Charles J. Connick before World War I. The Cypress Lawn Collection comprises one of the largest displays of opalescent glass in the United States. This somber paradises sparkles like Persephone in an underworld of jewels and colors. This is part 1, of a twelve part series that I am posting on Princess Haiku 2014-2015. Enjoy! It wasn't easy venturing into The Great Mausoleum and peering into tombs, but I wanted to capture some of this beauty before it disappears. Priceless glass, monuments and other funeral art is disappearing from cemeteries across the United States and represents a valuable heritage of art. It is my hope that historical societies will do all that is possible to preserve and save that which is still intact.