Today’s mystery looks like a chapel, church or cathedral, with classical lines. But is this trying to throw you off? Start your search, and give us your thoughts about this photograph. Send your answers to elliott@brack.net and include your hometown.
The previous Mystery Photo has people placing it in many locations, from New Orleans, to Phoenix and in parts of South American. But as Michelle Scott, Covington said: “It’s Colon Cemetery in Havana, Cuba. The one archway mausoleum was very unique. It’s beautiful!”
The photograph came from Rick Krause of Lilburn.
Several others nailed it, including Mark Smith, Eatonton; Jay Altman, Columbia, S.C.; George Graf, Palmyra, Va.; Fran Worrall, Lawrenceville; and Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill, who said: “This is the Necropolis Cristobal Colon in Vedado, Havana, Cuba. (Also called El Cementerio de Christobal Colon and the Christopher Columbus Cemetery.) Spanish architect Calixto de Loira designed the layout of the cemetery but died before it was complete. He became its first occupant. Founded in 1876, this cemetery is considered by some to be one of the largest historical cemeteries in the world with more than a million people interments. Laid out almost like little cities, this primarily Catholic cemetery actually designates the rank and social status of the dead. There is even a place designated for the pagans and condemned.
Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. added: Built between 1871 and 1886, the cemetery was named after Christopher Columbus. There are more than 800,000 graves and one million interments at the cemetery, which contains over 500 major mausoleums, chapels, and family vaults, with styles running from renaissance to neoclassical to art deco. It is considered by many to be one of the greatest historical cemeteries in the world.
“Despite being 150-acres in size, the cemetery is still operational and therefore space is at a premium due to the 1-million “residents” that currently reside there. As a result, remains are removed after only three years of internment; they are then boxed up and put into storage in order to make room for new burials.”
75-foot-tall memorial to firefighters who died in a disastrous citywide fire in 1890; mausolea for various trade and professional organizations; special monuments dedicated to two baseball players, a chess champion, and a domino player; and the burial sites of a number of poets, filmmakers and musicians, including Ibrahim Ferrer Planas of the original Buena Vista Social Club. One can also find the abandoned and unmaintained tombs and chapels of families now living in exile. The cemetery, which is located in the heart of the city, is widely considered to be among the best monumental architectural cemeteries in the world.
SHARE A MYSTERY PHOTO: If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Send to: elliott@brack.net and mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
A beauty: Perhaps it’s the good rainfall that this rhododendron has had this year, but isn’t it blooming out beautifully? Other flowering plants are also looking good. And this weekend the forecast is for more rainy weather. Hope the baseball teams have some sunshine in periods between the rains.
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