CLEVELAND, Ohio – If you want to visit The James A. Garfield Memorial in Lake View Cemetery, get there before 4 p.m., Sunday, June 18. When the monument closes that evening, it will remain closed until spring 2024. That’s because the third and final phase of the tower’s renovations begin Monday, June 19.
The Garfield Memorial, which looks like a small castle rising from a hill in the 154-year-old Lake View Cemetery, is on the edge of Cleveland’s Little Italy neighborhood. A circular tower, built of Ohio sandstone in 1890, rises 180 feet from a stone terrace.
Stained-glass windows filter light into Memorial Hall where a sculpture of the Moreland Hills-born, 20th president stands. In the basement crypt are the bronze caskets of Garfield and his wife, Lucretia Garfield.
The final renovations are focused on sealing the building to prevent leaks into the crypt area. Work includes removing the 20 stone steps that lead to the memorial’s terrace as well as removing cement pavers on the terraces.
Then, new roofing materials will be applied to prevent water leakage. The terrace will be restored, and the steps put back into place. A new railing – one that matches the building’s architecture – will be installed on the steps. All contractors and materials used in the project are from Ohio.
“People can still look at the exterior of the building,” says Kathy Goss, president and CEO at Lake View. Storyboards and guides will tell the story of renovations and history.
Other attractions in the cemetery, such as the Louis Comfort Tiffany-designed Wade Memorial Chapel, will remain open. The gardens and horticultural highlights will remain worthy of a visit as well.
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