Like many Chicagoans, I devoured the book Devil in the White City. The author presents a unique view of Chicago history by intertwining the story of the 1893 World’s Fair along with the story of serial killer HH Holmes. Hopped up on Illinois history, I learned that many of Chicago’s historical figures are resting at Chicago’s Graceland Cemetery, which is located in Irving Park, just a few blocks north of Wrigley Field. If you are interested in history, architecture, or are just looking for free things to do in Chicago, make sure that Graceland Cemetery is on your Chicago itinerary!
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Graceland Cemetery History
Graceland Cemetery was established in 1860 by Thomas Bryan, a lawyer who served as director of the 1893 World’s Fair. Along with several landscape architects, including Ossian Simonds. It’s known as the Cemetery of Architects, and many of Chicago’s early prominent citizens are buried here. If you’ve spent any time in Chicago, you’ll recognize many famous names. Chicago architecture legends, lumber merchants and hoteliers like Marshall Field, Potter Palmer, George Pullman, Cyrus McCormick, and Louis Armour are all buried (or entombed) here. You will also see the work of famous architects such as Louis Sullivan, Mies Van der Roe, and sculptor Lorado Taft.
These are some of my favorite spots at Graceland Cemetery Chicago. I think you’ll see why this is one of the coolest cemeteries in Chicago!
The Pullman neighborhood on the South Side is now a National Park historical site which you can also visit and tour.
Chicago Cemetery Tours
This is just a small sample of the variety of architecture and design that you’ll find at Chicago’s Graceland Cemetery. The Chicago Architecture Foundation offers tours of Graceland Cemetery, and they also have a great book that is available, as it gives a ton more information than the free pamphlet at the entrance, and is a nice souvenir from your visit. It is available for $10 at the Graceland office, or from the Chicago Architecture Foundation at 224 South Michigan Avenue.
Browse Chicago Cemetery Tours at Viator
Getting to Graceland Cemetery Chicago
Chicago’s Graceland Cemetery can be reached via public transportation, by taking the CTA Red Line to Sheridan and walking a 1/2 mile West. The cemetery is rather large, so wear comfortable shoes or drive. If you are driving, be sure to check the Cubs schedule as traffic in the area will be awful if the 2016 World Series Champions are playing at home! (Same goes for taking the red line, actually)
Check out my Chicago neighborhoods guide to find the best area to stay in Chicago!
Wow, that’s one cemetery filled with history! With illness and crazy weather I wasn’t able to visit Annie Oakley’s gravesite which was my original intent.I love that I could share about the Randolph Slaves buried in Jackson Cemetery in Ohio!
I am really fascinated by cemeteries. I think they are definitely worth a visit when you are traveling. I stumbled upon one when I was in Lisbon and I had to spend time exploring it. Thanks for sharing on #TheWeeklyPostcard.
Wow! I didn’t even know how fascinating and full of history visiting cemeteries could be. The gravestones and mausoleums are beautifully designed by loved ones who care so much. I will bookmark this for my next visit to Chicago.
Graceland Cemetery reminds me somewhat of Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires: monumental tombs. I have a fascination for old cemeteries like this. I should add this one to my list too.
I would love to visit Buenos Aires!
Wow this looks like such a beautiful cemetery. I have never been to Chicago but it sounds like quite the interesting spot to visit during a trip there. I will have to keep it in mind.
I hope you get to visit Chicago sometime – it’s a really fun city!
Oh wow this looks amazing. So much history & the tombs are so elaborate!
Yes, there is some interesting architecture here for sure!
I didn’t even know how full of history visiting cemeteries could be. It’s fascinating ! Graceland has a park feel as you wander through the beautiful landscaped grounds. It holds fascinating stories public figures, baseball and boxing greats, merchants and inventors 🙂
So you’ve been there! There are so many more than what I was able to list here, it’s definitely worth a visit!
Very cool cemetery! While I don’t consider these sightseeing destinations as I respect them too much, I did visit my first in Louisville which was really cool to see the tombstones and monuments. So much history can be found here! Thanks for linking up with #TheWeeklyPostcard!
That is a great point – Graceland feels like a park, but it is the resting place of many.
This is so interesting! I never really thought about visiting cemeteries until a recent trip to New Orleans (where of course you have to visit them). And I LOVE Devil in the White City! #theweeklypostcard
It’s definitely a New Orleans thing, not so much in Chicago, but I’m glad I found out about this place!
Wow, this cemetery looks a lot different from what I’m used to seeing at cemeteries. A lot of those tombs look like works of art!
It’s definitely unique for this area!
Somehow, we rarely include cemeteries on our Things To Do list when planning our travels. That includes Graceland, though we have driven past it, intrigued with the architecture and the beautiful grounds. Maybe we’ll actually stop and explore on our next trip to Chicago. Thanks for sharing on #TheWeeklyPostcard!
I don’t usually either, but that’s the benefit of exploring your hometown 🙂 If you’ve done all the tourist stuff in Chicago, this is a great spot to visit when you come back!
I can’t believe the beautiful ornate tombs. Our cemeteries here in Perth don’t have any elaborate tombs even for people who made a huge impact on creating our city.
Interesting! This is pretty unique to Chicago, and some famous people have very understated tombs.
Graceland is one of the best Chicago cemeteries. You can spend all day there..
As a young kid in the late ’50s… I had a job at Graceland cutting grass. My mother and father as well as his father are buried in Graceland. It is a beautiful cemetery and sometimes a little eerie I used to climb the wall late at night and watch a mausoleum surrounded by water. For it was said, ” spirits ” danced around the mausoleum.
Thanks for the memory!!