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Montrose
Cemetery
was founded by Andrew Kircher in 1902. Today,
it is still owned and operated by his descendants.
At
the turn of the century, Mr. Kircher had opened
a funeral home in the heart of Chicago's German
Town Community. Then in 1902, he decided to enter
the Cemetery business by buying and developing
what was then prairie land. This property was
well on the outskirts of Chicago. His foresight
and pioneer spirit proved Mr. Kircher to be a
man of vision and one of Chicago's pioneers.
The
Landscape Gardener chosen to design the grounds
at Montrose was O.C. Simonds & Co. They had
been established as the best and most respected
in the industry.
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Name
A Star For Your Loved One |
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A
Chapel graces the sixty acre property. It was
constructed in 1912. The architect, Mr. Prather,
worked closely with Mr. Kircher to capture his
dream. The design was to closely copy the ancient
buildings at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.
The face of the building has classical dimensions
and design. It is on the twin, pillared porches
that he made accomodations for crypts. One enters
the building through double bronze doors. Inside,
a small ante room serves as an ashes niche room.
From there one enters a large, three-story main
room which is graced with enormous windows that
allow the magnificent trees outside to frame the
room inside. The ceiling is a grid of recessed
wood panels lightly stained to match the pews.
The walls are antiqued to add to the feeling of
serenity and peace. A mauve colored wall-to-wall
carpet completes the tone, leaving one with a
quiet feeling of warmth. The Chapel can be rented
for services. Although Mr. Kircher had no way
of knowing that cremation would become so popular,
he had two retorts built into the chapel. Today
there are three retorts at Montrose. |
| Everyone
is welcomed |
| Montrose
Cemetery has always embraced a broad and diverse
clientelle.Mr. Kircher may have been of German
heritage, but he always adhered to a policy of
'Everyone is Welcomed'. Today, that philosophy
is stil practiced and can be seen throughout the
cemetery. Montrose remains a non-sectarian Cemetery.
Among some of the cultures represented with us
are Japanese, German, Assyrian, Serbian, Korean,
Russian and many more. In the 1930s, a small prewar
Japanese community existed in the Chicago area.
The leaders of that community formed the Japanese
Mutual Aid Society of Chicago, which is active
today.This society helps make burial arrangements
for their members. A bond was forged between |
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Montrose
and the Japanese Mutual Aid Society in 1930 which remains
strong today. Every year, hundreds of Chicago Japanese gather
at Montrose to celebrate their heritage and honor their
loved ones.
One
of the most visited monuments at Montrose is dedicated to
the Iroquois Theater Fire. On December 30, 1903, fire swept
through the brand new theater at Randolph and Dearborn.
There were 602 casualties. Only one was buried at Montrose,
a small girl. Five years later, when Mr. Kircher realized
that no memorial had been erected to memorialize the tragedy,
he took it upon himself to do so.
Mr.
Kircher was a businessman who also had a heart. It was with
great compassion that he donated burial land for those who
died in the influenza epidemic of 1918. He knew too many
were at need and too few had the resources.
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Today,
in keeping with our founding father's ideology, Montrose chooses
to honor the fallen heroes of today by offering a free burial
lot to Chicago Police officers and Fire Fighters who perish
in the line of duty.
The
sixty acre property is located on Chicago's north side. The
address is 5400 N. Pulaski Road, Chicago, Illinois 60630-1706.
It is south of Bryn Mar and north of Foster, on the west side
of the street.
Our
phone number is (773) 478-5400.
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