Tuesday 28 August 2012

courtyard

Behind a wood fence and through an open gate in a corner of the parking lot in front of the Marriott Hotel on Upper James Street can be found the cemetery for the Hess Street Synagogue. Why this cemetery is located roughly 5 miles away from the synagogue is a bit of a mystery, though they may have needed land that was unavailable in the lower city. This would have been a rural area at the time. One's first impression of the differences between this cemetery and the municipal and Christian cemeteries is that the plots are much closer together and all the markers face the same direction - towards the east. A second impression, on closer inspection, is that it is much more orderly with family members resting beside each other and not scattered throughout.

for a Taphophile Tragics at Hess Street Synagogue Cemetery

12 comments:

ArtandArchitecture-SF.com said...

I just love cemeteries, of any type. This one has such a delightful feel to it, very organized and peaceful. Interesting how city growth so changes the feel you get, the buildings behind just seem wrong, and yet, that is progress.

SeaThreePeeO said...

Beautiful looking cemetery.

Beneath Thy Feet

Lowell said...

It's very likely that they were forbidden to by land closer to town at the time. That one crooked monument drives me crazy. Could you go by again and straighten it?

Julie said...

Ah, but the crooked monument adds life to the image, if that is appropriate under these circumstances.

Yes, they most certainly do look closer together than even the most heavily populated cemetery here in Sydney. Here there must be a statutory size for a plot. I must research that. And the choice of marker seems relatively uniform in this cemetery. I think it is very hard to keep family members together in any cemetery, unless they purchase adjacent plots at the same time for future use. This is okay if one just purchases one extra but would be expensive if more than one was required.

The names were perhaps because many in the Jewish faith had similar surnames even though not closely related.

The distance is quizzical. A christian church would have allowed burial within the churchyard, but maybe there was an exclusive rule for Jews at that time. NO idea, really.

But your post raises some interesting issues.

hamilton said...

You may have a point - the other two Jewish cemeteries are also way out from the city (and still are in a rural setting)

that was precisely why I took this shot - it was the only crooked one I found! (though there were a few smaller broken ones from way back with unreadable inscriptions that were embedded in the grass)

hamilton said...

I have tried looking up the names but have found nothing - so far. I think the ones I found were related judging by the dates and similarities to markers. and if this were a congregational cemetery then that would make sense. It would have been a smaller community.
More research is required!

hamilton said...

even worse than the hotel is the car lot beside it. the whole time i was in there, I kept getting startled by the loudspeaker.

hamilton said...

it was quite a surprise - and so well maintained.

Paul in Powell River said...

I agree - the crooked one would have been im picture also.

VioletSky said...

this must be well hidden, I just looked it up and in all the times I have driven that road I have never noticed it before.
I wonder how the hotel guests feel about driving past this every time they enter?

Anonymous said...

It's nice that it's so well maintained, considering it's squeezed in there. Great discovery!

CaT said...

looks so crowded! i prefer the scattered stones...
and i see a hotel in the back, they have a nice view! ;)