Tales from the Crypts: Mausoleums of Mt. Hope Cemetery (w/ ASL interpreter) (April 2020)

The mausoleum's in Rochester's Mount Hope Cemetery are a unique and integral aspect of cemetery's physical, historical and cultural landscape, offering examples of different structural types and employing a diverse array of architectural styles. Each of the cemetery’s 85 mausoleums has its own story. In this presentation, Chris Grooms explores a selection of these structures and highlights their significance. Philanthropists, artists, inventors, mayors, entrepreneurs, and everyday Rochesterians commissioned mausoleums to help secure their legacies. The Mourning in the Morning series is a joint program of the Friends of Mount Hope and the Central Library of Rochester & Monroe County Local History & Genealogy Division. This session was streamed live on Zoom on April 11, 2020. Includes ASL interpreters. Chris Grooms joined the Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery after relocating to Rochester in the summer of 2017. In the summer of 2018 he became a volunteer for the Friends, serving primarily as a tour guide. He has since joined the board of trustees and has focused his efforts on revitalizing the North Entrance Gatehouse as well as researching and advocating for the preservation and maintenance of the cemetery’s mausoleums and 1862 chapel. Chris is a Nationally Certified Sign Language Interpreter who loves history and enjoys traveling, reading, and meandering walks in historic cemeteries.