Greenwood Cemetery Mausoleum: Lancaster’s Egyptian-Inspired Westminster Abbey

High atop the rolling grounds of Greenwood Cemetery stands a monument so unexpected that it seems transported from another world. The structure rises from the hilltop like a relic from ancient Egypt: massive, silent, and commanding. Two granite sphinxes guard the entrance, and the mausoleum’s sheer scale—140 feet long, 40 feet wide, and 40 feet tall—gives it the presence of a forgotten temple. Visitors who wander toward the cemetery’s highest point often describe the same moment of disbelief as the building comes into view, for the mausoleum resembles something meant for the banks of the Nile rather than the quiet crest above the Conestoga.

When it was dedicated in October 1915, Lancaster newspapers could scarcely restrain their awe. One writer declared that a first glimpse “causes one’s thought to leap to old Egypt,” and the mausoleum’s design supports the comparison. Architect C. Emlen Urban, the force behind many of Lancaster’s grandest buildings, oversaw a project that drew inspiration from the architectural vocabulary of ancient antiquity, shaping a funerary monument that symbolized permanence and dignity. The creation included an exterior of polished granite, a bronze-doored entrance framed by heavy stonework, and a tower rising above five slender pillars. Behind the pillars, stained glass glows with images of wreaths and inverted torches. In funerary symbolism, the downward torch represents the end of earthly life, yet when a flame is present, it also signifies the Christian belief in resurrection. This incorporated both ideas, allowing viewers to interpret the symbol according to faith or philosophy.

At the entrance, the two stone sphinxes sit in solemn repose. Their imagery blends traditions from Egypt and Greece. The Greek sphinx was female and often portrayed as a guardian whose riddles stood between a traveler and danger. The Egyptian sphinx was typically male and seen as a protective figure associated with royalty and divine power. The design’s pairing creates a threshold guarded by mythic watchers, as if the mausoleum were a gate between this world and the next.

Stepping inside, visitors would once have entered an interior finished entirely in Vermont marble, with frescoed ceilings and soft light filtering through stained glass. Two central windows depicted Christ welcoming the soul to rest and the flowing River of Life. The building’s longitudinal aisles were ten feet wide and lined with 360 individual marble crypts, each sealed by a stone slab ready for inscription. Ten family compartments stood at the intersections of the corridors, secured behind bronze doors and grills. According to the 1915 dedication report, the mausoleum contained no crypt numbered 13, a nod to superstition even in an age fascinated by scientific progress.

Ventilation was addressed with quiet precision. Each crypt had its own system of inlets and outlets to maintain airflow, and chloride of lime was added to prevent unpleasant odors. These innovations reflected the early twentieth century’s desire to merge aesthetics with technology in creating sanitary, long-lasting spaces for the dead. Crypts cost between $200 and $300 at the time, equivalent to roughly $5,000 to $7,500 today. Many were purchased by prominent Lancaster families who wished to secure a dignified and permanent resting place.

The mausoleum quickly earned the nickname “Lancaster’s Westminster Abbey,” both for its prominence and its function as a repository for the remains of the city’s leading citizens. From its hilltop position, it commands a sweeping view over Greenwood Cemetery and the valley carved by the Conestoga River. The location is not accidental. Nineteenth-century cemetery design often sought the highest elevation available, reinforcing ideas of spiritual ascent, lasting remembrance, and the separation of burial grounds from the bustle of everyday life.

Greenwood Cemetery, itself dating to 1895, covers 48 acres. Its stone gatehouse, chapel, and crematorium speak to the ways Lancaster’s communities shaped sacred landscapes during the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. The crematorium, built in 1884, is the second oldest in the country and the first open to the general public. While no longer in use, it stands as a reminder of the era’s shifting attitudes toward burial and memorialization. The mausoleum emerged within this climate of architectural ambition, civic pride, and a fascination with ancient cultures.

More than a century later, the structure remains remarkably intact. The granite blocks look much as they did in 1915. The sphinxes continue to hold their silent vigil protecting the crypts within. Unfortunately, locked doors secure the interior. Its oversized keyhole affords a narrow view, which is the closest most will come to seeing the interior. Because of this, most visitors today can only imagine what secrets the marble halls might hold inside.

There is something quietly haunting about encountering a building that looks—and feels—like a displaced fragment of the ancient world. Yet the mausoleum is wholly rooted in Lancaster’s history. It reflects the city’s architectural evolution, the aspirations of its early twentieth-century leaders, and its long tradition of honoring the dead with beauty and permanence. Greenwood’s mausoleum is a place where memory and myth touch, and where a local hilltop briefly becomes a stage for a monument that would not look out of place among the ruins of an empire.

Did You Know?

Greenwood’s mausoleum has a near identical twin across the Susquehanna River in York, Pennsylvania. At Prospect Hill Cemetery, a similarly imposing Egyptian-Revival community mausoleum was also completed in 1915, featuring its own pair of sphinxes and glowing stained-glass windows by the Rudy Brothers. Both structures share parent company American Mausoleum Company patents. Unlike Greenwood, whose doors remain locked, Prospect Hill offers guided tours of its mausoleum, giving visitors a rare chance to step inside a building of this era. For more information, visit ProspectHill.org.

Planning Your Visit

Greenwood Cemetery is located at 719 Highland Avenue in Lancaster and is open daily from dawn to dusk. The mausoleum stands at the cemetery’s highest point, and you can reach it by following the central drive uphill to the Buchanan Section, where its granite tower and sphinxes soon come into view. The building remains locked, so exploration is limited to the exterior, but the site offers excellent photography opportunities and peaceful surroundings for reflection.

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Greenwood Cemetery is owned by Everstory Partners. For more information about the cemetery, click here.

Learn More

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Packed with history, local stories, and GPS locations, this book is your ticket to exploring the mysterious corners of Lancaster like never before. Whether you’re a lifelong local, a history buff, or just looking for a unique adventure, this field guide will spark your curiosity and send you exploring. Start your adventure here.

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Resources

• 5 places to visit in Lancaster
• Sphinxes, other Egyptian Revival features found in Lancaster County cemetery, school [architecture column, photos]
• Lancaster New Era Saturday, October 2, 1915
• Lancaster Daily Intelligencer Sat, Jan 25, 1913 ·Page 13
• Resurrecting cemeteries: Woodward Hill
• Funerary Symbolism – The Inverted Torch
• Sphinx