Was looking for something and this was on a page

[Donna]

Abandoned Cemetery in New York

Abandoned Spooky Cemetery Chapel

Rochester, New York: Built in the early 1800s, Mt. Hope Cemetery was the first munipical cemetery in the United States with graves older than the official graveyard itself. Such famous persons as Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglas are among those buried there in everything from lawn crypts and columbariums to family mausoleums. It seems strange, then, that the chapel at such an historically significant location would be abandoned to the elements, though it remains elegant even in its disrepair.

I bumped into this a few times on the net....and it had nothing to do with what I was searching for. 

[Bird Crazy]

Why would they let it get this way its beautiful in a totally gothic sort of way. 

[valhalla]

I love old cemeterys and the history surrounding them can be quite interesting.  I forget the name of the cemetery in Yonkers, NY, but it is still in use and has a section that dates back to the original American Indians. 

[Kris G.]

Abandoned Cemetery in New York

Abandoned Spooky Cemetery Chapel

Rochester, New York: Built in the early 1800s, Mt. Hope Cemetery was the first munipical cemetery in the United States with graves older than the official graveyard itself. Such famous persons as Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglas are among those buried there in everything from lawn crypts and columbariums to family mausoleums. It seems strange, then, that the chapel at such an historically significant location would be abandoned to the elements, though it remains elegant even in its disrepair.

I bumped into this a few times on the net....and it had nothing to do with what I was searching for. 

I found this about the chapel-

Abandoned Chapel in Mt. Hope Cemetery
     
Within the fence bordering Mt. Hope, there is an abandoned chapel just a few feet from the road. The windows and doors are all secured. However, the main entryway is loosely secure at best. Visitors are treated to a breathtaking site of light filtering through the glass down onto the decaying pews left inside.

It is one of two chapels in the cemetery. This is the south chapel near the cemetery's southerly Mt Hope Ave gate, a few blocks from Elmwood Ave. (The north chapel and crematorium, which are also unused, are behind the fountain back a ways from the cemetery's northerly gate on Mt Hope Ave near Robinson Dr which goes through Highland Park.)

It is small and was not built by a particular congregation for their worship services. It was built by the city, I believe, for funeral services for those being interred in the cemetery. It has not been used in many years because of serious structural problems which are easy to see if you look over the outside of the building. These problems were caused by excessive differential settling of the foundation. It's a very pretty little building, but the repair expenses cannot be justified by returning it to use as a chapel. However, a number of years ago, the city indicated an intent to reuse it as a mausoleum by creating spaces (niches) inside for interring cremated remains. The prospective sale of the niches was expected to justify the repair expenses. I don't know what happened to that plan. The Friends of Mt Hope Cemetery is a great source of information about this and other structures in the cemetery.

As of Feb 28, 2009, the chapel is boarded up and cannot be entered. Rumor as of April 20, 2009 has it that the chapel will be undergoing restoration as part of a grant (whether to the City of Rochester or Mt. Hope Cemetery itself is unknown) from the Federal stimulus package. [/i]