Greenwood Cemetery Mausoleum

Rising above the surrounding grounds at the highest point of Greenwood Cemetery, Lancaster’s Egyptian Revival mausoleum stands as one of the city’s most striking—and unexpected—architectural landmarks. Completed in 1915 by acclaimed architect C. Emlen Urban, the massive granite structure has earned the nickname “Lancaster’s Westminster Abbey,” reflecting both its scale and civic importance.

This episode explores the symbolism and ambition behind the mausoleum’s design, from its stone sphinxes and bronze doors to stained glass that blends ancient Egyptian imagery with Christian themes of death and resurrection. Inside are hundreds of marble crypts, engineered with then-modern ventilation systems intended to create a permanent, sanitary resting place for the city’s most prominent citizens. Although the interior is currently closed to the public, the mausoleum continues to dominate the skyline above the Conestoga River, standing as a fusion of civic pride, funerary art, and early 20th-century fascination with the ancient world.

To learn more, visit UnchartedLancaster.com.

Learn about other unique people and places like this when you step off the beaten path with Uncharted Lancaster: Field Guide to the Strange, Storied, and Hidden Places of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania by Adam Zurn. This one-of-a-kind 239-page guidebook uncovers 56 fascinating sites, from the county’s very own fountain of youth to the oldest continuously operating short-line railroad in the western hemisphere. Order your copy here.