Matching Grant Opportunity for New Grove Street Entrances
Help us meet our $175,000 goal!
Proposed designs in consideration for the new Grove Street Entrances, courtesy of MNLA and William Rawn Associates. Final design may vary.
Background
In May 2024, Mount Auburn opened four new walk-in entrances to expand public access to our beloved Cemetery landscape. The custom-designed arboreal themed gates along Mount Auburn Street in Cambridge and Watertown are open to the public 365 days a year to make our historic green space and active cemetery more welcoming and accessible to over 200,000 visitors we see each year.
Now, Mount Auburn seeks to further expand access to the Cemetery by introducing two new Pedestrian Entrances along our Grove Street perimeter.
Design
Mount Auburn's iconic Egyptian Revival Gateway reflects the 19th-century fascination of Egyptian symbolism seen prolifically through our historic landscape, and the existing and proposed pedestrian entrances aim to compliment this motif by taking the form of the leaves of some of the iconic tree species found in our accredited arboretum—mirroring the relationship of our monument and horticulture collections along our perimeter.
Like the Mount Auburn Street entrances, both Grove Street entrances are being thoughtfully designed with accessible pathways beyond their respective gates and will feature new planting areas that will bolster the thousands of plants added to our landscape annually (27,104 herbaceous plants, 506 shrubs, and 29 trees were added in 2023 alone).
Your Support Is Crucial!
As Mount Auburn is still in the conceptual phases of this project with architects Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects (MNLA) and William Rawn Associates, we are excited to announce an opportunity for community support. An anonymous donor has approved a 1:1 matching grant in the amount of $175,000 to support this transformative update! These matching funds must be raised by October 2025; we hope you will consider a gift to make this thoughtful access project a reality.
$25,900 raised as of December 2, 2024
Entrance Concepts
Grove Street at Coolidge Avenue rendering by MNLA and William Rawn Associates
Current view of the proposed location of the Grove Street at Coolidge Ave entrance
Site plan for the entrance including pathway design, courtesy of MNLA and William Rawn Associates
Current view of the proposed location of the Pheasant Path entrance opposite Kondazian Street
Mockup of the Pheasant Path entrance (note: Maple Leaf design used as a stand-in. Final gate design is still being planned)
Site plan for the entrance including pathway design, courtesy of MNLA and William Rawn Associates
“These new entrances reflect [...] an organizational commitment to make Mount Auburn more welcoming, accessible, and safer for all – and are a reminder that more than an active cemetery, this is an urban oasis and community resource.”
-President & CEO Matthew Stephens, May 2, 2024
Credit
Landscape Architects: Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects (MNLA)
Architect: William Rawn Associates