SHELBY — Christina Yetzer Drain said the community mausoleum at Shelby’s Oakland Cemetery is likely the city’s most important landmark.
Constructed in 1907, it’s the second oldest community mausoleum in the state, according to Friends of Oakland Mausoleum.
Drain, a Shelby historian, has been talking with the Oakland Cemetery Board to figure out how to best proceed with restoration work. The board includes John Ensman, Steven McLaughlin, Brian Crum, John Hancock, Scott Shatzer, Julie Alt and Kevin Ernst.
Both Drain and Ensman spoke to the city’s Historic Preservation Commission on Friday to explain the state of the mausoleum.
“It is in disarray,” said Ensman, who’s also the city’s director of utilities. “Something needs to be done. If you take a look at the mausoleum, the deterioration of that building over the years is progressively getting worse.
“As we continue to have weather on this building, it’s continued to deteriorate even quicker,” he said.
Tarps are currently secured to each of the structure’s four towers — but the temporary covers have also been impacted by weather.
Ensman said the board’s top priority is protecting the crypts in the mausoleum.
“There are 240 crypts which we are responsible for,” he said.
Oakland Mausoleum towers ‘crumbling’
The building’s exterior is where the most immediate action is needed.
Ensman said the towers are crumbling, largely due to water deterioration, and are to the point they must come down.
“The board understands this and wants to make a positive move to make sure we can preserve the building in its best ability, right now,” he said.
Should the towers come down, immediate action would need to follow to cover what is located below them — particularly to protect the crypts located directly beneath the structure’s back towers.
The cemetery board is currently weighing options as to what should be used to temporarily cover the exposed areas.
“There’s already tarp cover, but we’re looking more at a different, temporary cover at this time and that would be a decorative building,” Ensman said.
The “decorative building” being considered resembles most closely the appearence of a pole barn, he said. It would encapsulate and protect the mausoleum while work was performed.
Drain and board members have slight differences of opinion in the type of coverage, but agreed the towers must come down.
“I have no doubt now that it has really disintegrated into the last year or two,” she said.
Ensman said Drain has been a valuable asset in assisting the cemetery board.
“She provides great guidance for this board,” he said. “The mausoleum is the forefront, along with the rest of the cemetery, but this is definitely at the forefront right now.”
Next steps
Several ideas and suggestions for temporary covers were discussed Friday, but ultimately no action was taken.
The Shelby Historic Preservation Commission requires a Certificate of Appropriateness to be submitted for review prior to any exterior changes to designated historic properties.
By the end of Friday’s conversation, the commission asked Ensman and the cemetery board to get a cost estimate for taking the towers down.
A meeting at the mausoleum was also suggested so commission members could see firsthand the work which needs completed.