Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-09-29
MARX HOPKINS TOMB.
The Magnificent Eausoleum Completed
A Detailed Description.

A Detailed UeSCI1ptluA
The monument erected in the City Gene
terry, Sacramento, to the memory OF the late
Mark Hopkins is now completed. All that
remains to be done is to clear up the grounds
and grade and ornament them. This MONK
ment is the largest and costliest on the Pacific
slope, and in its construction the best work
known to the stonemasons art has been ap-
piled. 1t is the Judgment of experts that Tor
solidity and massiveness it is surpassed
by no work in the United States, and has few
if any equals. From beginning to end there
has been spared neither money nor time to
make the work complete, and TO bring 1t as
nearly to perfection as is possible to the skill
of man. The work began on the cemetery
grounds April 8, 1879, and has been diligently
prosecuted ever since, with as full force of
| skilled workmen as could conveniently b9
| employed To look upon the monument In
its simplicity very few will realize its cost,
| or form any adequate conception OF the labor
employed upon it, or the skill applied to its
construction. The very things calling tor the
exercise of
THE HIGHEST SKILL
In the constructors art and for the most
careful execution, and the incest calculation,
are those things which do not appear by a
mere view of the monument. 90 nicely Is
the work finished, that very few Will, by
! looking upon it, understand the great dlth
Guilty experienced in matching and hitting In
such a structure polished stones one to
another, and where there is not single
broken Joint Nor does the exterior view OF
the tomb give any intimation of the fact that
all the stones, without exception, are doweled
and iugaled together, as was done in building
the Eddystone lighthouse. which means
that these massive blocks are held to place,
one to the other, by kind of gigantic dove
failing, by which they lock into each other
in a clasp so firm that nothing short of fear
full earthquake can break them apart, or
cause the slightest variation in the lines OF
the Joints. Some of the stones in the tomb
are of immense size. For instance, some of
the rough blocks weighed 70 less than thirty
six tons, or 1900 pounds each. The north
and south sides of the tomb proper are com
posed of single blocks which, estimated by
the weight per cubic foot, weigh something
like eighteen tons each. Either one OF the
base courses will weigh about twenty tons,
and the fine roof blocks weigh about seven
teen tons each.
THE DESCRIPTION
OF the tomb involves careful measurement
of all the pieces in the structure. 1t is located
upon gentle inclination, near the summit of
the highest knoll in the cemetery, and stands
in the center of plat Al by 40 feet on the
extreme boundaries. This plat is entirely
inclosed by granite walls, and the concrete
foundation beneath the walls is z feet deep.
On this concrete rests the boundary wall,
which is of granite, and is crowned by a
coping in ffteen-foot pieces feet 6
inches in depth and feet wide, and the
whole is finished in ten cut, patent
hammer work. The style of the. coping
is Egyptian. The granite is from the Crys-
tai Lake quarries, in the Sierra Nevada
mountains, not far from Emigrant Gap. At
the corners of this Enclosure rise square gran
tie posts, changing into octagon form, and
finishing with round tops. Each post is 2
feet inches square by 3 feet inches high.
On the west is one of the entrances to the
plat, with 9foot opening, and approached
by two granite steps rising to a granite plat
form feet inches by 10 feet area, with but
tresses inclosing the same 5 feet inches long
by width of l foot inches. At each side
of this entrance is post similar in style and
size to the posts at the corners of the plat,
but the round tops are polished and the top
plane is somewhat larger in area. On these
planes or beds rest two vases each of highly
polished
ROCKY MOUNTAIN RED GRANITE,
And each vase is three feet in hight, by two
feet six inches at greatest diameter. Each
vase is followed out to depth of over two
feet, and fitted with a pipe in hole drilled
through the post and vase, by which moisture
from the earth may be drawn up by the
plants to be placed in the mouth of the vases.
These vases are very handsome, and are SUI
perior specimens of art. From the entrance
platform the visitor by one step rises to
parapet walk, which extends entirely around
the tomb, ard rests upon concrete and ma
sonry foundation nine feet deep. This para
pet walk is four feet in width. and is com
posed of the red granite, white Crystal Lake
granite, and black granite in alternate
courses, or bands, each polished, and the
whole presenting an agreeable combination to
the eve. III is parapet walk drops away in the
four feet one inch, to form shed for water.
Passing around this walk, to the eastern
entrance, which is upon the slope of the hill,
it is found to be of Ike width with that on
the west, but the approach is By eight granite
steps rising and 1.16 inches each, or about
Al feet in ALL The finish is the same as at
the western entrance but the posts on this
side and the wall, are, of course, deeper by
foot inches, and there is no platform or
landing at the top OF the steps, The railing
and posts are jugaled together, raised and
sunk, and by this dowelng are held firmly
in position. All the stone work in this wall,
the steps, platform and posts is laid in Port
land cement, and pointed with composition
made of white lead and putty the joints
being made to match the color of the stone.
1t is probable that no better laid wall than
this is to be found in any monumental work
on the continent. The visitor turns west in
his examination, to
THE TOME
Itself In size it is 20 feet o. inches by 16
feet 10I inches, and y feet g inches il hight
to the ridge, or extreme upper point of the
oe1iment-which is the triangular facing of
the fronts, and is common to finished porti-
cos. From the base of the lower step to the
top the monument is IS feet in hight. The
monument or tomb is a vault or sarcophagus
It's style Of architecture, Egyptian. The en-
tire exterior Of the tomb is built of Rocky
Mountain red granite, brought from point
about 10 miles from Fort Laramie, Wy. L.
The surface of the entire tomb is highly pol
ished. Beginning a review of the structure
a. the west portal, which is the front
proper, the lower base course is found to rest
on 7-foot foundation of concrete and q
feet OF masonry, and in the latter the stones
are doweled and clamped together. This
makes the foundation depth q feet. Tie
base course on the fronts of the tomb is
composed oil one complete stone, and each Is
16 feet l05 inches loag, by feet II inches
thick by feet Il ioches rise. Each of these
stones has on the fronts single polished
raised panel, foot S inches wide with mar
gin line of a inches. The quoins are Of like
finished stone, feet II inches EACH with
panels forming with those of the three inter
mediate blocks of each side when i3inted to-
gether, plumb inch margins. Thus eight
stones form the entire base course of the
structure This base course washes back
foot q inches, rising inches from the panel,
and then rises with finch plinth to the
hight OF its bed and then runs back with an
inch chamfer TO the base line Of the die part
The attention of the visitor now rises
TO THE DIE,
By which is meant the main body Of the sar-
cophagus. or tomb. On each of the fronts
are two huttresses. Each at the base is feet
Il inches and at the top foot q inches, aud
thus each batters on the outer side and front
6 inches 10 its full height OF feet 6 inches
The inner face is perpendlcuiar. showing
recess Of foot l inch st the base, and, OF
course. dropping back at the top as described.
In each of these frontal recesses are three
granite doors forming the front of the die
part of the tomb. Each central door is 4
feet inches ia width, 3 feet inches IN
hight. and each of the side or flanking doors,
are 2 feet inches by feet o Each door
hasa raised panel, forming inch margin,
and washing back II inches. The panels are
raised 7 of an inch and drop back so that