The True History of Graceland Cemetery
The Graceland Cemetery has become a bit of a secondary character in the world of “Borrowed Lives.” Elise first encounters the graveyard in Episode 2 when she reconnects with Liberty. Riding in a Streetcar as Jacob Burrows, the driver finds the road blocked by a wagon load of coffins. The driver informs Elise that the gravers are moving the City Cemetery. The City Cemetery was, in fact, moved from what is now Lincoln Park because of health concerns, since the cemetery was located near the city’s water supply. And to accommodate park development, of course. Where the cemetery once resided is the modern-day Lincoln Park. Graceland became the fashionable choice for prominent Chicagoans, perhaps because visionary landscape architects, including O.C. Simonds, designed the cemetery. Simonds was a founding member of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Although he was educated […]
