On May 15, 2010, we opened the doors to the Abbey to get eady for our first event of the season - the Memorial Day Open House.  Both new and old volunteers pitched in and the Abbey was dusted, broomed and mopped from ceiling to floor.  As you may have noticed, the Abbey has looked particularly "austere" since all the old bushes were removed years ago.  While only temporary until a complete site plan can be designed and funded, volunteers donated plants, soil and grass seed to install two raised garden bed on either side of the first floor entrance in what will be a lush grassy area.  Once established this should add a much needed touch of color and let people know that this is a cherished and cared for landmark.

Things have been quiet during the winter months, but spring is coming!  We are getting ready for a spring cleanup day in May as we prepare for our annual Memorial Day Open House.  Looking forward to opening up the Abbey and letting in some spring air.  Also looking forward to see how well the new roof kept the water at bay this year.

Stay tuned for details about Memorial Day.  They will be available in our upcoming events section very soon!

The Abbey has a new tile roof!

If you've ever visited the Abbey, you've seen the marred marble floors and falling plaster ceilings.  The leaking tile roof has allowed rain to stream down the marble walls, forming pools of water in the foyer.  Early signs of stalagtite and stalagmite formation are evident.  Eventually the water seeped through to the first floor, causing the plaster ceilings to fail.  Pretty sad.  We knew it had to be a priority on our list of repairs.

In the spring GLAPA applied for a Certified Local Government Grant which provides federal dollars for local projects administered through the Ohio Historic Preservation Office.  We were awarded a grant to cover 2/3's of the cost of the red tile roof repair.  It was up to us to find the remaining dollars.  Luckily the Columbus Foundation also appreciates historic properties and generously awarded GLAPA a grant to cover the matching 1/3 along with additional funding for creation of a business/marketing/site plan (more about that later).

With the help from Tom Matheny of the architectural firm of Schooley-Caldwell, the documents were prepared and the project put out to bid this summer.  Qualified bidders needed to demonstrate past experience working on historic properties with US Department of the Interior National Park Service Standards.  These Standards ensure a high quality installation while preserving the historic nature of the property. 

The successful bidder was Phinney Industrial Roofing.   Mike DeCrane from Phinney stated the roof was in very poor condition.  New plywood, water barrier and quite a bit of new red tile was required.  Old rusting nails were replaced with barbed stainless steel nails which will ensure a tight, wind resistant roof.  The inspection of the final work showed excellent quality and workmanship.  Mike said we aren't quite out of the woods yet.  While the tile roof is secure now, the existing flat roof has improperly installed termination bars and a few minor repairs still needed.  In addition, mortar repair on the side walls needs done.  

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed their time or financial assistance to this project including:

• Tom Matheny and Schooley-Caldwell Associates for donating the time and expertise in bid preparation and project management. 
• The Ohio Historic Preservation Office, National Park Service and the Columbus Foundation for providing financing.
• Phinney Industrial Roofing for going the extra miles for a quality installation.
• And our own president, Kate Matheny, for the countless hours she spent writing the grants and coordinating the project. 

After the terrible break-in during October, security at the Abbey became issue #1.  A new monitored security system is now installed on both floors of the Abbey thanks to Jeffrey Technologies. 

Jeffrey Technologies is a security, communications and networking company headquartered in Columbus Ohio.   Hearing of the break-in, they quickly responded with an offer to help secure the Abbey even though our financial resources were lacking.  They provided the hardware components at a substantially reduced cost and donated their professional installation (not an easy task in a marble building!) 

We want to thank all of you who responded to our financial call for help after the break-in.  Your donations paid for the security system and will continue to pay for the electricity and monthly monitoring costs.  Bless you all for helping.

The month of October was a busy one for the Abbey.  We hosted a couple of private or ticket-only events and they were absolutely fantastic.  On the down side, the month of October also was the first time the Abbey had been broken into in quite a long time.  Unfortunately, the damage was larger than we can report here.  In a nutshell, another irreplaceable stained glass window is now destroyed.  And several gates that were in front of the crypts were forcibly removed, leaving not only a missing gate but also damaged marble that can never be replaced.

But this is Green Lawn Abbey, and she is trying hard to rise above the challenges.  Let's not linger on the negatives, but focus on the positives.  Our private events were well attended and received numerous compliments on the work being accomplished.  One of the truly exciting events was our 3rd annual Tales from the Crypt.  This year, we offered two shows instead of one... and BOTH were sellouts!!  All the proceeds from the evening are going to further the repair work needed at the Abbey.  All the initial surveys and reviews have told us people really enjoyed attending, learning a little more about the history of Columbus and the Abbey.

Donations continue to be needed to improve security on the facility.  Please be sure to click on the donate link and make a gift to the Abbey today.  We truly appreciate and are even overwhelmed by the support that continues to come in.  Thank you!

Over the weekend of October 10, our beautiful Green Lawn Abbey was dealt a horrific blow.  Some person (or persons) with absolutely no respect for the dead that are entombed in the Abbey, broke in and stole irreplaceable crypt gates.  WE NEED YOUR HELP!!! Click read more for information on how you can assist us...

Memorial Day is about remembering our departed family and loved ones, particularly our veterans.  Green Lawn Abbey has a growing list of veterans.  We say growing because it has been a slow process identifying our veterans.  For some reason, maybe humbly feeling they did no more, no less, than others in their generation, many failed to note their military service in their obituary.  Franklin County Veteran Services helped us identify many in the Abbey but we believe there are still more.  To date we have identified 27 veterans from the Civil War, the Spanish American War, World War I and II.

On Memorial Day, the Friends of Green Lawn Abbey opened the doors to allow in visitors, both families and the simply curious.  Crypts of veterans were marked with flags provide by Veterans Services.  When a photo was available, it was posted on the marble front.  An inspiring and sometimes tender musical tribute to all the armed forces was performed Bill White.

We consider the day a huge success with an estimated 200 people visiting.  Our website helped a gentleman from Missouri inquire if he had any family members entombed in the Abbey.  Confirming he had five deceased family members in the Abbey, we shared our obituary information with him.  With this new knowledge he was able to track down a distant cousin still living in the area.  He travelled to Ohio to meet his cousin and together they visited the Abbey.  The newspaper did a wonderful job telling their story (and ours) in the May 26th edition of the Columbus Dispatch.

“Tales From the Crypt” was our first independent historical program at the Abbey with all funds raised going to the restoration and preservation of the mausoleum. It was a huge success! Originally planned for only 40 attendees, when demand for tickets way exceeded expectations, we enlarged the program. We still had to turn many people away!

The program kicked off with an appearance from Columbus’ first woman architect, Florence Rector. Florence set the tone for the evening and discussed what was going on in history and architecture in 1927.  Ms. Nellie Brown shared her experience in working for a well-heeled lady of the time as well as how funerals were handled early in the century.  Then the Abbey “residents” came out to greet visitors.  Appearances were made by Herbert Penney, Lewis Sells, George Karb, John A. Murphy, Estelle Bostwick and James K. Polk Barker.  Howard Thurston entertained the crowd with some of the magic he is so famous for.  (All "residents" were portrayed by re-enactors.)   Fabulous holiday treats and cider topped off the evening.

Thank so much to all of you who came out on a chilly November evening and made our program such a success.

 Our immediate goal is to raise $30,000 this summer in order to complete Phase I Emergency Repairs before winter comes around again. In the last several years the Abbey has begun to suffer significant deterioration from the elements. The foundation corners are beginning to sag. Rain is leaking into the portico, freezing during the winter and forcing large granite blocks to jut out of place. Rain is also coming in through the roof and deteriorating the marble columns, marble floors, and the 1st floor plaster ceilings. At this point everything is still reversible – but for how much longer?

Phase I Emergency Repairs...

...is mostly for water control.  The Spanish tile roof, roofing termination bars, grading around the building, gutter, downspouts and sealants to tide us over until additional funds can be raised for a full restoration.

Over 300 visitors came to Green Lawn Abbey during our first Memorial Day Open House, which we think was a huge success! We want to thank everyone who took the time to stop by. Visitors included families of some of the “residents”, members of local historical societies, neighborhood people and just the curious. We were thanked profusely for opening the building to the public after so many years of being closed to the public. Many said they admired the Abbey for decades, not even knowing what the building was for.

We met family members of Fredericka Steube, Herbert Rice Penney and Howard Thurston as well as the Sells, Lerch and Cones families. We hope they all chose to become active in helping us document the history of the Abbey and her “residents” and support our restoration efforts in any way they can.

If you or someone you know has family in Green Lawn Abbey, please get in contact with us. We are collecting information, obituaries, pictures and histories for putting together our historical tours and to document the historical significance of this one-time premier burial location.