Spring 2009 • Volume 31, Number 2
Published by the Kansas Historical Society
6425 SW 6th Avenue
Topeka KS 66615-1099
Old Mission Mausoleum to the National Register
of Historic Places at the February 2009 meeting.
by
Sarah Martin
National Register Coordinator, Kansas Historical Society
Developed and operated by George Saxton, the Old Mission Mausoleum was built in four stages over 36 years from 1918-1954. It occupies one acre within the Old Mission Cemetery near the northeast corner of Hillcrest Avenue and 21st Street in Wichita. Chicago architect Sidney Lovell designed the first two units, which were constructed in the late 1910s and the late 1920s, and Wichita architects Overend and Boucher designed units three and four that were built in the mid-1930s and the early 1950s. All four units form a cohesive, interconnected building that surrounds a central open courtyard. The building’s architecture was influenced by several popular early 20th century revival styles. Although simplistic in detail, its smooth masonry exterior and low-pitched roof with red clay tiles are characteristic of the Mediterranean Revival style. The Old Mission Mausoleum was nominated for its architectural significance as a well-preserved and highly intact Mediterranean Revival-style mausoleum.
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