Mount Moriah Cemetery

The Mount Moriah Cemetery was established March 27, 1855
by an act of Pennsylvania Legislature.
Originally 54 acres, it now sprawls 380 acres in southwest Philadelphia.
The cemetery was designed around the "rural ideal" that was very popular at the time.
Upon entering the property you were greeted by an ornate
Romanesque entrance and gatehouse constructed of brownstone.
Noted Philadelphia architect of the time, Stephen D. Button designed this grand entrance.

Today the once beautiful graveyard has fallen from it's former grace.
It has come to be surrounded by low-income housing in a high-crime area of the city.
Due to lack of funding for proper maintenance, rampant growing ivy,
thorn bushes, and trees have reclaimed the once beautiful hillside.
So bad is the over-growth that one may trip over a hundred year old headstone
while walking through what looks to be an overgrown field.
Trees rip and topple grand monuments, and thorns hide away countless graves.
Over 5,000 veterans are buried in this tangled jungle of thorns,
some dating back to the Civil War.

There is much beauty to be found here, however it is but a thin veil over the disgrace.

In 2004
Mount Moriah Cemetery was placed on
"Preservation Pennsylvania's Most Endangered Historic Properties"

In 2005 it made it's way onto
"The Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia's Endangered Properties" list.

Images can be viewed here:
http://rustytagliareni.blogspot.com/2010/04/blight-of-mount-moriah-cemetery.html


Music: "Caspers Lullaby" by James Horner

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Abandoned
• Rusty
• Tagliareni
• Christina
• Mathews
• URBEX
• Urban
• Exploration
• History
• Past
• Graves
• Cemetery
• Graveyard
• PA
• Philly
• Rot
• Trees
• Ivy
• Thorns
• VFW
• War
• Veterans
• Spring
• Forsaken
• Lost
• yt:crop=16:9

[gatomjp]

What's happened to this place?? It's a disgrace. When I lived near there years ago we used to exercise by running on the peaceful paths. So sad to see it has deteriorated.

[AntiquityEchoes]

@gatomjp

It is indeed a disgrace.

Sorry to have you find out this way, but at least you are upset about it's current state.

Seems like most people just don't care at all...

[hepzebahsu]

Nicely done. Many of my ancestors were buried here.

[laurenoneil]

I stumbled across Mount Moriah today, mostly by accident, but I've always had a fascination with large urban cemeteries, and love my occasional visits to Mt. Laurel. That said, I am also a lover of all things weird, ghoulish as I am, but this was too much even for me. Such a shame to see such beauty just utterly forgotten about. I couldn't help but feel for the families of the interned, particularly when I came to the newer headstones near the utter ruin in the back toward Cobbs Creek. So sad.

[Anastasia4141]

Beautiful video - sad subject matter. Thank you.

[RedDragon0719]

Nice video. Ive been exploring and photographing and exploring this place for almost 5 years

[gladys9305]

i just seen the video am upset and sad my mother has been resting there for fifthteen years now and its sad to see it this way please count me in on coming out to help heres my email address so you can keep me posted on the dates rodriguezgladys19@yahoo.com ozelle87 can you please get in touch with me

[ozelle87]

Thank you for posting this video. There are a great many of us who are becoming aware of cemeteries in our own environs that need attention such as Mount Moriah does. This is a great volunteer opportunity for Scouts and other groups to get together and spend a day making a difference in their community. I hope you will see an influx of volunteers for the Sept 13 and Oct 8th Clean up days. Would love to see a repeat video of their progress.

[DonnaNRic]

Very well done. The music def adds that sad yet mysterious feel. This cemetery is one of the most unusual you will find. It's a playground for the curious historians. I can say that the tires shown in back of the gatehouse have been removed, but the plants and tree are close to twice what you see here. Everyone looks and say how sad but when it comes down to it, it's their own faults for not doing something about it. If man shuts his eye and ignores his history, the earth with also shut here ey

[lagbms04]

i cant believe how awful this place looks i havent been there in three years myself and its hard watching how this could of happened i have family buried there and watching this brought me to tears

[brokkenstar]

Maybe Bill Gates or Dick Chenney or someother fat bastard can hire some people to clean it up! This is happening all over America, not just graveyards but whole cities and towns, whilst the fat cats hideaway in there locked communities.

[lamdasond]

wow tis is unreal footage it is an old gravejard in the woods! so sad in a way