They lost their only son. Gardner Earl died young in 1887, but he left behind a highly controversial final wish. He wanted cremation. Back then, Americans viewed burning bodies with deep suspicion, associating it with pagan rituals or radical science rather than respectable mourning. So, the wealthy shirt-and-collar manufacturing family from Troy, New York, decided to spend $150,000-a staggering sum at the time-to build a monument that would make cremation acceptable. They hired architect Albert Fuller. He designed a Romanesque Revival masterpiece inside Oakwood Cemetery, using rough-cut gray granite and brownstone to create a structure that looked more like a medieval castle than a municipal furnace.
Walk inside and the gloom vanishes. The interior boasts eight stained-glass windows and a massive mosaic ceiling designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany's studio. Pink marble from Georgia and green marble from Vermont line the walls, reflecting the light from massive bronze chandeliers. But the real action happened downstairs. The Earls installed state-of-the-art incinerators, running on oil rather than coal to eliminate smoke and odor. It worked flawlessly. By making the process beautiful, the chapel helped normalize cremation for Gilded Age elites who previously shuddered at the thought. It remains one of the country's most opulent symbols of the late 19th-century sanitary reform movement.
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