Afterglow Vista

Everyday on my morning walk, I’ve passed a sign pointing to the “Mausoleum”. I figured this mausoleum, that was apparently one of the island’s unique monuments, needed to be explored.

A narrow path leads into the forest. I expected a big white marble building. Nothing like that in view. Not far up the path are a few grave sites, small plots of land marked by picket fences. But, that’s not all.

The path continues deeper into the woods. Eerie. There are markers along the way labeled H, R, M. Stranger and stranger.

Finally, the rainbow at the end of the trail. or rather an arched entrance leading to the top of a small rise decrees Afterglow Vista.

There are six concrete pillars (one of which has a chunk missing – you can see it on the left in the picture below if you zoom in a little) surrounding a concrete table at which there are six concrete “chairs”.  It feels as though we have entered a space warp and are now in Ancient Greece.

What’s the deal?

The McMillin Family Mausoleum was built by John S. McMillin as a memorial for his family. He was a staunch Republican, friend and advisor to Theodore Roosevelt, and owned the Roche Harbor Lime Company. Lime is a key ingredient in cement. McMillin was a member of the Masons and the Sigma Chi fraternity and well as being religious.

Why is it called Afterglow Vista? Afterglow was the name given to the intricate play of colors in the channel’s waters that can be seen during summer sunsets. The interplay of sun and shadow on the columns are meant to mimic the afterglow.

There are two sets of stairs leading up to the structure. These represent the steps within the Masonic Order. The winding stairs on the east side of the mausoleum (can’t see them in the photo above) represent the spiritual life of man.  The path to spirituality is not straight and the future cannot be seen.

The stairs were built in sets of three, five and seven. This represents the three stages of life (youth, manhood, age), the five orders of architecture (Tuscan, Doric, Iconic, Corinthian, Composite), the five senses, and the seven liberal arts and sciences (grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy).

The columns were fashioned to be the same size as the pillars in King Solomon’s temple. One of the columns has a chunk missing and represents the broken column of life – that man dies before his work is completed.

The round table of limestone and concrete is surrounded by six stone and concrete chairs. The chair bases are crypts for the ashes of the family, and the arrangement represents their reunion atter death. The back of each chair is etched with family information.

The construction of the mausoleum began in 1930 and was completed in spring of 1936 at a cost of approximately $30,000. McMillin had planned to erect a bronze dome with a Maltese cross atop the edifice. He had ordered the dome, but his son, Paul, cancelled the order, as the company did not have the money.

All I can say is yikes!