A Guide to the Marion Johnson Dimmock Drawings for a Mortuary Chapel at Hollywood Cemetery, ca. 1897-1898 Dimmock, Marion Johnson, Drawings for a Mortuary Chapel at Hollywood Cemetery, ca. 1897-1898 36595

A Guide to the Marion Johnson Dimmock Drawings for a Mortuary Chapel at Hollywood Cemetery, ca. 1897-1898

A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Accession Number 36595

Library of Virginia

The Library of Virginia
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Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000
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Processed by: Vincent T. Brooks

Repository

Library of Virginia

Accession number

36595

Title

Marion Johnson Dimmock, Drawings for a Mortuary Chapel at Hollywood Cemetery, ca. 1897-1898

Physical Characteristics

6 sheets of pen and ink on linen (88.5 x 58 cm. and smaller)

Creator

Marion Johnson Dimmock, 1824-1908

Language

English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Marion Johnson Dimmock, Architectural drawings and plans, Mortuary Chapel at Hollywood Cemetery, ca. 1897-1898. Accession 36595, Drawings and plans collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Donor information unavailable.

Biographical/Historical Information

Marion Johnson Dimmock was born in Portsmouth, Virginia in 1824 and moved to Richmond in 1833. He served in the Confederate Army, attaining the rank of captain. He became one of the most prolific Virginia architects in the period 1870-1900. Among his more prominant commissions during this period were the Confederate Memorial Chapel (1887), a hotel in Elkton, Virginia (1890), Richmond Chamber of Commerce Building (1891-1892), Mortuary Chapel in Hollywood Cemetery (1897-1898), and an addition to the State Library Building (Dimmock & Lee, 1908).

Scope and Content

This set of drawings shows elevations, sections, floor plans, and details for the Mortuary Chapel on the grounds of Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia. Marion Johnson Dimmock won the commission from the Hollywood Board of Directors in July 1897. The architect added to an existing Gothic Revival structure used by the cemetery gatekeeper. With James River granite, Dimmock raised the height of the tower and added crenelation and a conical slate roof. The chapel portion of the structure, with its parapet roof and buttresses, was added to the north side of the existing tower. Dimmock's addition leans toward the Romanesque Revival style, but is in keeping with the existing portion. The building features a receiving vault, elevator, company offices, and one hundred seat chapel. The work was completed in May 1898. This building is still extant, but was significantly altered in 1972.

These drawings have Dimmock's office stamp requesting that they be returned, indicating that these are original records from his architectural practice.