Spero Mausoleum


	The Spero Mausoleum is located in the Beth David Cemetery 300 Elmont Road, Elmont, NY 11003. Section 4, Contract #2280. 2012-08-05 looking west north west at the Spero Mausoleum. Note the missing air vent covers and the evidence of leakage from them.


2017-05-23 Doors are locked and chained with "Keep Out" Sign affixed. Looking west.	2017-05-23 Doors are locked and chained with "Keep Out" Sign affixed. Looking south west.	2017-05-23 looking east at the back exterior of the Spero Mausoleum including the wire glass protected stained glass window with several stone or bullet holes.


2017-05-23 looking east north east at the back exterior of the Spero Mausoleum including missing air vent cover lower side of building.	2017-05-23 looking south at the north wall's exterior exterior of the Spero Mausoleum. Note the evidence of leakage from lower air vents.	2017-05-23 pad lock and chain on the handle of the doors to the Spero Mausoleum.


2012-08-05 interior of the Spero Mausoleum. Back wall shows stained glass window depicting the eternal light.	2012-08-05 close up view of interior of the Spero Mausoleum. Back wall shows stained glass window depicting the eternal light.	Exterior air vent with company name of manufacturer: Adler's Monumental Works, NY


2012-08-05 Spero Mausoleum. Plate on Upper Crypt of Gabriel Spero, April 5, 1863 to February 2, 1926. He was the husband of Dora Spero and the father of Goldie Schwartz. He had been buried elsewhere and moved to the Spero Mausoleum in 1946 when it was built.	2012-08-05 Spero Mausoleum. Plate on Upper Crypt of Dora Spero, February 14, 1862 to December 27, 1945. Se was the wife of Gabriel Spero and the father of Goldie Schwartz. Se had been buried elsewhere and moved to the Spero Mausoleum in 1946 when it was built.	2012-08-05 Spero Mausoleum. Plate on back wall of the interior for Louis L. Schwartz and his wife Goldie Schwartz who are buried in the lower crypts. Their names and dates were originally carved directly into the wall but, when Harold Kopf was buried here his name was incorrectly carved on the back wall and had to be covered over.


2012-08-05 Spero Mausoleum. Plate on Upper Crypt of Harlod Kopf January 4, 1920 to August 21, 1996. He was the husband of Shirley Florance Schwartz Kopf, who is buired elsewere due to inaccesability of this mausoleum because of the damage from "weather" that penetrated it and perhpas because of how the structure was built..	2017-05-23 looking through the window in the door to the Spero Mausoleum to the back wall with the stained glass window.	2017-05-23 looking through the window in the door to the Spero Mausoleum to the back wall with the stone bench in place and debris from the broken plate to the Harold Kopf crypt and material believed to be from the "soft" stone typically used internally to support the tin encapsulated coffins.


2017-05-23 looking through the window in the door to the Spero Mausoleum to the back wall with the stone bench in place and debris from the broken plate to the Harold Kopf crypt and material believed to be from the "soft" stone typically used internally to support the tin encapsulated coffins.	2017-05-23 looking through the window in the door to the Spero Mausoleum to the back wall with the stone bench in place and debris from the broken plate to the Harold Kopf crypt and material believed to be from the "soft" stone typically used internally to support the tin encapsulated coffins.	2017-05-23 looking through the window in the door to the Spero Mausoleum to the back wall with the stone bench in place and debris from the broken plate to the Harold Kopf crypt and material believed to be from the "soft" stone typically used internally to support the tin encapsulated coffins.


2016-11-20 looking through the open doors to the Spero Mausoleum to the back wall with the stone bench in place and debris from the broken plate to the Harold Kopf crypt and material believed to be from the "soft" stone typically used internally to support the tin encapsulated coffins. Black and White copy of color photos taken by Beth David Cemetary staff.	2016-11-20 looking through the open doors to the Spero Mausoleum to the back wall with the stone bench in place and debris from the broken plate to the Harold Kopf crypt and material believed to be from the "soft" stone typically used internally to support the tin encapsulated coffins. Black and White copy of color photos taken by Beth David Cemetary staff.	2016-11-20 looking through the open doors to the Spero Mausoleum up towards the ceiling, which is felt to be in jeopardy of caving in. Black and White copy of color photos taken by Beth David Cemetary staff.


2016-11-20 we are surmising that this view is looking into the inside of an empty crypt where debris from the crypts above has fallen. Black and White copy of color photos taken by Beth David Cemetary staff. 2019-07-30 There is a feeling that we get from the evidence available to us, that the complexities involved in working on burials dealing with a mausoleum are not as familiar to today's cemetery workers as they were in years gone by. Witness the etching of my father's name on the back wall instead of on the plate behind which he is buried. Really rediculous when you think of it. I am leaning towards believing that someone forced something when inserting my father's coffin into the crypt and the wound that was made finally resulted in the damage we see today. There might be a way of proving it and then holding those who did it respooncible. But, it would take a real expert to make such a determination.	2017-06-18 The above sketch represents what I believe is the layout of the Spero Mausoleum. The fear, according to the Beth David Cemetery representative who gave us the Xerox copies of the photos they or a mausoleum company took, is that the weather damage from the freeze and thaw effect had also caused potential damage to the ceiling, if not to the roof itself, and they are concerned that parts of the ceiling or the roof might fall in and hurt someone who might be working to repair the crypts. We believe that with the use of four lolly columns supported by cross members located at the top of he columns, a "temporary" sub-ceiling that is able to "catch" any materilal that might fall from the actual mausoleum's ceiling, would allow work to take place in and around the interiors of the various crypts to replace the failed and failing infratsructure with more modern and, hopefully, a longer lasting solution to the need to isolate each crypt one from the other and yet to be able to afford entry for burying another family member when and if the time comes to do so.	We understand that the idea proposed would be a "temporary" fix that would allow needed and immediate repairs to the damaged areas and to update the crypt mechanisms that are needed to allow the existing and potential coffins to be interred or reinterred and to remain secure in perpetuity. We would then be able to effect repairs that might be needed to the ceiling or the roof, and could do so as funds and time permits. But, if we could accept the temorary roof and ceiling provided by the "temporary" columms in Spero Mausoleum, we would be able to relocate Shirley Kopf from where she is currently buried to the Spero Mausoleum and, others could be interred there as well as the need presents itself.