Couch Tomb

Designed by Chicago’s first professional architect, John M. Van Osdel, the vault was commissioned by hotelier Ira Couch for his family. When the burial ground was converted into parkland in 1869, families were expected to relocate their relatives' remains, yet this fifty-ton structure stayed behind—likely because surviving kin balked at the cost of hauling it away. Later preservation work cleaned and tuck-pointed the masonry, trimmed back the original ornamental fencing, and installed nighttime illumination.