Six years later, the cemetery's trustees decided to build a vault, and to design it, they hired Toledo architect D.W.

Other elements of the design included a double-arched ceiling, the creation of ventilation and related systems, and the placement of fine marble and carpet to beautify the structure and retard the harshness of death for decedents' family members at funerals.

[4] Warren Gamaliel Harding died in early August 1923 while in office as President of the United States.

The suddenness of his death produced chaos even on a personal level, as funeral services and a burial location had to be worked out suddenly, and his wife, Florence Harding, was forced to return to Washington, D.C. to wrap up her affairs and to move her possessions out of the White House in order to permit its new occupants, President Calvin Coolidge and First Lady Grace Coolidge, to move in.

Accordingly, no permanent burial place was employed immediately after his death, and funeral services were held at the Receiving Vault:[5] Harding's family already owned burial plots in the cemetery, but a grander destination was planned for the deceased chief executive.