Forest Lawn Memorial Park

Cemeteries have an appeal all on their own. Mostly it is due to the amazing structures and mausoleums some families create. Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California has a long history having been established in 1906. The cemetery is in a district of Los Angeles in Southern California near Providencia Ranch.

A businessman from San Francisco helped to get the cemetery started. A contract with the ranch helped provide land and the first structure was built in 1912. By 1917, management was given to Eaton. A dedication ceremony for the cemetery was provided and the first funeral home was open. Most of the burial sections have names such as Babyland, Eventide, Vesperland, Sweet Memories, and Borderland. At the moment there are 1,500 statues in the cemetery, along with many elaborately carved headstones, mausoleums, and buildings. Ten percent of the statues are reproductions of famous artists' works like The Last Supper, Michelangelo's David and Moses, and others.

There are three non sectarian chapels at the cemetery to help bury beloved family members. The older sections are worth touring to see some of the famous and moderately famous graves of those buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.