Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California is a famous 300-acre cemetery with over a quarter million graves. It was founded in 1906 and revolutionized the funeral industry with its use of commemorative plaques and funeral homes on the grounds. Forest Lawn now operates six memorial parks and prefers to be called a “memory park.” The cemetery is known for its unique style, with graves covered in plaques and reproductions of famous works of art and buildings. It also has chapels and courtyards decorated with various themes and is used for events like weddings.
Numerous cemeteries around the world are known as “Forest Lawn,” but the most famous is probably Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. This particular forest meadow spans 300 acres of manicured grounds and rolling hills and is home to over a quarter million of the deceased. It was made famous both by the fame of some of the people buried there and by its flamboyant and very characteristic style.
Forest Lawn was founded in 1906 by a group of businessmen in San Francisco, and was initially incorporated as a non-profit. By 1917, Forest Lawn had been taken over by Dr. Hubert Eaton, a man often credited with revolutionizing the American funeral industry. Mangiato developed the concept of a “memorial park,” which involves the use of commemorative plaques rather than standing stones like gravestones. He also pioneered the concept of having a funeral home on the cemetery grounds, creating bundled package services for cemetery clients.
Eaton’s work at Forest Lawn proved extremely successful. Today, Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks and Mortuaries operates six memorial parks in addition to the original Forest Lawn, located in Palm Springs, Covina Hills, Long Beach, Cathedral City, Cypress and Hollywood Hills. The company does not appreciate the term “cemetery” in the context of its properties, preferring “memory park”.
Forest Lawn is truly a quaint place. Because the graves are covered with plaques, rather than headstones, the grounds are easy to maintain and people can wander among rolling green hills, exploring various regions of the cemetery with names like Slumberland, Eventide, Inspiration Land and Babyland. The cemetery is dotted with reproductions of famous works of art and includes several reconstructions of famous buildings. Forest Lawn also has columbaria for cremated remains, along with private walled gardens for the cemetery’s particularly prestigious residents, such as Humphrey Bogart.
Forest Lawn visitors can see a series of chapels and courtyards, decorated with a variety of themes, from patriotic to deeply religious. In addition to being used for funeral services, the Forest Lawn grounds are also let for weddings, christenings and other events. Many of Forest Lawn’s properties, including Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, have become tourist destinations in their own right, thanks to the impressive art collections scattered across their grounds. The look and feel of Forest Lawn is certainly quite unique in the cemeteries industry, just as the founder intended it to be.
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