Hills of Eternity Memorial Park
1299 El Camino Real
Colma, California 94014
Telephone: (650) 755-4700 Established: 1889 Size: 20 “graciously landscaped” acres at the foot of the San Bruno Mountains, according to the cemetery’s website. Number of interments: More than 13,000 Open: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday through Friday. Closed on Shabbat, major Jewish Holy Days, and secular holidays.
Hills of Eternity (Giboth Olam in Hebrew) is affiliated with San Francisco’s Congregation Sherith Israel and is the third of their graveyards. Originally composed mostly of Polish Jews, Congregation Sherith Israel opened its first graveyard — in 1850 — at Vallejo and Gough Streets in what’s now called San Francisco’s Cow Hollow District. At that point, it was the edge of town, but not for long. The Congregation moved its pioneers to the southernmost side of what is now Dolores Park when two of the Jewish graveyards moved out near the old Mission. Even that wasn’t far enough from trouble. Spurred by vandalism, the Congregation moved its pioneers a third time to a new graveyard called Hills of Eternity in Colma in 1889.
Colma, California has the distinction of being the only town founded to guarantee the rights of the dead, according to Michael Svanevik in his book City of Souls: San Francisco’s Necropolis at Colma.Three of the four Jewish cemeteries in Colma are managed as one: Home of Peace, Hills of Eternity, and Salem Memorial Park all share staff and record-keeping.
Home of Peace predates the others by a year. Congregation Sherith Israel purchased land them in May 1888 and opened Hills of Eternity on January 1, 1889. The cemetery shares its entryway off of El Camino Real (the old Spanish Royal Road between the Missions) with Home of Peace. The two cemeteries had a lovely Gothic entry gate when they opened at the end of the 19th century, but it was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and was not replaced.
Near the entry to Hills of Eternity stands the Portals of Eternity Mausoleum and Chapel, which opened in 1934. It was originally designed by Samuel Hyman and Abraham Appleton, but has been added to and remodeled many times since. Its octagonal towers, capped by copper and tile domed roofs, are an example of neo-Byzantine architecture. Inside the mausoleum rests Cyril Magnin, who owned an upscale department store named for his grandfather on Union Square. He donated enough scratch to build the Jade Room in the old Asian Art Museum to house the Avery Brundage Collection of jades. Magnin also served as San Francisco’s chief of protocol for 24 years.
One of the most spectacular monuments in Hills of Eternity was sculpted by Leo Radke. The bronze Commedia dell’arte masks remember Savely Kramarov, an acclaimed Russian actor and comedian who emigrated to the U.S. for in order to be able to practice his religion. He is much less known in this country — he starred in Moscow on the Hudson with Robin Williams, as well as Red Heat and Tango and Cash — but he was considered the Charlie Chaplin of Russian back home. His grave receives lots of visitors.
Wyatt Earp’s second — or third? — headstone
The most popular permanent resident of Hills of Eternity is Wyatt Earp. Earp was never Marshall of Tombstone, Arizona, and while he did take part in the shootout at the OK Corral, it was over in about 40 seconds. At the time of his death from liver failure in 1929, Earp worked as a sports writer in Los Angeles, consulted on Western movies, and owned oil lands near Bakersfield. His wife Josephine Marcus, who was Jewish, brought his ashes to be buried in her family plot in Colma. Her family still owns the plot.
Wyatt Earp’s current headstone
Earp’s legend is familiar to a lot of people, who leave coins, playing cards, cigars, or bullets on his monument to mark their visits. Local historian Michael Svanevik estimates 50-60 people visit Earp’s grave each month. It’s not easy to find, but it’s down the same row as C. Meyer. You can ask for directions in the cemetery office.
The large stone on Earp’s grave is the third (or fourth?) to mark the spot. A smaller gravestone, purchased by his widow Josephine, was stolen just after her death in 1944. That white marble stone was discovered in a backyard in Fresno. The second stone, made of flat granite, was found for sale in a flea market after actor Hugh O’Brien, who portrayed Earp in a TV series, offered a reward for the stone’s return. Cemetery officials set the 300-pound stone flush in concrete, but it was stolen again. Kevin Costner offered to replace it with a bigger one, but the Marcus family considered the offer self-serving and rejected it. Eventually, the Marcus family agreed to allow a group from Southern California to put this new stone in place in 1998-99. The earlier stone is on display in the Colma Historical museum.
I’m working hard to promote The Haunted Mansion Project: Year Two, a collection of ghost-hunting reports and short stories which I edited, with a series of interviews on my other blog. Unfortunately, that means that Cemetery Travel hasn’t been getting the attention it deserves.
While I haven’t been getting out physically to visit cemeteries, it doesn’t meant that I’ve stopped obsessing about them. In fact, my husband and I were watching a movie last night when the action suddenly raced through a graveyard. If it had been possible, I would’ve slowed the movie down to a frame at a time so I could really absorb what I was seeing. The plot would have had to wait for me to glut my eyes.
The cemetery feature I was enjoying? It’s called The Naked City, the 1948 noir that gave us the line, “There are eight million stories in the naked city.” You may have even watched the movie without noticing the cemetery scene at all, since it’s just a backdrop for the murderer to flee the police. I turned to my husband and said, “I think that’s the Marble Cemetery.”
We’d stood outside its locked gate last summer while I pined to get in.
It’s got me thinking about other cemeteries that show up in movies. One of the first I saw was Holy Cross–in Colma, California–in this great scene from Harold and Maude:
And there’s the acid trip scene in Easy Rider, which was filmed in St. Louis Cemetery #1 in New Orleans. I won’t link to that here, since I can’t find a clip that shows much of the cemetery, but it’s in the movie, if you care to go looking for it.
One of my favorite cemetery scenes that’s actually integral to the movie’s plot is in the scene in the churchyard of San Francisco’s Mission Dolores in Hitchcock’s Vertigo. Jimmy Stewart follows Kim Novak to a prop headstone, but while most people are watching the story unfold, I’m always admiring the old rosebushes and the lovely old gravestones and the imitation Grotto of Lourdes that has since been removed. You can catch a glimpse of the graveyard in the trailer:
Think about it: how many cemetery scenes can you name in movies? When you saw it, were you paying attention to the plot–or were you, like me, trying to read the headstones?
Edited to add:
I’ve been doing more research about the cemetery in The Naked City. The best I can figure out is that it isn’t really a cemetery at all. Take a look at a still from the film:
Not only are the tombstones very close together, but there’s no visible text on any of them. I think this isn’t a graveyard at all but a tombstone showroom. That’s sort of borne out here.
Still, my point remains: I obsess over graveyards in movies.
The only thing that keeps this book from getting 5 stars is that it isn’t longer. I have several books on the cemeteries of Colma, California, so it’s nice to have one about the city’s history prior to its 17 graveyards. Smookler does a good job of giving a sense of what life was like there, before the living were replaced by the dead.
For those who don’t know, Colma, California was a sleepy little farming town south of San Francisco. When the big city real estate interests decided they wanted to develop the land in the peninsular city that had been devoted to graveyards, they passed a series of laws outlawing burial in the city, which slowly strangled the cemeteries of their income. Eventually, all the bodies were removed from San Francisco and the grave monuments were smashed up to provide breakwaters at Ocean Beach, the Marina, the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge, and other construction projects around town.
As if that isn’t morbid enough, Colma absorbed all the pioneers who were unearthed. Now the dead outnumber the living in Colma more than 100,000 to 1.
Smookler’s book illustrates the farming village before and after the change. Irish immigrants grew potatoes, Itallians grew flowers, there were blacksmiths and horse ranchers and pig farmers. Then the Archbishop of San Francisco, seeing the writing on the wall, purchased a large tract of land for a cemetery. The Catholics were followed by the owners of Laurel Hill Cemetery, several Jewish congregations, the Odd Fellows, the Masons, and ethnic groups from the Chinese, the Japanese, the Serbians, and the Italians, all of whom purchased land so they could remain together after death.
Colma remains a fascinating place to this day. Smookler’s book reveals the town beyond the graveyard walls, shaped by local employment opportunities and the proximity of its quiet residents. I found the book entirely fascinating.
Woodlawn Memorial Park
1000 El Camino Real
Colma, California 94014
Telephone: (650) 755-1727 Established: 1904 Size: 57 acres Number of interments: 90,000+
In early San Francisco, when many men arrived without family or friends, they joined fraternal organizations. Among the perks of membership was the ability to buy space in the fraternal burying ground. The Free and Accepted Order of Masons owned a beautiful site (where the University of San Francisco now stands) atop a ridge bounded by Turk, Fulton, Parker and Masonic Streets.
When San Francisco outlawed burial within its city limits at the turn of the 20th century, the Masons followed the Catholic Archdiocese, Jewish congregations, and other groups buying cemetery land south of San Francisco in a little farming village which eventually came to be named Colma. The new Masonic graveyard became the 12th cemetery founded in the village.
The Masons laid their cornerstone on October 29, 1904 on the site of the old Seven Mile House on the stagecoach route between San Francisco and San Jose. A street car ran from San Francisco until 1949. These days, the cemetery is still accessible by mass transit, since the Colma BART station lies right nearby.
Built of blue granite quarried in the Sierra Nevada, the “castle” that spans Woodlawn’s entrance was designed by Thomas Patterson Ross in 1904. It was badly damaged in the 1906 earthquake and took 15 years to repair and complete. In the 1930s, the firm of Merchant and Maybeck added a second wing, which contains offices and the Chapel of Queen Esther, adorned with rich tapestries and an organ, so the Masons could celebrate rituals inside.
The Masonic Pioneers monument
Although the Masons no longer own Woodlawn, the cemetery continues to be nondenominational. It’s now part of the Dignity Memorial Network of crematoria and burial grounds. Among the many people cremated at Woodlawn was Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan.
Among the grand monuments in Woodlawn stands one dedicated to Henry Miller, although not the man by that name who springs to mind. When he originally emigrated from Germany, he found a man who couldn’t use his ticket, so Heinrik Kreiser changed his name to Henry Miller. He became a cattle king, ranching over a million cattle in California, Nevada, and Oregon. He owned the largest land holdings in the West at one point.
The Miller monument
The most important figure buried in Woodlawn is Joshua Norton, known as Norton I. Norton was a rice merchant who bet all he had on cornering the market. Unfortunately, his ship came in behind two others laden with rice and he lost everything. After a brief period of madness, Norton proclaimed himself Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico and patrolled the city on a bicycle. He decreed that a bridge be built linking San Francisco and Oakland – and many still believe that the Oakland-Bay Bridge should be renamed in his honor. He also called for President Lincoln to marry Queen Victoria to cement relations between our countries. In the census, his occupation was officially listed as Emperor.
Norton the First
Norton always wore a uniform with a plumed beaver hat. He issued money that was accepted in taverns, restaurants, and theaters. When he died penniless on a street corner in January 1880, the Pacific Club bought him a rosewood casket ornamented with silver, paid for by subscriptions among its members. Joseph Eastland – a Lodge Brother – donated a burial plot in the old Masonic Cemetery. When it seemed that Norton would have no monument, Reverend N. L. Githens of the Church of the Advent passed the collection plate and purchased a simple cross “to remember a Jew who had strayed far from his faith.”
Obituaries appeared in papers as far away as the Seattle Intelligencer and the New York Times. At two miles long, with an estimated 30,000 people, Norton’s funeral cortege was the largest the city had ever seen.
Several events are scheduled in the next week to mark the death of the great man. The California historical association E Clampsus Vitus celebrates its “5th Annual 30th Emperor Norton Day” on January 5, 2013, beginning at Norton’s grave at 10:30 a.m. Afterward, the Clampers will adjourn to a local tavern. Find the announcement here.
Emperor Norton’s monument
The Obscura Society kicks off their new San Francisco Salon Series on the 132nd anniversary of Norton’s ignominious death next Tuesday, January 8, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the DNA Lounge, 375 Eleventh St., San Francisco. They will host a lecture on the only American Emperor. Victorian hobo royalty garb is appreciated, but not required. Tickets are $12 and more details are available here.
Many cemeteries host tours or fundraisers in the autumn to increase awareness and raise funds for the upkeep of these fragile community treasures. I hope this list inspires you to check around your own area to see what’s being offered. If you find anything intriguing, please post the link in the comments below.
Also, if you find misinformation or broken links in my list below, would you let me know? While I’ve done my best to be accurate, I cut and pasted from a number of sources. Something may have gotten garbled in translation.
Here’s the list:
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
7 p.m. – 9 p.m.
First Wednesday presents: Preserving San Jose’s Cemeteries, Honoring Our Past
San Jose’s official City Historian, Judge Paul Bernal, will present highlights of his activities with the California Pioneers of Santa Clara County’s In Grave Danger Gang, which locates lost headstones, restores markers, maintains a historic cemetery, and honors those who came before us. Judge Bernal will also discuss the recent rediscovery of a cemetery on the grounds of the county hospital. Location: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, 550 Schiro Program Room 5th floor, San Jose Phone: (408) 808-2137 Admission: Free Event link: http://library.sjsu.edu/events/first-wednesday-presents-preserving-san-jose-s-cemeteries-honoring-our-past
Thursday, September 6, 2012 (repeated September 22 & October 27)
10 a.m. – Noon National Cemetery Walk
Hear about Medal of Honor recipients, a Union spy, an Indian scout, Buffalo Soldiers, and others buried here at the San Francisco National Cemetery. This one-mile walk has a steep uphill climb. Dress warmly. Rain cancels. Location: San Francisco National Cemetery, Presidio of San Francisco, San Francisco Meet docent Galen Dillman at the cemetery entrance gate, corner of Lincoln Boulevard. and Sheridan Avenue. Reservations required! Phone: (415) 561-4323. Admission: Free Event link: http://www.parksconservancy.org/events/park-interp/national-cemetery-walk-3.html
Saturday, September 8, 2012
10 a.m. – Noon. Tour begins promptly at 10 a.m. Tomb Walk
Please join Professor Michael Svanevik for an all-new walking tour of Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma. You will see amazing monuments and grand tombs and hear fascinating tales. Michael Svanevik, a specialist in cemetery lore, is a longtime professor of history at College of San Mateo. Please park inside the cemetery gate and meet in front of the office. Comfortable shoes strongly recommended. Location: Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma Reservations required! Phone: (650) 522-7490 Admission: $25 per person, payable to the San Mateo Senior Center. Event link: http://www.holycrosscemeteries.com/blog/?cat=8
Saturday, September 8, 2012
10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Exploring Mountain View Cemetery
This docent-led tour by Jane Leroe will highlight the people, architecture, beauty and history of the cemetery. Location: Mountain View Cemetery, 5000 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611 Phone: (510) 658-2588 Admission: Free Event link: http://www.mountainviewcemetery.org/calendar.html
Friday, September 14 and Saturday, September 15, 2012
Tours begin every 20 minutes between 7:30 p.m. and 9:50 p.m. Lamplight Tours of Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery
Walk at night through Santa Rosa’s oldest cemetery to see and hear all new dramatic portrayals of some of our city’s early settlers. Wear comfortable walking shoes and bring a flashlight. Tours leave from the McDonald Gate. Location: Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery, Santa Rosa Reservations required! Phone: (707) 543-3292. Admission: $30 per person. Event link: http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/departments/recreationandparks/parks/cityparks/cemetery/Pages/events.aspx
Saturday, September 15, 2012
3 p.m. – 7 p.m. Beyond the Pale Cemetery Tour
Enjoy an evening of dinner, dessert, tours, entertainment, silent auction, historical re-enactments, and a complimentary glass of wine while raising funds for the Plumas Museum. Location: Quincy Cemetery, Cemetery Hill, Quincy, CA 95971 Reservations required! Phone: (530) 283-6320 Admission: $65 per person. Event link: http://plumasmuseum.org/events.html
Saturday, September 22, 2012
10 a.m. Redwood City: Union Cemetery tour
During a docent-led tour, learn how the redwood industry helped the famous people buried in 19th-century Union Cemetery build Redwood City. Location: Union Cemetery, Woodside Road and El Camino Real, Redwood City. Phone: (650) 593-1793 Admission: Free Event link: http://www.historysmc.org/walkingtours.html
Saturday, September 22, 2012 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Design, Architects, and Architecture
Following the ‘father’ of Landscape Architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted, Mountain View Cemetery began in 1864 an interaction with a wide variety of architects and designers, both quick and deceased, which continues to this day. Come see their work and hear their stories. Docent Stafford Buckley is a garden professional and long-time Mountain View Cemetery docent. Location: Mountain View Cemetery, 5000 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611 Phone: (510) 658-2588 Admission: Free Event link: http://www.mountainviewcemetery.org/calendar.html
Friday, October 12 and Saturday, October 13, 2012
Tours at 5:30, 6:15, 7, and 7:45 p.m. 10th Annual Barbara Bull Memorial Cemetery Walk
Sebastopol women’s stories come to life with Cemetery Walk. This year’s vignettes feature stories of a woman aviator, our first librarian, a mayor’s daughter from 1906, Sebastopol’s woman city clerk, a woman who witnessed Queen Victoria’s coronation, and a woman journalist. The event includes dinner, cemetery walk with six performances of historical vignettes, and dessert and coffee at the historic Luther Burbank Experiment Farm Cottage adjacent to Sebastopol Memorial Lawn Cemetery. Location: Sebastopol Memorial Lawn Cemetery Phone: (707) 823-0884 or (707) 829-1757 Admission: $25 for the 5:30 p.m. tours. $30 for the 6:15 p.m., 7 p.m., and 7:45 p.m. tours. Event link: http://www.wschsgrf.org/
Saturday, October 13, 2012
1:30 Gargoyles, Foo Dogs and More: Interesting And Unusual Monuments at Cypress Lawn
Join other cemetery enthusiasts and lovers of history, art, and nature in discovering the cultural treasures of our beautiful organic outdoor museum and arboretum. Cypress Lawn has been a part of the San Francisco Bay Area’s cultural heritage since its founding in 1892. It is a 200-acre living museum of magnificent funeral art, architecture, and horticulture unlike any other museum in the world, full of the life stories of the men and women whose visions and dreams have shaped the Golden State of California. Location: Tours start at the Noble Chapel located on the East Gardens of Cypress Lawn left past Cypress Lawn’s 120 year old Archway. Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, Colma. Phone: (650) 550-8810 Admission: Free Event link: http://www.cypresslawnheritagefoundation.com/events.html#walking
Saturday, October 13, 2012
10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Exploring Mountain View Cemetery
This docent-led tour by Ruby Long will highlight the people, architecture, beauty and history of the cemetery. Location: Mountain View Cemetery, 5000 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611 Phone: (510) 658-2588 Admission: Free Event link: http://www.mountainviewcemetery.org/calendar.html
Saturday, October 13, 2012
10 a.m. Children’s Tour of Sacramento’s Old City Cemetery
Docent-led tour. Location: Old City Cemetery, 1000 Broadway, Sacramento Phone: (916) 448-0811 Admission: free Event link: http://www.oldcitycemetery.com/calendar.htm
Friday, October 19, and Saturday, October 20, 2012
Four tours per night after dark Lantern Tours of Sacramento’s Old City Cemetery Costumed actors speak for those in the graves at your feet. Location: Old City Cemetery, 1000 Broadway, Sacramento Phone: (800) 839-3006 Admission: $30 + handling fee Event link: http://www.oldcitycemetery.com/Flyers/Lantern%20Tour_2012_SEPT.pdf
Sunday, October 21, 2012
2 p.m. – 4 p.m. Douglas Keister presents Stories in Stone: New York Location: Cypress Lawn’s Reception Center, 2nd Floor of the Administration Building, 1370 El Camino Real, Colma, California Phone: (650) 550-8811 Admission: Free Event link: http://www.cypresslawnheritagefoundation.com/events.html#walking
Friday, October 26, and Saturday, October 27, 2012
Four tours per night after dark Lantern Tours of Sacramento’s Old City Cemetery
Costumed actors speak for those in the graves at your feet. Location: Old City Cemetery, 1000 Broadway, Sacramento Phone: (800) 839-3006 Admission: $30 + handling fee Event link: http://www.oldcitycemetery.com/Flyers/Lantern%20Tour_2012_SEPT.pdf
Saturday, October 27, 2012
10 a.m. – 1 p.m. UC Berkeley’s Blue and Gold
Docent-led tour by Ron Bachman and Jane Leroe. Come explore the history of UC Berkeley at Mountain View Cemetery. Meet famous founders, faculty, and alums. Go Bears! Location: Mountain View Cemetery, 5000 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611 Phone: (510) 658-2588 Admission: Free Event link: http://www.mountainviewcemetery.org/calendar.html
Saturday, October 27, 2012
11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Spooky Tales at Evergreen Cemetery
Get ready for Halloween with this spook-tacular journey through the cemetery. Docents will tell ghost stories from those buried at Evergreen (Don’t worry, it’s nothing too scary), teach you how to make a tombstone rubbing, send you on a spooky tour through the cemetery and much more. Be sure to wear your costume! Location: Evergreen Cemetery, Evergreen Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060 Phone: (831) 429-1964 x 7020 Admission: Free Event link: http://www.santacruzmah.org/event/spooky-tales-at-evergreen-cemetery/
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Noon – 3 p.m. 7th Annual Pumpkin Festival
Celebrate Halloween at our fun-filled pumpkin patch meadow with free pumpkins, activities, and treats for the kids! Location: Mountain View Cemetery, 5000 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611 Phone: (510) 658-2588 Admission: Free Event link: http://www.mountainviewcemetery.org/calendar.html
Saturday, October 27, 2012
1:30 p.m. The Only in October Tomb Walk with Michael Svanevik
Join other cemetery enthusiasts and lovers of history, art, and nature in discovering the cultural treasures of our beautiful organic outdoor museum and arboretum. Cypress Lawn has been a part of the San Francisco Bay Area’s cultural heritage since its founding in 1892. It is a 200-acre living museum of magnificent funeral art, architecture and horticulture unlike any other museum in the world: a place full of the life stories of the men and women whose visions and dreams have shaped the Golden State of California. Location: Tours start at the Noble Chapel located on the East Gardens of Cypress Lawn left past Cypress Lawn’s 120 year old Archway. Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, Colma. Phone: (650) 550-8810 Admission: Free Event link: http://www.cypresslawnheritagefoundation.com/events.html#walking
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Noon Halloween Tour of Colma’s Cemeteries
We meet at the Colma BART station at noon, then take a spirited bike tour of several massive cemeteries where famous San Franciscans are buried. We’ll visit Woodlawn, Home of Peace and Hills of Eternity, Cypress Lawn, and Holy Cross. Location: meet at the COLMA BART STATION at 12 noon Admission: Free Event link: http://www.chriscarlsson.com/events/event/halloween-tour-of-colmas-cemeteries/
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
5 p.m. Halloween Walking Tour of the Redding Cemetery
Cemeteries are “history books” that give insight regarding important changes that have occurred in the local area and in society as a whole. The Redding Cemetery is the oldest remaining cemetery in Redding and is the last resting place for many important, famous, and notorious people who lived in or traveled through the area. The walks focuses on the history of cemeteries in the U.S.; symbolism found in cemetery traditions and headstones; and the inter-relationship between people buried here. Actually, history at the cemeteries’ site goes back before there was a town of Redding. Location: Meet at the Corner of Eureka Way and Continental Street. Admission: Free Event link: http://shastahistorical.org/events/
Saturday, November 10, 2012
10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Exploring Mountain View Cemetery
This docent-led tour by Stafford Buckley will highlight the people, architecture, beauty and history of the cemetery. Location: Mountain View Cemetery, 5000 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611 Phone: (510) 658-2588 Admission: Free Event link: http://www.mountainviewcemetery.org/calendar.html
Saturday, November 24, 2012
10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Symbolism in the Cemetery
This docent-led tour by Sandy Rauch will highlight the architecture and symbolism of the cemetery. Location: Mountain View Cemetery, 5000 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611 Phone: (510) 658-2588 Admission: Free Event link: http://www.mountainviewcemetery.org/calendar.html
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Near the entry to Hills of Eternity stands the Portals of Eternity Mausoleum and Chapel, which opened in 1934. It was originally designed by Samuel Hyman and Abraham Appleton, but has been added to and remodeled many times since. Its octagonal towers, capped by copper and tile domed roofs, are an example of neo-Byzantine architecture.
Inside the mausoleum rests Cyril Magnin, who owned an upscale department store named for his grandfather on Union Square. He donated enough scratch to build the Jade Room in the old Asian Art Museum to house the Avery Brundage Collection of jades. Magnin also served as San Francisco’s chief of protocol for 24 years.
