Tag Archives: Mountain View Cemetery

Cemetery Tours in Northern California again

Posted on October 1, 2012 | 2 comments

The Cogswell monument, Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland

In case you missed it last month, here’s a reminder of the cemetery tours in the next couple of months.

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:

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.
Alamo Cemetery tour
Trained docents reveal stories of pioneer families during a special walk-through the cemetery.
Location: 130 El Portal, Danville
Phone: For reservations, call Betty Joyce at (925) 314-9612.
Admission: A donation of $3 is requested.
Event link: http://www.museumsrv.org/srvm_ex_walk.html

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

Saturday, October 27, 2012
4:30-8:30 p.m.
Union Cemetery Haunting
An exploration of Redwood City’s historic Union Cemetery.
Location: Union Cemetery, Woodside Road and El Camino Real, Redwood City.
Admission: Free, but donations accepted
Event link: http://historicunioncemetery.com/JoinUs.shtml

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 3, 2012
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Walking Tour of Old St. Mary Cemetery
Join the Historical Society for a walking tour.
Location: Meet at St. Joseph Family Center, 7950 Church Street, Gilroy.
Phone: (408) 846-0446 to RSVP.
Admission: Free
Event link: http://www.cityofgilroy.org/cityofgilroy/community/community_calendar/calendar_details.aspx?date=11/3/2012&type=0&typeindex=0

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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2012 Northern California Autumn Cemetery Tours & Events

Posted on September 4, 2012 | 5 comments

The Graves family monument, Cypress Lawn

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 3, 2012
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Walking Tour of Old St. Mary Cemetery
Join the Historical Society for a walking tour.
Location: Meet at St. Joseph Family Center, 7950 Church Street, Gilroy.
Phone: (408) 846-0446 to RSVP.
Admission: Free
Event link: http://www.cityofgilroy.org/cityofgilroy/community/community_calendar/calendar_details.aspx?date=11/3/2012&type=0&typeindex=0

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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A Guide to Mountain View Cemetery

Posted on October 6, 2011 | 1 comment

Mountain View CemeteryMountain View Cemetery by Dennis Evanosky

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Dennis Evanosky is a docent at Mountain View Cemetery. I’ve taken one of his tours and heard him speak passionately about the work he’s done researching and caring for the Grand Army of the Republic plot in the cemetery. He’s extremely committed to his subject.

This book, unfortunately, skims along the depth of his knowledge. Almost every section could be longer. Each of the local personages he mentions rates a page of his or her own, rather than the paragraph they receive. Worse, the chief disappointment is that photos are not well reproduced. They tend to be muddy and gray, without much artistry or contrast. This beautiful place deserves better.

That said, I like the way Evanosky combined a portrait of the person, a photo of the grave monument, and other historical material, whether a photo of the person’s home or business or perhaps an advertisement. Reading this book, I get a sense of the city Oakland once was.

I also like the section toward the back where Evanosky uses the monuments in Mountain View to illustrate mortuary symbolism. That’s really nicely done.

I waver between 3 stars and 4 for this book. I learned a fair amount, but I wished for more. In fact, I wish that Mountain View Cemetery had a lovely full-color guide like Cypress Lawn: Guardian of California’s Heritage.

The Mountain View Cemetery book isn’t listed on Amazon, but you can order a copy direct from the author here.

View all my reviews on Goodreads.

Cemetery of the Week #35: Mountain View Cemetery

 

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Cemetery of the Week #35: Mountain View Cemetery

Posted on October 5, 2011 | 8 comments

The Cogswell monument, Mountain View

Mountain View Cemetery
5000 Piedmont Avenue
Oakland, CA 94611
Telephone: (510) 658-2588
Founded: 1863
Number of interments: Approximately 170,000
Size: 226 acres
Open: Daily from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (Fall/Winter hours)

Across the bay from San Francisco, the city of Oakland, California grew quickly after the Gold Rush. Its pioneer cemetery (right downtown on Broadway) was not large enough for the burgeoning metropolis, so the wealthier citizens of the day formed a committee to purchase land two miles away from downtown on a site that climbed the Oakland Hills and afforded views of the bay and San Francisco in the distance.

As envisioned by Frederick Law Olmstead (designer of New York City’s Central Park), Mountain View Cemetery originally had no lawns or fountains, since he believed those weren’t sensible in California’s dry climate. Anthony Chabot, one of the cemetery’s original trustees and benefactor of the Chabot Science Center, made his fortune engineering a water delivery system for San Francisco. He insisted on green grass and fountains for his cemetery. Today Mountain View is an oasis of green at the end of Oakland’s tony Piedmont Avenue.

Since the cemetery’s history spans from the rural cemetery movement through the modern memorial park, its art and architecture has much to offer. Its family tombs range from Egyptian Revival through Romanesque to Gothic. Its 1929 art deco public mausoleum is a thing of beauty. Grave statuary includes everything from lambs to little girls to angels of exquisite loveliness. One can truly feast her eyes here.

One of Mountain View Cemetery’s most remarkable monuments remembers Henry Daniel Cogswell, a dentist who made his money speculating on land after the Gold Rush. Cogswell was such a staunch believer in temperance that he donated drinking fountains to San Francisco and Oakland. In 1870, when Cogswell showed the cemetery fathers the design for his monument, they were so impressed that they gave him the grave plot for free. In return, he paid $1000 for perpetual care. Most of the way up the hill at the back of the cemetery, Cogswell’s monument is a column that rises 70 feet, topped with a crystal star that has turned amethyst in the strong California sun. At the base of the column stand the figures of Faith, Hope, Charity, and Temperance. Once upon a time, the monument had a drinking fountain which offered refreshment to those who climbed the hill to see it, but the fountain hasn’t worked in many years now. $1000 in 19th century dollars couldn’t go far enough.

Above Cogswell’s column is the family tomb of Domenico Ghirardelli. The chocolatier, who also made a fortune in the Gold Rush, had a falling out with the Catholic Church. Under cover of night, he dug his family up in St. Mary’s Cemetery next door and had them reburied in a tomb adorned with upside torches.

The Grand Army of the Republic plot, surrounded by cannonballs set in cement, contains the remains of 300 people. Its 12-pound howitzers technically still belong to the government, although there’s little likelihood Uncle Sam will ask for them back. The highest-ranking officer in the GAR plot is General Jeremiah C. Sullivan, who was relieved of his command for inertia right before the battle of Vicksburg.

Several well-known artists are buried in Mountain View. Julia Morgan was the architect of William Randolph Hearst’s castle at San Simeon, but she is buried under a modest granite headstone. Even more modest is the plaque to Bernard Maybeck, designer of San Francisco’s lovely Palace of Fine Arts. Ina Coolbrith, first California Poet Laureate, was buried in a grave that went unmarked until 1986, when a literary group honored her. Novelist Frank Norris, whose work has not aged quite so well, has a lovely tall stone.

Docents lead a full schedule of free tours that delve into the architecture, design, symbolism, and history of California and the San Francisco Bay Area. Upcoming events include:

October 8, 10 a.m.: Exploring Mountain View Cemetery, free docent tour led by Ron Bachman and Peg Stone

October 22, 10 a.m.: Immigrants Who Helped Shape California, a free docent tour led by Peg Stone and Jane Leroe

Also not to be missed it the 6th Annual Pumpkin Festival on October 29. Mountain View Cemetery invites you to celebrate Halloween in their fun-filled pumpkin patch meadow. You’ll find free pumpkins, activities, and treats for the kids.

Useful links:

Mountain View Cemetery’s homepage

Events calendar

Lives of the Dead blog about Mountain View Cemetery

Other links on Cemetery Travel:

My ghost story

My review of the Mountain View Cemetery book

Cemetery of the Week #56: Chapel of the Chimes

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Sunset

Posted on October 4, 2011 | 5 comments

The Crocker Angel earlier in the day

I don’t have a photo from the night I watched sunset in the graveyard, but I can tell you a ghost story about it…

Sunset was a line of blood carved into the sky as we entered the graveyard. There were seven of us: the cemetery docent, the bookseller, the magician, the psychic, the woman who set up the computer system in the University cadaver lab, “Silent Bob,” and me. Almost everyone was armed with a digital recorder and a camera.

The docent led us first toward the potter’s field section of the graveyard. It contained not only indigents, but also people who died without family to claim their bodies. The cemetery had some records of the dead, mostly details of where the bodies — or parts of bodies — were found

We hadn’t gone far onto the empty lawn when we discovered a tablet gravestone set into the grass. “I’ve been a docent here 11 years,” Dennis said, “and I had no idea this was here!” The man was a victim of a shipwreck on a Confederate (CSS) ship.

“He’s just glad we found him,” the psychic said.

I kept seeing lights whiz past my left eye. I wasn’t sure if they were reflections of stray flashlight beams off the weird lenses of my new glasses. “Take a picture up between those trees, would you?” I asked the bookseller.

“Oh, look!” She held the window of her digital camera out toward me. A bright white ball floated in the middle of the screen. Behind it loomed the huge black redwood trees.

I buttoned up my flannel shirt. The docent wore a Hawaiian shirt. The bookseller and Silent Bob were in shirtsleeves. Goosebumps shivered up my legs and it felt like someone laid a cold wet cloth across the back of my neck. I turned to my left to find another fallen gravestone surrounded by the sod.

When I pointed it out, the psychic said, “She fell or was pushed or was persuaded to throw herself down the stairs. She was a servant girl who got pregnant.”

“Did she break her neck?” I asked, rubbing the back of mine to warm it.

“I didn’t know you were psychic,” the bookseller said to me.

“I’m not,” I said, “but she isn’t the first ghost I’ve been aware of.” I moved up the hill until the group was between me and the fallen headstone. Warmth rushed over me as if I’d moved next to a radiator. It felt so good I shivered.

There were other instances, less dramatic than the first. I heard music several times, but that might have been a trick of the air (there wasn’t any wind). I saw red eyes glow in the camera flashes, but smelled skunk and saw several feral cats skulking between the gravestones. I heard a sneeze, but later we saw evidence that at least one homeless man was overnighting. I know that one of the “orb” photos was caused by the flash striking a moth’s wings because I was looking in the right direction when the camera went off.

The eeriest part of the tour was trying to locate the grave of the Black Dahlia. Apparently, she’d had family in Berkeley who gave her their plot rather than see what was left of her body consigned to the potter’s field. I had the strongest urge to sprawl atop the paved path as a safe distance while the others scoured the steep hill for her pink granite stone. I wanted to feel the warmth seeping up from the ground and stare up at the stars. I did not want to step, by accident, on the grave of the woman who had been so violated.

When the others found her, I joined them to stand before her stone. The only epitaph was “daughter.” “Such a pretty girl,” I thought again and again. I refused to imagine the police photographs.

When we moved away from her grave, I realized that my whole body ached. I’d been sick with a cold for several days and coping with my three-year-old’s jet lag as she re-acclimated to West Coast time, but I felt wrung out, insulated, and completely cut off from the outside world. I embraced the feeling and concentrated on the beauty of the moonlit graveyard, the scents of the trees, and the stars sparkling overhead. I only wanted to be where I was, alone in a group of strangers in a familiar place. I didn’t want to know anything more about death.

Cemetery of the Week #35: Mountain View Cemetery

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