This is something a lot of people (who aren’t death doulas) sometimes think is strange, but one of my favorite places in the world is the original Forest Lawn Cemetery—or, as it is called on the brochure, Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
Forest Lawn is in fact a company with several cemetery properties; by coincidence I happened to grow up just a few miles away from their main site in Glendale, California. I discovered the place as a college student, when I became obsessed with old movies from the 1930s and 1940s, and learned that many of the stars of my favorite films were buried just a few miles up the street from where I lived.
When I went to see the place for myself, I found a huge expanse of rolling green hills, with beautifully tended lawns and classical works of art: inside the mausoleum is a stained-glass reproduction of Da Vinci’s last supper, and at the highest point of the hilly ground is a life-sized replica of Michelangelo’s David. Not far off is a tiled mosaic floor with a meditation labyrinth and even a small museum displaying antique pieces that wouldn’t fare so well out-of-doors.
I loved exploring the place. My favorite spot was a tiny chapel called the Wee Kirk O’ the Heather, once used for movie stars’ funerals and now a common spot for weddings, but once I got familiar with the whole park I usually just liked to find a nice spot under a tree somewhere to read or study, because one of the most amazing things about Forest Lawn was that somehow, in the middle of a huge city, the place was always quieter than a library. It was a lovely place to meditate on life, death, or in my case, Poli Sci homework. And it was intended to be so—near the front of the grounds is a massive stone engraved with “The Builder’s Creed,” a statement by Forest Lawn founder Hubert Eaton about his intentions that the place be a beautiful garden to be enjoyed by all, and not just a gloomy place of mourning.
I adored the place and still do, but not everyone who visited was as enthusiastic. Particularly in the early twentieth century, when the place was still new, there were people who thought the idea of a “Memorial Park” rather than a solemn old-fashioned graveyard was frivolous and possibly disrespectful. Writers from England in particular hated the place: Aldous Huxley compared it to Disneyland; Evelyn Waugh used it as the setting for his most tasteless novel;* and Jessica Mitford held it up as the most extreme example of everything wrong with the mid-century American funeral industry. Now that I am no longer 22 and I know a lot more about the negative aspects of commercialism and consumer culture, I can see their point. But I still love the place.
What do you think? Is the idea of an inviting Memorial Park appealing to you, or do you agree that it may not be entirely in good taste? One thing is certain—being buried at Forest Lawn is not cheap. The question is, is it worth it? Come visit us on the Movement to share your thoughts!
*The Evelyn Waugh novel is called The Loved One; it was published in 1949 and tells the story of a love triangle between three people who all work in the funeral industry and are easy to hate. It is an extremely funny book if you like that sort of thing but even Waugh described it as the most offensive thing he ever wrote, so if you are curious, consider yourself warned.
