May 18, 2023

Forest Lawn Memorial Park

One of the six Forest Lawn cemeteries that are located in Southern California is the Hollywood Hills location of the Forest Lawn Memorial Park. 

The first Forest Lawn was established in Glendale in 1906 by a group of businessmen who engaged Dr. Hubert Eaton, a physician who was a staunch believer in the existence of a happy afterlife. He thought that most cemeteries were "unsightly stone yards," so he made a promise to design one that would reflect his upbeat outlook on life and be "as different, as unlike other cemeteries as sunshine is to darkness, as eternal life is unlike death." He did this so that his cemetery would be "as unlike other cemeteries as sunshine is to death."

He made the following proclamation: "I shall try to build at Forest Lawn a great park, devoid of misshapen monuments and other customary signs of Earthly death, but filled with towering trees, sweeping lawns, splashing fountains, singing birds, beautiful statuary, cheerful flowers, noble memorial architecture with interiors full of light and color, and redolent ofthehee world's best history and romances."

The second-oldest of the Forest Lawn cemetery property chains is located in Hollywood Hills and goes by the name Forest Lawn.

The statues of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, as well as the mosaic depicting the Birth of Liberty, may be found in the Court of Liberty. The Birth of Liberty is the most impressive historical mosaic in the United States, measuring 162 feet in length and 28 feet in height. It shows twenty-five scenes from early America and is made up of ten million pieces of Venetian glass. The time period covered by the scenes ranges from 1619 to 1787.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Paul Revere's Ride" includes a description of The Old North Church, which is a faithful reproduction of the ancient church in Boston. Documents and artifacts dating back to the colonial era can be found in the historical rooms.

In addition to other artifacts, the Hall of Liberty American History Museum houses a reproduction of the Liberty Bell. The auditorium of the museum can accommodate 1,200 people.

Thomas Ball, a sculptor, is responsible for the creation of the Monument to George Washington. This memorial to the first President of the United States is made of marble and bronze. In the memorial, there are plaques honoring four of Washington's generals.

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