Olivet Gardens of Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
{{Short description|Cemetery in San Mateo County, California}}
{{Infobox cemetery
|name=Olivet Gardens of Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
|image=Mount Olivet cemetery, Colma California.jpg
|caption=Mausoleum at Olivet Gardens
|established={{start date and age|1896|07}}
|type=Non-sectarian
|location=Colma, California
|country=United States
|findagraveid=8239
|owner=Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
|coordinates={{Coord|37|40|55|N|122|27|17|W|display=inline,title}}
|website={{URL|cypresslawn.com/about/memorial-park/olivet/}}
}}
Olivet Gardens of Cypress Lawn Memorial Park was founded in 1896, originally as the Mount Olivet Cemetery, and is located at 1601 Hillside Boulevard in Colma, California. Its name was changed later to Olivet Memorial Park, and updated again following its acquisition by Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in 2020.
History
Work on the {{cvt|210|acre|adj=on}} Mount Olivet Cemetery site was announced in November 1895; it was planned to be a non-sectarian cemetery on the western slopes of San Bruno Mountain which would be subdivided into sections reserved for fraternal organizations such as the Native Sons of the Golden West, Knights of Pythias, Improved Order of Red Men, and Ancient Order of Foresters. The site adjoins the older Hills of Eternity and Home of Peace Jewish cemeteries, separated by Hillside Boulevard, which was then known as San Bruno Avenue.{{cite news |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SFC18951106.2.151 |title=New City for the Dead |date=November 6, 1895 |newspaper=San Francisco Call |access-date=13 September 2023}} At the time, it was the largest cemetery in California. The first interments were conducted in July 1896.{{cite news |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SFC18960730.2.125 |title=New Cemetery of Mount Olivet |date=July 30, 1896 |newspaper=San Francisco Call |access-date=13 September 2023}}
File:Mt Olivet chapel and gate (1896).png
A branch line of the San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway was completed for Mount Olivet in 1898.{{cite news |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SFC18981009.2.182 |title=To Mt. Olivet Cemetery |date=October 9, 1898 |newspaper=San Francisco Call |access-date=13 September 2023}} By that time, the debate on keeping cemeteries within San Francisco had begun to trend toward relocating the dead, and the development of Mount Olivet and Cypress Lawn in Colma was given as evidence that community "will probably be made the receptacle for all the dead of [San Francisco] in the very near future."{{cite news |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SFC18961115.2.98 |title=A Vital Question |date=November 15, 1896 |newspaper=San Francisco Call |access-date=13 September 2023}} The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a measure in 1902, banning new interments within city limits.{{Cite web |last=Proctor |first=William A. |date=1950 |title=Location, regulation, and removal of cemeteries in the City and County of San Francisco |url=https://legacy.sfgenealogy.org/sf/history/hcmcpr.htm |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=SFGenealogy.org |publisher=Department of City Planning, City and County of San Francisco}}
The oldest buildings onsite include the stone chapel (1896) and columbarium (1915), both designed by William H. Crim Jr.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/cityofsoulssanfr0000svan/ |title=City of Souls: San Francisco's Necropolis at Colma |author1=Svanevik, Michael |author2=Burgett, Shirley |date=1995 |publisher=Custom & Limited Editions |location=San Francisco, California |isbn=1-881529-04-5 |url-access=registration}}{{rp|87}}
There are two large memorials at Olivet: one dedicated to the Sailors' Union of the Pacific by Governor Earl Warren in 1946 in memory of the 6,000 United States Merchant Marine sailors who died in World War II,{{cite web |url=https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/23716 |title=Sailors' Union of the Pacific Monument |website=Roadside America |access-date=13 September 2023}} and another named "Showman's Rest", erected by the Showfolks of America in 1945.{{rp|91–92}}{{cite web |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/circus-showfolks-of-america-memorial |title=Circus Showfolks of America Memorial |website=Atlas Obscura |access-date=13 September 2023}} By that time, when Robert Royston was engaged to perform landscape architecture for the site, the name had been changed to Olivet Memorial Park.{{cite web |url=https://oac-upstream.cdlib.org/ark:/28722/bk0000n4w1h/ |title=Olivet Memorial Park, Colma, CA, 1946 |website=Online Archive of California |publisher=UC Berkeley, Environmental Design Archives: Robert R. Royston Collection, 1941–1990 |access-date=13 September 2023}} The cemetery was acquired by Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in 2020 and renamed to Olivet Gardens.{{cite web |url=https://cypresslawn.com/blog/exploring-the-many-campuses-of-cypress-lawn/ |title=Exploring the Many Campuses of Cypress Lawn |website=Cypress Lawn Memorial Park |access-date=13 September 2023}}
Notable burials
- Arthur Barker (1899–1939), son of Ma Barker and member of the Barker-Karpis gang{{rp|91}}
- Joseph Bowers (1896–1936), first man to attempt an escape from Alcatraz Island
- Virginia Brissac (1883–1979), actress
- Marguerite De La Motte (1902–1950), actress
- John J. De Haven (1845–1913), judge and congressman
- Danniebelle Hall (1938–2000), musician
- Ishi (1860–1916), last member of the Yahi people{{rp|89}}
- Harry Lundeberg (1901–1957), American labor leader
- Stephen A. Douglas Puter (1857–1931), criminal and author
- Gus Suhr (1906–2004), Major League Baseball player
- Samuel D. Woods (1845–1915), American politician
File:Mount Olivet cemetery, Colma California 5.jpg|Garden mausoleum and sign, near entrance
File:Sailors Union memorial, Mt Olivet.jpg|Sailors Union memorial (John Stoll, 1946)
File:Showman's Rest, Colma.jpg|Showman's Rest
File:Olivet Columbarium.jpg|Entrance to columbarium