Located on Los Angeles' Santa Monica Boulevard, directly behind the Paramount Studios lot, Hollywood Forever Cemetery has become famous for more than its celebrity graves.
In fact, it's also treasured as a vibrant cultural destination during the day and at night — and for many different types of events.
In addition to its annual Día de los Muertos celebration, which is the largest of its kind outside of Mexico, there's also the annual summer film screening series hosted by Cinespia on the cemetery's Fairbanks Lawn and a number of concerts (some outdoors), author readings and book releases, yoga classes and even podcast tapings.
This isn't your average solemn graveyard. This is Hollywood, after all. And it may surprise you how its namesake cemetery is teeming with life.
Some visitors are first drawn to Hollywood Forever for its scores of famous folks who've been buried there, but they stay for some of the cemetery's most intriguing hidden treasures — which give plenty of reason to make a detour or even a special trip on any day of the week, no ticket necessary.
Here are six of the best offerings for first-timers or seasoned cemetery crawlers working their way through Hollywood Forever — as recommended by some of the experts who know it the best.
1. A Freemasons Historic Gathering Spot
At the Santa Monica Boulevard entrance of Hollywood Forever (formerly known as Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery when it was first established in 1899) stands what today serves as the cemetery's administration complex. But it has far more esoteric origins than that — because the 6,700-square-foot structure once served as the home base for Hollywood's community of Freemasons.
You might not be able to tell at first glance, but this Spanish Baroque-style landmark indeed served as the community center for members of the Southland Lodge No. 617. It was designed by the architectural team of Morgan, Walls and Clements, completed in 1931 and designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in March 2022.
The masons vacated it in 1967 — and after that, it was essentially abandoned for three decades. But in a major turnaround, the former Southland Masonic Temple — or simply the "Masonic Lodge," as it's now colloquially known — was included in the cemetery's national historic landmark designation upon its 100th birthday in 1999.
There are some exterior clues to the mystical energy that remains inside — like the circular stained-glass window visible on the second floor of the rear of the building. Its interior, on the other hand, is only accessible to ticketed guests of special events, when you can explore the upstairs Eastern Star Room (where the Southland Masonic Temple's women's auxiliary once met) and its ornate carved stone fireplace — which, at one time, had been walled-over. Then, take a seat in the main meeting room and look up to admire its high-beamed ceiling.
2. Roaming Peacocks
If you've only visited Hollywood Forever during a large-scale event or on a regular weekend, you might've missed one of the most beloved attractions the cemetery has to offer: dozens of peafowl. When the cemetery gets crowded, they're housed in bird pens on the north side of the cemetery. But on weekdays during the day, the showy-feathered male peacocks and more subtly suited female peahens roam the grounds freely, perching on ledges, grooming beside graves and strutting across lawns like they own the place.
According to tour guide Karie Bible, who's been bringing groups through Hollywood Forever since 2002, peacocks symbolize good luck. And during late summer molting season, she says, if you find one of the colorful tail feathers that the males have shed lying on the ground, you're welcome to pick it up and take it home (and even try your luck at the lottery). Just don't harass the birds themselves or try to feed them! They're cared for very well by the cemetery's groundskeepers.
Peacocks also represent immortality in Christianity — and you can find depictions of these fanciful feathered friends adorning the circa 1928 Hollywood Columbarium dome of the cemetery chapel and, as Bible points out on her tour, embedded in stained glass windows next to the flower shop. To find some of the 40-some-odd real live birds — which have been a feature of the cemetery for over 17 years — look for them hanging out by the Beth Olam Jewish Cemetery, where such luminaries as voice actor Mel Blanc and actress Estelle Getty are interred.
3. Empty Gravesites
That's right — you could find yourself "visiting" a grave at Hollywood Forever that's actually empty! That might be because the owner(s) of the plot haven't actually passed away yet, as is the case with the "Doxie Tombstone," a bench covered in bronze dachshunds designed by writer Mike Szymanski, who's still very much alive at just 61 years old, for his final resting place. The marker immortalizes each of the "doxies" that Szymanski has shared his life with — and its epitaph reads, "Still bringing people together."
Another future resident of Hollywood Forever with a marker that precedes the arrival of his remains is Johnny Ramone. Upon his 2004 death, an eight-foot, bronze statue of him was erected near the south shoreline of Sylvan Lake. Although plenty of music fans come pay tribute to him at the site, not everyone knows that his ashes won't be interred there until after his widow, who is holding onto them, passes away.
Some gravesites honor the dead but will always remain empty. These monuments, known as cenotaphs, celebrate the lives and achievements of actresses like Jayne Mansfield (buried at Fairview Cemetery in Pennsylvania) and Hattie McDaniel, whose last wish was to be buried there. When McDaniel died in 1952, the then-Hollywood Memorial Park would not allow a Black woman to purchase a plot — but in 1999, new cemetery owner Tyler Cassity installed the pink marble obelisk as a tribute to her.
Terry, the dog who portrayed Toto in "The Wizard of Oz," was buried at a pet cemetery that was later destroyed for the construction of the 101 Freeway — but in her honor, a marker featuring a life-sized likeness of her in bronze sculpted by Roman Gal was dedicated at Hollywood Forever in 2011. You can find it between the Cathedral Mausoleum and the staircase leading down to the Fairbanks Memorial Reflecting Pool in the Sunken Garden.
4. A Memorial to Local Bombing Victims
Key figures from the history of the Los Angeles Times are buried at Hollywood Forever, including former publishers Harry Chandler and Harrison Grey Otis. But there's another, related memorial: one that honors the 21 people who died in the 1910 bombing of the L.A. Times headquarters by members of the International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers union.
A historic plaque on the face of the monument, which was dedicated in 1911, is addressed to "Our Martyred Men" — all but one of whom were Times employees. A long passage describes how "Living, they stood fast for a high principle; dying, they passed the standard on for us to uphold."
The names of each of the fallen are also inscribed at the bottom, with wishes for "peace to their ashes." "Sweet be their eternal rest," it goes on to say, and "sublime their solace!" Watching over the memorial to one side is an eagle — the symbol of The Times — and, on the other side, an angel.
It's a reverent tribute to these "Sons of Duty," one that particularly resonates with "Gourmet Ghosts" author James Bartlett. "Finding it at Hollywood Forever was a moment when I realized that events may get forgotten," he says, "but history — and its victims — live on."
5. Punk Rock Ducks Marching to the Beat of Their Own Quacks
A flock of ducks at Hollywood Forever has attended its own "Rock n' Roll High School" — and is now trained to line up at dinnertime and parade to the grave of Dee Dee Ramone (born Douglas Glenn Colvin), who died in 2002 and is buried in the Garden of Legends. The ducks even have their own soundtrack: "Duckskrieg Bop," a quackified rerecording of The Ramones' classic "Blitzkrieg Bop." At the ring of a bell on certain days at 5 p.m., the black-colored Cayuga ducks — nicknamed the "Ramones Ducks" — know it's time to "Hey! Ho! Let's go."
The procession, which the local Canadian geese and other migratory birds have joined, is the creation of Hollywood locals Pleasant Gehman and Coyote Shivers — both of whom are musicians in their own right. They're also both big fans of the Ramones. But the Ramone's Ducks routine started out simply and innocently enough in 2020 — as the pair would retreat to Hollywood Forever during COVID-19 lockdowns. "This never would've happened if it wasn't for the pandemic," Gehman insists. "[It was] a fun little thing during a really bleak time." Besides, Shivers adds, "Everyone loves marching ducks."
Gehman is no stranger to hanging out with birds. She grew up in rural Connecticut with parrots, she says, and even once had a crow as a pet. But her attraction to Hollywood Forever — where she's been hanging out since the 1970s — goes beyond its wildlife population. "It is such an incredibly beautiful place of peace and tranquility of natural and architectural gorgeousness... whether it's a cemetery or not," she says.
With the cemetery's permission, Gehman and Shivers go out-of-pocket to provide heathy feed to the fowl — like regular wild bird seed, peas, corn, floating duck pellets, cracked corn and more. They advise visitors to not give bread to the ducks or any other birds at Hollywood Forever (it's bad for them) — and the cemetery prohibits feeding of any animals on the grounds as well. Visit the Ramones Ducks Instagram account to find out how to donate to the ducks' feed fund — and to follow their antics.
6. An Art Deco Treasure Trove
The longest running public tour of Hollywood Forever Cemetery is hosted every October by the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles (ADSLA). Now in its 39th year, it's a "living history" tour that helps tell the cultural history of Los Angeles through actors and historians portraying such figures as silent film-era stars Douglas Fairbanks and Marion Davies, both of whom are buried at the cemetery.
According to ADSLA President Margot Gerber, the annual tour also gives guests a look at examples of the Egyptian Revival architecture that's often associated with the Art Deco aesthetic — as it became popular in all aspects of design after the discovery of King Tut's tomb in 1922.
"The cemetery has several stunning examples of obelisks and mausoleums with Egyptian architectural motifs — including Egyptian scenes rendered in stained glass," Gerber says. "Be sure to peek inside to see those!"
That's not all — because as Gerber describes, a more recent pyramid-shaped tomb and a streamline-style marker in the shape of the SM-65 Atlas rocket (for the grave of Carl Morgan Bigsby, who died in 1959) also exemplify the Art Deco presence at Hollywood Forever. To find them, you can explore on your own — or join ADLA's two- to three-hour Hollywood Forever tour (2022 date TBD).
Hollywood Forever Cemetery is located at 6000 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles 90038. The grounds are open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with extended hours during certain cultural events. Some buildings may close earlier (including the Beth Olam Cemetery and Mausoleum, which is also closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays).
Free parking is available along some of the cemetery's interior roads. Pay attention to signage, traffic cones and painted curbs. You may also park in the surface lot behind the Cathedral Mausoleum.
Please don't disturb or disrupt any funeral services, and please don't photograph any mourners.
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Beyond Cinespia: Hollywood Forever's Lesser-Known Sights | SoCal Wanderer | Food & Discovery - KCET
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