Angelus Rosedale Mortuary

Off Washington Boulevard in Pico Union, it is easy to miss, and easy to forget about. It lacks the Hollywood glamour of other L.A. area cemeteries, for its heyday was decades before movies took over the town's plotline. The lawns are mostly brown, and the stately monuments are yellowing and moss covered from neglect. The only plots of green surround newer graves, (mostly Latino, judging from the names) clearly tended to and well maintained. When I visited the cemetery it was nearly empty, and its expansive size and towering mausoleums and memorials made me feel like I was in some kind of post-apocalyptic showcase of civilizations past. There were pyramids and obelisks, Greek style statues and large Celtic crosses. On these impressive hunks of stone and marble were the names of a who's-who of modern SoCal's founding families: Banning, Burbank, Slauson, Stephens, Fremont, Woodman, Dominguez, Glassell, and Patton.For a history nerd like me, it was astounding. There are movie stars here: Hattie McDaniel, Anna May Wong, and Fernando Lamas. Most tantalizing of all is the fact that Maria Rasputin, daughter of the infamous monk who brought down the Russian monarchy, is for some reason buried here. Angelus-Rosedale tells the story of early Los Angeles in a way few SoCal landmarks can. And all the life that happened at and around this now silent cemetery tells the story of Wild West Los Angeles, when the names mentioned above were attempting to harness a community rich in diversity, eccentricity, passion and plans.Photo: Hadley MearesPhoto: Hadley MearesPhoto: Hadley MearesPhoto: Hadley MearesCity of the DeadWhat a beautiful city of the dead is Rosedale Cemetery, with its broad circling driveways, lined on either hand with graceful palms; with its emerald expanses of lawn, its growing flowers, pouring out their rich perfume, and its many elegant and stately monuments of white and colored marble. I drove through it one day last week when it lay golden in the warm sunshine. What a beautiful place for that final sleep, I though... (KCET)