Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery is a cemetery at 1831 West Washington Boulevard in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles, southwest of Downtown.
History
Located in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles,[1][2][3][4] the cemetery was founded as Rosedale Cemetery in 1884,[5] when Los Angeles had a population of approximately 28,000,[6] on 65 acres (260,000 m2) of land running from Washington to Venice Boulevard (then 16th Street) between Normandie Avenue and Walton and Catalina Streets, and often used by California politicians, notably former Mayors of the City of Los Angeles. The interments include pioneers and members of leading families in Los Angeles and the state.[citation needed]
Rosedale was the first cemetery in Los Angeles open to all races and creeds, and was the first to adopt the design concept of lawn cemeteries. This is where the grounds are enhanced to surround the graves with beautiful trees, shrubs, flowers, natural scenery and works of monumental art. Among the more traditional structures, headstones and mausoleums, the cemetery also has several pyramidcrypts.[7]
In 1887, the second crematory in the US was opened at Rosedale Cemetery.[8] It was also the first crematory west of the Rocky Mountains.[9] The initial cremation took place on June 16, when the body of Mrs. Olive A. Bird (c. 1845–1886), wife of prominent physician O.B. Bird, was cremated. By 1913, there had been 2,392 cremations performed at Rosedale. Next to the cemetery at 1605 S. Catalina Street is another cremation facility, the domed, observatory-shaped Chapel of the Pines Crematory.[citation needed]
In 1993, Rosedale was bought by the Angelus Funeral Home on Crenshaw Boulevard and renamed Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery.[7]
Events
On numerous occasions, the West Adams Heritage Association, in conjunction with the Los Angeles Historical Society, has sponsored a "Living History tour" featuring grave site portrayals of historic figures. In 1994, the Los Angeles Times noted that the annual event began 4 years earlier. [1][2][4][10]
Notable interments
Sources not listed here can be found in the articles referenced.
Herman Silver (1831–1913), superintendent of the United States Mint in Colorado, a collector of internal revenue, a railroad official and Los Angeles City Council member
William I. Traeger (1880–1935), lawman, politician, football coach, sheriff of Los Angeles County from 1921 to 1932, served term in the House of Representatives from California
Ernest Whitman (1893–1954), actor, played the Carpetbagger's friend in Gone with the Wind
Robert M. Widney (1838–1929), American lawyer, judge, a founder of the University of Southern California
Harvey H. Wilcox (1832–1891), owned a ranch northwest of Los Angeles, which his wife, Daeida, named Hollywood. Originally interred in Rosedale, alongside his mother, Azubah (Mark) Wilcox (c. 1804–1888); he was removed to Hollywood Cemetery in 1922
Dooley Wilson (1886–1953), actor, musician, played Sam in Casablanca
^Rosedale – Cemetery, Mortuary and Crematory by Msgr. Francis J. Weber
^Los Angeles County History – An Illustrated History of Southern California – Los Angeles City
^Jarvis, Michael (October 27, 2002). "We See Dead People". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 6, 2023. The Living History Cemetery Tour may sound like an oxymoron, but $17 tickets sell out for the fall event in which earthly mortals portray inhabitants of the Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery in West Adams.
^Brooks, Patricia; Brooks, Jonathan (2006). Laid to Rest in California: A Guide to the Cemeteries and Grave Sites of the Rich and Famous. Globe Pequot. p. 2. ISBN0-7627-4101-5.
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