Many of California's important historical figures, drawn by Olmsted's reputation, are buried here. There are many grandiose crypts in tribute to the wealthy, especially along the ridge section with a view across the Bay to the San Francisco skyline, known as "Millionaires' Row".[1] Because of this, and its beautiful setting, the cemetery is a tourist draw. Tours led by docents began in 1970.[2]
Design
Olmsted's intent was to create a space that would express a harmony between humankind and the natural setting. In the view of 19th century English and Americanromantics, park-like cemeteries, such as Mountain View, represented the peace of nature, to which humanity's soul returns. Olmsted, drawing upon the concepts of American Transcendentalism, integrated Parisian grand monuments and broad avenues.
Mountain View Cemetery is featured prominently in the 2018 film Blindspotting. Daveed Diggs's character is shown going there for morning runs, and an important scene happens in the cemetery where the character imagines Black victims of police brutality standing over the graves.[9]
In The Big Wake-Up, a 2009 crime novel by Mark Coggins, the main character in the book, a detective named August Riordan, discovers that Argentine first lady Eva Perón is not at rest in the Duarte family tomb in La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires, but is actually buried in Mountain View Cemetery.[10]
References
^ a b c d e f g hAndrew Chamings (March 2, 2020). "From the Black Dahlia to Mac Dre: The bodies of Mountain View". San Francisco Chronicle.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l mAbby Cohn (January 5, 2001). "They're 6 Feet Under, But Pioneers Draw Crowds to Oakland". San Francisco Chronicle.
^"Famous People at Mountain View Cemetery - Comprehensive List". Mountain View Cemetery. Archived from the original on December 10, 2005.
^ a b c dMatthews, Allen (December 7, 2020). "Beloved Oakland cemetery, resting place of Kaiser, Ghirardelli and Mac Dre, still off-limits to visitors". San Francisco Chronicle.
^Binheim, Max; Elvin, Charles A. (1928). Women of the West; a series of biographical sketches of living eminent women in the eleven western states of the United States of America. p. 59. Retrieved 8 August 2017. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.