Mountain View: A Cemetery Greets its Public

Let's visit some of the public places at Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum. I took this photo inside the Pasadena Mausoleum, which I never knew was on the grounds. Even if I had, I wouldn't have thought I could visit inside. This building is at the southern end of the cemetery, almost at Woodbury Avenue. I wish my photos could do it justice. Let me just say, Carrara marble. Everywhere.

Denans may be more familiar with the Mountain View Mausoleum, located between Alameda and Sacramento Streets across Marengo Avenue from the Cemetery. This seemingly endless building leads you along dark galleries or those brightly lit by stained glass, up (or down) flights of stairs, through twists and turns to rooftop patios...you can spend a lot of time here. With its columns, sconces and painted ceilings, it makes a fancy location for concerts and art shows.

Why is that okay, you wonder? Do the Denish flip the bird at death?

Take another look at the first two photos. What's missing?

Flowers.

There are a few spots left, but many of the most recent interments in these buildings are early- to mid-20th century. The descendants are gone. Maybe the occasional great grandchild comes to visit. But ask me where my great grandparents are buried. I have no idea.

You can't just empty out these buildings, but you can find new uses for them. That's why Unbound Productions performs the hugely popular Wicked Lit at Mountain View every October. It's why films and TV shows are shot here. It's why all of this is okay, though owner Jay Brown still requires, expects, and receives respect for this place his family has owned for 120 years, and for those who are buried here.

You can visit the cemetery itself 365 days a year, between 8am and 5pm. The Pasadena Mausoleum and Mountain View Mausoleum are open 9-4 weekdays and 10-3 on Sunday.

I've shown you so little of it.

Mountain View: Cold Storage

Jay Brown, owner of Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena, does his impression of a ghost. Either that, or I do my impression of a bad photographer.

Jay took us to a basement where he showed us the Victorian-era equivalent of the metal body storage boxes I showed you yesterday. In pre-refrigeration days, dead folks were temporarily kept below ground while they awaited whatever it was they awaited.

Pictured here is - - -

Well, it's what it looks like. My mother used to have one of these. You'd screw it onto the kitchen counter, feed meat through the cup and grind the meat into hamburger. This is an old item, but the modern equivalent upstairs looks pretty much the same, if shinier.

Now, hold on, nobody is grinding meat at Mountain View. As Jay explained, when a body is cremated you don't get 100% nice, fluffy ash. You some lumps.

Jay is descended from members of the Indiana Colony, the first Caucasian settlers of Pasadena. There had been whites here before, but these guys made it into a town. The colony arrived in 1874 and the cemetery was founded in 1882. Jay is a member of the Giddings family (the Giddings Browns, to be exact) who, if I have this straight, has owned the cemetery since the beginning. Or thereabouts. Jay remembers coming to the cemetery when he was about 12 years old and helping to arrange flowers. He's always been comfortable there.

He made us comfortable, too, oddly enough. People die, I'm sorry to say. Most of us don't like to think about this stuff but I'm glad some people have it figured out. We're not allowed to bury our loved ones in our back yards around here.

Here's an interesting though not conclusive list of people buried at Mountain View. And this 2005 LA Times article gets into a bit of detail about a few of the famous folks there.

I didn't ask Jay how many people are buried at Mountain View, but after 120 years, even the vastness of 60 acres will begin to fill up. We can talk about that tomorrow.

Mountain View Cemetery: Filming

The other day I promised I'd show you parts of Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum that most people don't see. Here's one of those parts.

 
John Sandel and Jay Brown in the "morgue"

More people get a gander at this room than you might think, though, because it's a film set. Though the room is not a real morgue, the equipment is eerily real. The "drawers" at the end of the room can accommodate equipment, crew members and actors ("bodies"). One of the doors is actually a full-sized entry/exit disguised as morgue drawers.

Pasadena doesn't make it easy for film crews to shoot here. Fees are expensive and permits are hard to get. Altadena, where the cemetery is located, is part of unincorporated Los Angeles County and more welcoming to film crews.

According to Jay Brown, owner of Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum, a good deal of filming goes on at the property. And Jay is happy to welcome the film business. With free parking, versatile spaces and gorgeous views, it's a no-brainer. You can visit, too, between 9am and 4pm. But unless you're on a film crew, you're probably not going to see the "morgue."

Location, Location, Location

Last week I got to tag along on a location scout at Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena. I took pictures in places you will not likely ever go, except maybe once.

There are other cemeteries in the San Gabriel Valley, and there are funeral homes and mortuaries in Pasadena. But Mountain View is the Dena's only (current) burial ground. Unless I'm mistaken (which happens oh so rarely), there's no place to legally bury a human body in Pasadena.

Sandy Gillis wrote a brief and interesting article about local cemeteries for Hometown Pasadena.

I've got more pictures to share with you this week after Zen Monday. It was a fantastic tour. Many thanks to cemetery owner Jay Brown.