Cypress Lawn Heritage Foundation

The past is present at Cypress Lawn. The remains of more prominent Californians are found here than in any cemetery in the West. Taken as a whole, Cypress Lawn is a vast historic archive, an organic link to the original cemeteries in San Francisco. In many cases, the cemetery stands as the only remaining record of the men and women who shaped the Golden State. It also represents a visual history of the American cemetery movement from the late nineteenth century to the present. The quality and quantity of the works of funerary art and architecture found in the park-like setting of Cypress Lawn continue to enrich the lives of the larger community by their beauty and great accessibility to the public.

The inevitable effects of time on the art and architecture of Cypress Lawn's outdoor and indoor museum, and even its arboretum, have become increasingly apparent. Through natural decay and degradation due to air pollution, vibration, and other man-made phenomenon, the oldest and most fragile monuments at the cemetery are most at risk and least provided for in terms of endowment care. In order to maintain the many non-endowed monuments to our California pioneers, the non-profit Cypress Lawn Heritage Foundation was created.

"Across the country, communities are recognizing that it is important to understand, care for, and properly maintain our heritage of outdoor sculpture and monuments," said the Smithsonian Institution recently. After a visit to Cypress Lawn, Harvey Jones, Senior Curator of Art for the Oakland Museum of California, noted, "It was a great pleasure for me to be shown such treasures of commemorative artwork by some of America's, not to mention California's, most celebrated sculptors of the 19th century. . . Although I can readily understand the problems of funding such a program, these artworks really should be preserved."

Russell Beatty, Landscape Architect and Senior Lecturer Emeritus at the University of California Berkeley, issued the following remarks: "Cypress Lawn Memorial Park is a unique example of a rural cemetery on the West Coast that has remained intact and little changed for a long time. At Cypress Lawn, virtually all of the features - buildings, roads, ponds and lake, gates, sundial and old trees - are in place as they have been for the period of site development since 1892. The character of the cemetery is a direct result of the vision of Hamden Noble. The association with the historic traditions of the rural cemetery is extremely strong and can serve as a model for continuing the legacy of the picturesque landscape. At 110 years, the landscape of Cypress Lawn appears at a glance remarkably intact and quite beautiful. Many of the plantings reflect some of the favorite trees imported to the Bay Area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

That they have survived and grown so well is testament to the knowledge of those responsible for their selection and layout. But as with any landscape this old that was planted on a windy site and artificially maintained through irrigation, age is taking its toll. With the convergence of an aging tree cover in decline, and poorly selected and maintained new trees, the landscape character of Cypress Lawn is in jeopardy."

Non-Endowed Structures

The Foundation engaged Glenn Wharton Associates and Sculpture Conservation Studio to prepare a general survey with condition reports on 108 significant monuments and sculptures throughout the Park. Based on the results of the study, a long range preservation/maintenance plan has been developed identifying three categories for conservation priority designations. The ten highest priority projects have been determined and conservation treatment plans and budget estimates for their restoration has been prepared. Some of these priority projects are shown on this page.