History
The first Forest Lawn, in Glendale, was founded in 1906 by businessmen who hired Dr. Hubert Eaton, a firm believer in a joyous life after death, who was convinced that most cemeteries were "unsightly, depressing stone yards," and pledged to create one that would reflect his optimistic beliefs, "as unlike other cemeteries as sunshine is unlike darkness." He envisioned Forest Lawn to be "a great park devoid of misshapen monuments and other signs of earthly death, but filled with towering trees, sweeping lawns, splashing fountains, beautiful statuary, and... memorial architecture".
Before it was a cemetery, Forest Lawn was a filming location used by directors such as Carl Laemmle and Cecil B. DeMille. The climactic battle scenes for D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation were filmed there. The alternate names of the filming site are Providencia Flats, Nestor Ranch, Oak Ranch, Oak Crest Ranch, Universal Ranch/Universal City, Lasky Ranch, and Paramount Ranch until November 1927.
When Eaton (self-proclaimed as "The Builder") made known his desire to open a second Forest Lawn location in the Hollywood Hills, the local residents protested vehemently. To circumvent the protesters, Mr. Eaton sent his staff to the county morgue to claim 4 "John Does" and buried them at the corners of the property in the dark of night. In the morning, the protesters had no power because, by law, the property was now a cemetery.
Read more about this topic: Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
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