Mountain View Cemetery (Oakland, California) facts for kids
Millionaire's Row, Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, California.
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| Details | |
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| Established | 1863 |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Size | 226 acres (91 ha) |
| No. of graves | > 24,000 |
The Mountain View Cemetery is a large, 226-acre (91 ha) cemetery in Oakland, California. It was created in 1863 by a group of early settlers. They formed an association that still runs the cemetery today.
The famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted designed Mountain View. He also designed New York City's Central Park. Many important historical figures from California are buried here. The cemetery has many grand tombs, especially in an area called "Millionaires' Row." This area has great views of the San Francisco Bay. Because of its beauty, the cemetery is a popular place to visit. Tours started in 1970.
Contents
Cemetery Design
Frederick Law Olmsted wanted the cemetery to feel peaceful. He designed it to show harmony between people and nature. In the 1800s, many people believed that park-like cemeteries, like Mountain View, offered a calm natural space. They thought it was a place where the human spirit could find peace.
Olmsted used ideas from American thinkers called Transcendentalists. He added grand monuments and wide paths, similar to parks in Paris. Next to Mountain View Cemetery are Saint Mary Cemetery and the Chapel of the Chimes.
Who is Buried Here?
Many notable people are buried at Mountain View Cemetery. Some are famous in California history, while others are known across the country.
Government Leaders
- Washington Bartlett: He was the Mayor of San Francisco and a Governor of California.
- Coles Bashford: He served as the Governor of Wisconsin.
- William M. Gwin: He was one of California's first U.S. Senators.
- Henry H. Haight: He was a Governor of California.
- William Knowland: He was a U.S. Senator and a newspaper publisher.
- Samuel Merritt: An early Mayor of Oakland.
- Romualdo Pacheco: He was a Governor of California.
- George Pardee: Another Governor of California.
- George C. Perkins: He was a Governor of California and a U.S. Senator.
Business and Industry Leaders
- Warren A. Bechtel: He founded the large Bechtel construction company.
- Anthony Chabot: Known for his work in hydraulic mining. He also helped create the Chabot Space & Science Center.
- Charles Crocker: A powerful railroad builder and banker.
- J. A. Folger: He started Folgers Coffee.
- Domingo Ghirardelli: The person behind the famous Ghirardelli Chocolate Company.
- Henry J. Kaiser: He was a leader in modern American shipbuilding.
- Joe Shoong: A Chinese immigrant who founded the National Dollar Stores chain.
- Francis Marion Smith: Known as the "Borax King" for his mining work.
- Charles Miner Goodall: He helped start the Pacific Coast Steamship Company.
Military Heroes
- John Coffee Hays: A famous Texas Ranger and San Francisco's first sheriff.
- Eli L. Huggins: An American soldier who received the Medal of Honor.
- Henry T. Johns: An American Civil War soldier and Medal of Honor recipient.
- Oscar Fitzalan Long: An American soldier who received the Medal of Honor.
- Jeremiah C. Sullivan: A general in the Union Army during the Civil War.
- Adam Weissel: A United States Navy sailor and Medal of Honor recipient.
Artists and Cultural Figures
- Leandro Campanari: An Italian-American violinist, conductor, and music teacher.
- Ina Coolbrith: California's first official poet laureate.
- Andre Hicks (also known as Mac Dre): A Bay Area rapper and music producer.
- Thomas Hill: A well-known artist.
- William Keith: A California landscape artist.
- Frank Norris: A famous author.
- Douglas Tilden: A talented sculptor.
Local History Makers
- David Douty Colton: A vice president of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
- Henry Durant: The first president of the University of California, Berkeley.
- Virginia Prentiss: An African-American midwife and nanny to the famous writer Jack London.
- Jane K. Sather: She donated money for Sather Gate and Sather Tower at UC Berkeley.
- Francis K. Shattuck: Important in the early growth of Oakland and Berkeley.
- William T. Shorey: An African-American whaling captain and Oakland community leader.
- John Swett: He founded the California Public School System.
- Charles Lee Tilden: A park is named after him: Tilden Regional Park.
Other Notable People
- Cloe Annette Buckel: One of the first female doctors in California.
- Glenn Burke: The first openly gay player in Major League Baseball.
- Henry D. Cogswell: A dentist and supporter of the temperance movement.
- David Hewes: He provided the "Golden Spike" that completed the first transcontinental railroad.
- Fred Korematsu: He challenged the forced relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II. His case went to the Supreme Court.
- Joseph LeConte: He helped start the Sierra Club, an environmental organization.
- Ernie Lombardi: A Hall of Fame Major League Baseball player.
- Pilot Officer James Raymond Lippi: An American-born member of the Royal Canadian Air Force who died in 1942 during World War II. He has a British Commonwealth war grave here.
- Lee Ya-Ching: Known as China's First Lady of Flight. She was one of the first female pilots to graduate from important flight schools.
In Popular Culture
Mountain View Cemetery appears in the 2018 film Blindspotting. A character in the movie is shown running there. An important scene also takes place in the cemetery.
The cemetery is also mentioned in The Big Wake-Up, a 2009 crime novel by Mark Coggins. In the book, a detective finds out that Argentine first lady Eva Perón is supposedly buried in Mountain View Cemetery.
Images for kids
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Panoramic view from the rear of the cemetery, looking out across the San Francisco Bay
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The Miller Crypt pyramid.
