Westwood Memorial Park Cemetery facts for kids
Westwood Memorial Park Cemetery is a special place in Westwood Village, a part of Los Angeles. It's a cemetery, which is a peaceful area where people are buried. You can find it at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood.
A Look Back: History of the Park
This cemetery has a long history. It first opened in 1905 and was called Sunset Cemetery. But people were actually buried there even earlier, starting in the 1880s! Later, in 1926, its name was changed to Westwood Memorial Park Cemetery, which is what it's still called today.
Why This Park is Special
Westwood Memorial Park is known for being the final resting place of many famous people from the entertainment world, like actors and musicians. However, it's also home to the graves of many everyday people who weren't famous.
For example, when the famous actress Marilyn Monroe passed away in 1962, her former husband, Joe DiMaggio, made the arrangements for her burial. He chose Westwood not because of its celebrity connections. Instead, he picked it because it was where two people who had cared for Marilyn as a child were buried: her mother's friend, Grace Goddard, and Grace's aunt, Ana Lower. This shows that the park is important for personal reasons, not just for famous names.
