Calvary Cemetery (Los Angeles)

Cemetery located in California, U.S.

Calvary Cemetery

Details
Established| 1896
Location|

4201 Whittier Boulevard,
East Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Country| United States
Coordinates| 34°01′42″N 118°10′36″W﻿ / ﻿34.02833°N 118.17667°W﻿ / 34.02833; -118.17667
Type| Roman Catholic
Owned by| Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Size| 137 acres (55 ha)
Website| Official website
Find a Grave| Calvary Cemetery

Calvary Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles operates in the community of East Los Angeles, California. It is also called "New Calvary Cemetery" because it succeeded the original Calvary Cemetery (on north Broadway), over which Cathedral High School was built.

## History

[edit]

### Old Calvary

[edit]

When Los Angeles was originally surveyed and mapped under the leadership of Gen. Edward Ord in 1849, its graveyard was at the upper end of Eternity Street. At the lower end of Eternity was the first church in Los Angeles, the Placita. In between lay a part of town flanked by adobe houses, citrus trees, and Coast Live Oaks suitable for traditional funeral processions escorting believers to eternity. The land allotted to the cemetery lay between a creek a half block north of College Street and the toma (intake of the Zanja Madre) beyond the northern edge of town. That cemetery was named Calvary.

All the important magnates of the country around Los Angeles were buried at Calvary, such as Gen. Andrés Pico, the hero of the Battle of San Pascual, and Don Abel Stearns, a man of many ranchos. The ravine sloping down from the west took its name; it was called "Cemetery Ravine" (now Chavez Ravine, home of Dodger Stadium). Later, a Protestant cemetery for Los Angeles was laid out atop Fort Hill, where Grand Arts High School and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels are now.[1]

As Los Angeles swelled with settlers, so also did old Calvary Cemetery grow in size and importance, and a chapel was built. Large in scale for the desert Southwest of Southern California, that chapel was dedicated to the memory of a patron, Andrew Briswalter, who died in 1885. When conditions led to the founding of a new, even bigger cemetery on the other side of the Los Angeles River in 1896—in East Los Angeles—the property of the historic cemetery was put to other uses. At the time, many Italians began moving into the north side of Los Angeles, where they founded a new church on north Spring Street. So many Italians moved in, that the upper part of town became known as "Little Italy." As it grew, a new, more permanent church building was sought, so parishioners bought the chapel of old Calvary Cemetery. The first child was baptized there in September 1904. The chapel was formally established as a church when Fr. A. Bucci dedicated the chapel of the old cemetery as St. Peter's Church on July 4, 1915.[2]

Old Calvary's historic chapel survives today in the parish and buildings of St. Peter's Italian Catholic Church, 1039 N Broadway.[3] Historic old Calvary Cemetery was built over and much of it is now occupied by Cathedral High School.

### Current plots

[edit]

The current site across the river and uphill, measuring 137 acres, was dedicated in 1896. All Souls Chapel was built on the grounds in 1902, and was dedicated on All Souls' Day of that same year. Bishop George Thomas Montgomery offered a Solemn Pontifical Mass on a temporary altar at the site, and afterwards presided at the setting in place of the cornerstone. It was designed as a replica of the parish church of St. Giles in the rural town of Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, in England. That church is believed to have been the setting of the famed 18th-century poem Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. The chapel became one of the most visited places of worship in Southern California after its opening.[4] All Souls Chapel is now used primarily for burial services.[5]

The Main Mausoleum, with a new chapel, was built in 1929. It was designed by architect Ross Montgomery.[6][7] Two additional mausoleums, Our Lady's Garden and Gethsemane, have since been built. The cemetery has its own chaplain and daily Mass is offered in the chapel of the Main Mausoleum.[4]

## Notable burials

[edit]

* Beatrice Dominguez (1896–1921), actress and dancer
* Bryan Foy (1896–1977), film producer and director
* Bull Montana (1887–1950), wrestler, boxer, actor
* Cedric Gibbons (1893–1960), prolific film art director and production designer
* Dolores Costello (1903–1979), actress
* Eddie Collins (1883–1940), actor
* Edward L. Doheny (1856–1935), oil tycoon
* Elaine Hammerstein (1897–1948), actress
* Emilio Kosterlitzky (1853–1928), Russian-born linguist and soldier of fortune
* Ethel Barrymore (1879–1959), actress
* Etta McDaniel (1890–1946), actress and sister of performers Hattie McDaniel & Sam McDaniel
* Eugenie Besserer (1868–1934), actress
* Francelia Billington (1895–1934), actress
* Hal Roach, Jr. (1918–1972), film producer
* Harry F. Sinclair (1876–1956), oil industrialist
* Helene Costello (1906–1957), actress
* Henry Gage (1852–1924), governor of California
* Hi Bell (1897–1949), baseball player
* Hugo Reid (1811–1852), prominent early L.A. County resident, originally interred in El Campo Santo cemetery
* Irene Dunne (1898–1990), actress
* J. Carrol Naish (1896–1973), actor
* Jack Dragna (1891–1956), Los Angeles crime family Boss
* Jack Reagan (1883–1941), father of Ronald Reagan
* Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton (1885–1941), musician
* Jimmy Murphy (1894–1924), race car driver
* John B. Esnard (1846–1931), reconstruction era politician in Louisiana
* John Barrymore (1882–1942), stage, screen and radio actor
* John Hodiak (1914–1955), actor
* Jose Yarba (1892–1957), aka Mexican Joe Rivers, boxer
* Kathryn Adams (1893–1959), actress
* King Baggot (1879–1948), actor, screenwriter/director
* Leno La Bianca (1925–1969), murdered by the Charles Manson family
* Lionel Barrymore (1878–1954), actor
* Lou Costello (1906–1959), actor and comedian
* Mabel Normand (1892–1930), actress and comedian
* Mae Costello (1882–1929), actress
* Marguerite Nichols (1891–1941), actress
* Martin F. Betkouski (1860–1942), Los Angeles City Council member
* Mary Carr (1874–1973), actress
* Mary Philbin (1902–1993), actress
* Matt Moore (1888–1960), actor
* Maurice Costello (1877–1950), actor
* Mervin King (1914–2008), Los Angeles Police Department Captain
* Mykolas Birziska (1882–1962), educator, Vilnius University Rector, co-Author and Signer of Lithuania's Declaration of Independence
* Nelle Wilson Reagan (1883–1962), mother of Ronald Reagan
* Owen Moore (1886–1939), actor
* Pauline O'Neill (1865–1961), wife of Buckey O'Neill of Rough Rider fame
* Pola Negri (1897–1987), actress
* Ramón Novarro (1899–1968), actor
* Ray Prim (1906–1995), baseball player
* Richard Boleslawski (1889–1937), director
* Rosario DeSimone (1873–1946), Los Angeles crime family Boss
* Sarah E. Kellogg (1870–1957), politician, postmaster, and a real estate agent
* Stepin Fetchit (1902–1985), comedian[8]
* Ted Healy (1896–1937), actor/original leader of The Three Stooges
* Timothy Manning (1909–1989), Roman Catholic cardinal, third Archbishop of Los Angeles
* Trixie Friganza (1870–1955), actress
* Victor Varconi (1891–1976), Hungarian-born American actor
* William W. Dixon (1838–1910), U.S. Representative (Democrat, Fifty-Second Congress). Later moved to Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
* Ysabel del Valle (1837–1905), rancho owner
* Zachariah Montgomery (1825–1900), Assistant Attorney General in first Administration of President Grover Cleveland

## See also

[edit]

* List of United States cemeteries

## References

[edit]

1. ^ During the recent expansion of Grand Arts, bodies were uncovered and buried elsewhere.
2. ^ "History of St. Peter's Italian Catholic Church in Los Angeles, the Early Years". Archived from the original on February 19, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
3. ^ "St. Peter's Italian Catholic Church". Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
4. ^ a b "Calvary Cemetery". Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2012.
5. ^ "Churches Worth Driving To: All Souls Chapel, Calvary Cemetery, Los Angeles". California Catholic Daily. November 8, 2012. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
6. ^ Online Archive of California: Ross Montgomery
7. ^ John Chase, Glitter Stucco and Dumpster Diving, Verso, 2004, p. 61
8. ^ "Mass to Be Said Friday for Actor Stepin Fetchit". The Los Angeles Times. November 21, 1985. p. A30.

* U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Calvary Cemetery

## External links

[edit]

* Political Graveyard.com: List of politicians buried at Calvary Cemetery, (East) Los Angeles

* v
* t
* e

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles

* v
* t
* e

Bishops of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles

Bishop of Two Californias|

* Francisco García Diego y Moreno

Bishop of Monterey|

* Joseph Sadoc Alemany

Bishops of Monterey–Los Angeles|

* Thaddeus Amat y Brusi
* Francisco Mora y Borrell
* George Thomas Montgomery
* Thomas James Conaty
* John Joseph Cantwell

Bishop of Los Angeles–San Diego|

* John Joseph Cantwell

Archbishops of Los Angeles|

* John Joseph Cantwell
* James Francis Cardinal McIntyre
* Timothy Cardinal Manning
* Roger Cardinal Mahony
* José Horacio Gómez

Auxiliary bishops, current|

* Alejandro Dumbrigue Aclan
* Marc Vincent Trudeau
* Albert Bahhuth
* Matthew Elshoff
* Brian Nunes
* Slawomir Szkredka

Auxiliary bishops, former|

* Juan Alfredo Arzube
* Alden John Bell
* Stephen Blaire
* Robert Barron
* Joseph Brennan
* Thomas John Curry
* Edward W. Clark
* Joseph Patrick Dougherty
* Carl Anthony Fisher
* William Robert Johnson
* William Levada
* Joseph Thomas McGucken
* Donald William Montrose
* Manuel Duran Moreno
* David O'Connell
* Armando Xavier Ochoa
* Sylvester Donovan Ryan
* Alexander Salazar
* Joseph Martin Sartoris
* Thaddeus Anthony Shubsda
* Oscar Azarcon Solis
* John J. Ward
* Gerald Eugene Wilkerson
* Gabino Zavala
* George Patrick Ziemann

Priests who became bishops|

* Michael Patrick Driscoll
* Justin Rigali

* Catholicism portal

* v
* t
* e

Churches in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles

Archdiocese|

Cathedral
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

Cathedral, former
Cathedral of Saint Vibiana

Our Lady of the Angels
Pastoral Region|

Deanery 13 (Westside)
Corpus Christi Catholic Church, Pacific Palisades
St. Monica Catholic Church, Santa Monica
St. Augustine Catholic Church, Culver City
St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church, Brentwood
St Paul the Apostle Church, Westwood
St. Timothy Catholic Church, Los Angeles
Church of the Good Shepherd, Beverly Hills
St. Ambrose Church, West Hollywood
Saint Victor Catholic Church, West Hollywood

Deanery 14 (Central LA/Hollywood)
Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Hollywood
Cathedral Chapel, Los Angeles
Christ the King Catholic Church, Los Angeles
St. Basil Catholic Church, Wilshire
St. Brendan Catholic Church, Los Angeles

Deanery 15 (Downtown/South)
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles
Precious Blood Catholic Church
St. Cecilia Catholic Church
St. Patrick Catholic Church
St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church
St. Vincent de Paul Church

Deanery 16 (South LA/Inglewood)
St. John Chrysostom Church, Inglewood
St. Odilia Church, Los Angeles
Ascension Catholic Church, Los Angeles

Spanish mission
La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles (Note: This is not a Spanish mission, but rather, a parish church.)

San Fernando
Pastoral Region|

Deanery 5 (West San Fernando Valley)
Cathedral of St. Mary Byzantine Catholic Church, Sherman Oaks
Our Lady of Grace, Encino
Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Northridge
Our Lady of the Valley, Canoga Park
St. Bernardine of Siena Church, Woodland Hills
St. Bridget of Sweden Catholic Church, Van Nuys
St. Catherine of Siena Church, Reseda
St. Cyril of Jerusalem Church and School, Encino
St. Euphrasia, Granada Hills
St. Francis De Sales Catholic Church, Sherman Oaks
St. John Eudes Church, Chatsworth
St. John the Baptist de la Salle Church, Granada Hills
St. Joseph the Worker Church, Winnetka
St. Mel, Woodland Hills

Deanery 6 (Crescenta Valley, Glendale and Eagle Rock)
Holy Family Catholic Church, Glendale
Incarnation Catholic Church and School, Glendale

Deanery 7 (Central San Fernando Valley and Burbank)
Guardian Angel Church, Pacoima
Jesus Sacred Heart Syriac Catholic Church, North Hollywood
Mary Immaculate Catholic Church, Pacoima
Mission San Fernando Rey de España, Mission Hills
Our Lady of Peace Church, North Hills
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Sun Valley
St. Alphonsa Syro-Malabar Church, San Fernando
St. Anne Melkite Catholic Cathedral, North Hollywood
St. Charles Borromeo Church, North Hollywood
St. Didacus Catholic Church, Sylmar
St. Elizabeth Church and School, Van Nuys
St. Ferdinand Catholic Church, San Fernando
St. Finbar Catholic Church and School, Burbank
St. Francis Xavier Church, Burbank
St. Genevieve Catholic Church, Panorama City
St. Jane de Chantal Catholic Church, North Hollywood
St. Patrick Catholic Church, North Hollywood
St Paul Assyrian Chaldean Catholic Church, North Hollywood
St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church, Burbank
Santa Rosa Catholic Church, San Fernando

Deanery 8 (Santa Clarita Valley and Lancaster/Palmdale)
Blessed Junipero Serra Catholic Church, Lancaster

San Gabriel
Pastoral Region|

Deanery 9 (East LA, Boyle Heights, City Terrace)
All Saints Catholic Church, Los Angeles
Assumption Catholic Church, Los Angeles

Deanery 10 (Pasadena, Altadena, San Gabriel, Monterey Park, Montebello, Alhambra)
All Souls Catholic Church, Alhambra
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church, Pasadena
St. Andrew's Catholic Church, Pasadena
Mission San Gabriel Parish, San Gabriel

Deanery 11 (Arcadia, Covina, Glendora, Monrovia, La Puente)
Annunciation Catholic Church, Arcadia

Deanery 12 (San Dimas, Claremont, Pomona, Diamond Bar, La Puente, Valinda, Walnut)

San Pedro
Pastoral Region|

Deanery 17 (Downey, Compton, Huntington Park, Lynwood)

Deanery 18 (Whittier, La Mirada, Pico Rivera, Norwalk)
Beatitudes of Our Lord Catholic Church, La Mirada
Holy Family Catholic Church, Artesia

Deanery 19 (South Bay and San Pedro)
American Martyrs Catholic Church, Manhattan Beach
SS. Peter and Paul's Church, Wilmington

Deanery 20 (Long Beach)

Santa Barbara
Pastoral Region|

Deanery 1 (Lompoc, Solvang, Santa Maria)
La Purisima Mission, Lompoc
Mission Santa Inés, Solvang

Deanery 2 (Santa Barbara)
Santa Barbara Mission, Santa Barbara
Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Santa Barbara

Deanery 3 (Oxnard, Ventura, Ojai, Fillmore, Santa Paula)
Mission San Buenaventura, Ventura

Deanery 4 (Simi Valley, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Camarillo)
Blessed Junipero Serra Catholic Church, Camarillo

* v
* t
* e

Education in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles

Archdiocese|

Seminaries
St. John's Seminary

Our Lady of the Angels
Pastoral Region|

Universities and colleges
Loyola Marymount University
Mount St. Mary's University

High schools
Bishop Conaty-Our Lady of Loretto HS, Harvard Heights
Cathedral HS (Boys)
Immaculate Heart HS, Los Feliz (Girls)
Loyola HS, Harvard Heights (Boys)
Marymount HS, Bel Air (Girls)
Notre Dame Acad. (Girls)
St. Bernard HS, Playa del Rey
St. Mary's Acad., Inglewood (Girls)
St. Monica Preparatory, Santa Monica
Verbum Dei Jesuit HS, Watts (Boys)

High schools, closed
Daniel Murphy HS, Los Angeles
Mount Carmel HS, Los Angeles

San Fernando
Pastoral Region|

High schools
Bishop Alemany HS, Mission Hills
Chaminade HS, West Hills
Crespi Carmelite HS, Encino
Flintridge Sacred Heart Acad., La Cañada Flintridge
Louisville HS, Woodland Hills
Notre Dame HS, Sherman Oaks
Paraclete HS, Lancaster
Providence HS, Burbank
St. Francis HS, La Cañada Flintridge
St. Genevieve HS, Panorama City

High schools, closed
Bellarmine-Jefferson HS, Burbank
Our Lady of Corvallis HS, Studio City
Holy Family HS, Glendale
St. John Paul II STEM Acad., Burbank
Villa Cabrini Acad., Burbank

San Gabriel
Pastoral Region|

High schools
Ramona Convent Sec., Alhambra
St. Lucy's Priory HS, Glendora
Bishop Amat Memorial HS, La Puente
Damien HS, La Verne
Salesian HS, Los Angeles
Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary HS, Montebello
La Salle College Prep., Pasadena
Mayfield Senior, Pasadena
St. Monica Acad., Montrose
Pomona Catholic HS, Pomona
San Gabriel Mission HS, San Gabriel
Alverno Heights Acad., Sierra Madre (formerly Alverno HS)

San Pedro
Pastoral Region|

High schools
St. John Bosco HS, Bellflower
St. Pius X-St. Matthias Acad., Downey
Junipero Serra HS, Gardena
St. Joseph High School, Lakewood
St. Anthony HS, Long Beach
Don Bosco HS, Rosemead
Mary Star of the Sea HS, San Pedro
St. Paul HS, Santa Fe Springs
Bishop Montgomery HS, Torrance

Universities and colleges, closed
Marymount College, Palos Verdes

High schools, closed
Queen of Angels Acad., Compton

Santa Barbara
Pastoral Region|

Universities and colleges
St. John's Seminary, Camarillo
Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula

High schools
Bishop García Diego HS, Santa Barbara
La Reina HS, Thousand Oaks
St. Bonaventure HS, Ventura
St. Joseph HS, Santa Maria
Santa Clara HS, Oxnard
Villanova Prep., Ojai

* v
* t
* e

Hospitals and cemeteries in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles

Our Lady of the Angels
Pastoral Region|

| Hospitals|

Saint John's Health Center, Santa Monica

|

Cemeteries|

Crypt Mausoleum of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City

San Fernando
Pastoral Region|

| Cemeteries|

San Fernando Mission Cemetery

|

San Gabriel
Pastoral Region|

| Cemeteries|

Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles

|

San Pedro
Pastoral Region|

|

Santa Barbara
Pastoral Region|

|

* Catholic Church portal

* Catholic Church portal

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template