Глендейл қаласындағы ескі көрнекті қабірстандық парк тарихы

Cemetery in Glendale, California

Grand View Memorial Park and Crematory is a historic cemetery located in Glendale, California, in the United States. Established in 1884 as Glendale Cemetery, it changed its name to Grand View Memorial Park in 1919. The cemetery was the focus of a scandal that began in 2005, during which the operators were accused of leaving thousands of cremated remains unburied. New owners changed the name to Grand View Memorial Park and Crematory in 2015 and began a restoration of the property.

The cemetery was founded in 1884, and was the only cemetery in the area until Forest Lawn Memorial Park was constructed in 1906. The site was heavily wooded, and its 4 percent grade provided good drainage. The burial ground was purchased by local builder Len C. Davis in 1919 and incorporated in late December with capital stock worth $20,000 ($ in dollars). (Each stock was worth $100 par value.) A perpetual care trust was also established for the first time. which included the addition of a 40 feet (12 m) high, electrically illuminated arch over the entrance on Glenwood Road. Construction of a $14,000 ($ in dollars), 18 receiving vault chapel began in 1921.

The cemetery began planning for a large mausoleum in 1920, although it was not begun until 1923. The mausoleum was 1060 feet (323 m) long, ($ in dollars), one story
Each crypt was 5 feet (2 m) high, and there were five crypts in each room. In August 1924, the cemetery began construction on the north mausoleum, which expanded capacity to 5,700 crypts. with about 10 percent of lots sold. Len C. Davis and his wife divorced that same year. The cemetery was one of the disputed assets in the case. In July 1930, a court ordered Len Davis to divest his interest in the cemetery in order to pay alimony to his wife. Davis sold the cemetery for $2 million ($ in dollars) in March 1931 to a group of investors that included E. H. Dimity, Charles H. Johnston, and William H. Kittle. The new owners planned to build a large new mausoleum along Kenneth Road, and move the cemetery's main entrance there. Efn|The Hepburn family also owned The Triple H Company, which manufactured and distributed burial vaults, cremation urns, crematory equipment and supplies, and other cemetery and mausoleum related items. The full extent of the project was not clear, but included a new wall around the property. The cemetery at that time planned to erect a 25,000 crypt mausoleum, David N. Hepburn was a highly respected cemetery operator both in the state and California and at one point was president of the Cemetery Association of America. Grand View Memorial stopped scattering ashes in its various memorial gardens and terraces in the late 1970s after the buildup of remains became too noticeable. The cemetery started storing cremains for five years, and buried them if they were not claimed. David N. Hepburn retired in 1990, after which Jack Grossman was employed as superintendent of the cemetery. In 1998, people living near the cemetery complained about smoke and odors emanating from the burial ground's crematory. The cemetery was warned by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD; a state air pollution control agency) that its crematory was not in compliance with state and federal pollution control laws and regulations. After a complaint by a plot owner,Efn|Prior to spring of 2004, the CFB could only inspect cemeteries if there was a complaint.

In 1999, Grand View partners sold the cemetery to Marsha Lee Howard and Moshe Goldsman. Efn|While media reports say that the problems at Grand View were uncovered as part of a regular annual inspection, the CFB complaint says the inspection occurred after an anonymous employee tipped the bureau to the improper interment of bodies, disinterral of bodies at night, improper disposal of biohazardous waste, and recycling of graves without permission. in storage rooms and on the floor of the mausoleum, A few remains were from the 1990s. The remains of seven individuals were found in the chapel in temporary crypts, having never been permanently interred. Crematory records were in similar poor condition. They also discovered that Howard had removed $40,000 from the perpetual care trust fund as a "loan" but never repaid it. after November 5, 2005, she was barred by the CFB from entering the cemetery grounds. She had long suffered from diabetes and emphysema and was in very poor health. Her family did not express surprise at her demise. after he was unable to pay the $40,000 to $50,000 a month
($ to $ in dollars) it took to pay employee salaries and the insurance, mortgage, and utility bills. In October 2006, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Anthony Mohr placed Grand View Memorial Park under a preservation order, which barred anyone from altering or destroying the cemetery or any of its buildings, grounds, or contents. The following December, Judge Mohr placed a preservation of evidence order on the property to specifically protect any evidence relating to the ongoing lawsuit being pursued by aggrieved families. The City of Glendale voted in June 2007 to spend $187,600 ($ in dollars) for maintenance and $79,800 ($ in dollars) for staff to keep Grand View open from July 2007 to June 2008. By this time, the cemetery was in need of extensive maintenance. No irrigation, tree trimming, or weed control had occurred for more than a year. Efn|Tom Trimble proposed reopening the cemetery using interest income from the perpetual care fund and the rental income from St. Kevork Armenian Church, but city officials turned down this proposal for reasons which the media did not make clear. The abatement order also allowed the city to pursue reimbursement from the owners at a later date. Efn|A lawsuit to recoup the abatement costs was filed about September 2007. Efn|The irrigation system used stored precipitation and reclaimed water. However, portions of the cemetery still had to be watered by hand. Efn|Press reports emphasized the particularly dilapidated condition of the chapel. The cemetery owners, families, and the CFB settled part of the lawsuit at the end of August 2007. Moshe Goldsman, the sole remaining living stockholder, admitted to three violations of law, all of which concerned taking money from the perpetual care fund. To settle these claims, Goldsman agreed to sell the cemetery within three years and to reimburse the perpetual care fund $50,000 ($ in dollars). The remainder of the legal proceedings against Grand View were settled in March 2010. By this time, all the lawsuits had been consolidated into a single class action. The agreement provided for the cemetery and its insurers to establish a $500,000 ($ in dollars) fund for the restoration of the cemetery, pay $1.1 million ($ in dollars) in legal fees, and pay $2.2 million ($ in dollars) to the estimated 2,500 to 3,000 claimants harmed by the cemetery's actions. Paul Ayers, one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, agreed to oversee the restoration, which included obtaining, cleaning, organizing, and possibly restoring cemetery records; identifying and properly interring all cremated remains; installing an in ground irrigation system; and reseeding much of the cemetery's lawns. The restoration work began in December 2010, during which the cemetery was closed for 5 months, reopening on Memorial day weekend 2011. Using plans drawn up by a landscape architect, between $300,000 and $400,000 ($ to $ in dollars) was spent installing the permanent in ground irrigation system and planting new trees, shrubs, and grass. The cemetery office was cleaned and a rodent proof records storage space constructed, and the roof in the West Mausoleum was repaired.

Grand View was put up for sale in June 2006. With the many lawsuits against the cemetery unresolved, there were no offers. In July 2014, Heritage Cemetery Management, Inc. purchased the burial ground for $890,000 ($ in dollars). The name of the cemetery was changed to Grand View Memorial Park and Crematory. After four years of minimal maintenance, the new owners kept the cemetery open only one day a week while funds were spent restoring the site. On January 1, 2015, the cemetery opened its doors for seven days a week for about six hours a day. Heritage Cemetery Management began locating graves which had become overgrown by grass and uncovering them, renovating the chapel, and repairing the north and west mausoleums. The company also spent $500,000 ($ in dollars) upgrading the crematory, so that it could begin operating again and generating income for the cemetery.