thumb|The cemetery in March 2024

Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery is a cemetery, located at 1831 West Washington Boulevard in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles, southwest of Downtown.

History

Located in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles, the cemetery was founded as Rosedale Cemetery in 1884, when Los Angeles had a population of approximately 28,000, on of land running from Washington to Venice Boulevard (then 16th Street) between Normandie Avenue and Walton and Catalina Streets. It is often used by California politicians, notably former mayors of the City of Los Angeles.The interments include pioneers and members of prominent families in Los Angeles and the state.

Rosedale was the first cemetery in Los Angeles open to all races and creeds, and was the first to adopt the design concept of lawn cemeteries. This is where the grounds are enhanced to surround the graves with beautiful trees, shrubs, flowers, natural scenery and works of monumental art. Among the more traditional structures, headstones and mausoleums, the cemetery also has several pyramid crypts. It was also the first crematory west of the Rocky Mountains. The initial cremation took place on June 16, when the body of Mrs. Olive A. Bird (c. 1845–1886), wife of prominent physician O.B. Bird, was cremated. By 1913, there had been 2,392 cremations performed at Rosedale. Next to the cemetery at 1605 S. Catalina Street is another cremation facility, the domed, observatory-shaped Chapel of the Pines Crematory.

In 1993, Rosedale was bought by the Angelus Funeral Home on Crenshaw Boulevard and renamed Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery.

Events

On numerous occasions, the West Adams Heritage Association, in conjunction with the Los Angeles Historical Society, has sponsored a "Living History tour" featuring grave site portrayals of historic figures. In 1994, the Los Angeles Times noted that the annual event began 4 years earlier.

Notable interments

Sources not listed here can be found in the articles referenced.

A

  • Marguerite Elizabeth Abbott (1870–1953) painter, and teacher
  • George Alexander (1839–1923), politician, 28th Mayor of Los Angeles
  • Allen Allensworth (1842–1914), Lt. Colonel of the U.S. Army, founder of Allensworth, California
  • Ivie Anderson (1905–1949), jazz singer and actress
  • Henry Armstrong (1912–1988), champion boxer

B

  • Edward L. Baker, Jr. (1865–1913), U.S. Army officer, Medal of Honor recipient during Spanish–American War
  • Phineas Banning (1830–1885), financier, known as the "Father of the Port of Los Angeles"
  • Felice Bauer (1887–1960), twice fiancée (1914 and 1917) of Prague writer Franz Kafka, in 1919 married to Moritz Marasse (1873–1950)
  • Thomas Bones (1842–1929), farmer and land developer
  • Emmer Bowen (1830–1912), Medal of Honor recipient during the American Civil War
  • Tod Browning (1880–1962), film director and screenwriter, known as "The Master of the Macabre"
  • David Burbank (1821–1895), dentist, businessman and landholder. Burbank, California, was named for him
  • Rose Talbot Bullard (1864–1915), medical doctor and professor
  • Betty Burbridge (1895–1987), actress

C

  • Eric Campbell (1879–1917), actor
  • Rita Carewe (1909–1955), actress
  • Harry Carr (1877–1936), writer, newspaper columnist and editor
  • Frank Chance (1877–1924), Hall of Fame baseball player
  • Sadie Chandler Cole (1865–1941), singer, civil rights activist
  • Florence Cole Talbert (1890–1961), opera singer
  • Cleota Collins (1893–1976), singer and voice teacher

D

  • Eric Dolphy (1928–1964), American jazz musician

E

  • Herschel Evans (1909–1939), Afroamerican jazz saxophonist

F

  • Jessie Benton Frémont (1824–1902), writer, wife of Lieutenant Colonel John C. Frémont
  • Willie Fung (1896–1945), Chinese film actor
  • Owen McAleer (1858–1944), politician, Canadian-born 35th mayor of Los Angeles
  • Hattie McDaniel (1895–1952), actress, first African American female to win an Academy Award
  • Spencer G. Millard (1856–1895), politician, 20th lieutenant governor of California
  • Frederick H. Rindge (1857–1905), American businessman, philanthropist and writer
  • Anthony A. C. Rogers (1821–1899), politician, served in the House of Representatives from Arkansas
  • Maria Rasputin (1898–1977), daughter of Russia's notorious "mad monk", Grigori Rasputin
  • Ernest Whitman (1893–1954), actor, played the Carpetbagger's friend in Gone with the Wind
  • Robert M. Widney (1838–1929), American lawyer, judge, a founder of the University of Southern California
  • Harvey H. Wilcox (1832–1891), owned a ranch northwest of Los Angeles, which his wife, Daeida, named Hollywood. Originally interred in Rosedale, alongside his mother, Azubah (Mark) Wilcox (c. 1804–1888); he was removed to Hollywood Cemetery in 1922
  • Dooley Wilson (1886–1953), actor, musician, played Sam in Casablanca
  • Valentin Wolfenstein (1845–1909), Swedish-American photographer
  • Anna May Wong (1905–1961), actress, the first Chinese American movie star
  • Frederic T. Woodman (1872–1949), politician, 41st mayor of Los Angeles

References

  • Political Graveyard – a listing of politicians by burial place