In 1905, a group of businessmen pooled their resources to form the Inglewood Park Cemetery Association. At that time, the Centinela Valley was a sparsely settled area of farms and small homes. Funeral processions came from Los Angeles on horse-drawn flat carts. Later, with the spread of the railroads, mourners arrived at the cemetery in specially design funeral cars like the Descanso. There were 32 interments during the first year, a number which was to increase dramatically over the years.
In 1914, seeing the possibilities for affordable crypt entombment— a means of burial usually reserved for the well-to-do —Inglewood Park built the first community mausoleum in the state of California. Many of the original settlers of the Centinela Valley and the South Bay region are entombed in Inglewood Mausoleum, as are a number of Civil War Veterans. Inglewood Mausoleum was to be only the first in a series of structures to be added over the years, making “the burial of kings” available to all in the community.
The Mausoleum of the Golden West was built during the 1930s and ‘40s. With its stained-glass representations of early California, it remains one of the most beautiful mausoleums ever constructed. It was followed in the 1970s by Manchester Garden Mausoleum, a building containing five chapels and over two dozen sanctuaries and hallways at ground level and below.
By the latter half of the 1980s, following the tremendous success of Mausoleum of the Golden West in the 1930s-1950s, and the enthusiastic response to Manchester Garden Mausoleum in the 1970s-1980s, Inglewood Park began making plans for an even grander project. Sunset Mission Mausoleum is designed to provide nearly 30,000 interment spaces, and upon completion, will be the largest in the nation.
Garden of Chimes is our newest project under current development, providing additional mausoleum space as well as cremation columbaria, family estates, and individual lawn crypts. Grandview, now under ongoing development, features both garden mausoleum crypts and lawn crypts.
These and other projects will ensure that Inglewood Park Cemetery will serve Southern California with quality, care and tradition well into the 21st Century. With an Endowment Care Fund of $26 million, we can safely assure you that we will be here when you need us.
Notable Interments
Since 1905, Inglewood Park Cemetery has served as the
final resting place of hundreds of notable individuals, from the stage and
screen to the halls of Washington, D.C., from the many fields of sports to
the civic entrepreneurs of the South Bay area.
Most people are aware that this is the burial site for civic leaders like Mayor Tom Bradley, Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, or Daniel Freeman, who led the settlement of the Centinela Rancho. Many of the stars who helped make Hollywood famous also now rest permanently in Inglewood. But despite our place in Hollywood, we never forget that our primary concern is for the families we serve at the single most difficult event in life.
Entertainers include actor Cesar Romero, William “Buckwheat” Thomas of Our Gang fame, and vocal legend, Ella Fitzgerald. Several sports stars are also interred at Inglewood Park, including the Dodgers’ Jim Gilliam, and baseball’s free-agent pioneer Curt Flood. Two legendary race car drivers can be found in the cemetery—Johnny Parsons, Sr. and Louis Meyer, the first three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. And a pair of boxing legends are also included on the cemetery’s roles—the beloved Sugar Ray Robinson and Jim Jeffries, the champion who inspired the movie, “Great White Hope.”
Members of congress, war veterans, and prominent local clergy have chosen Inglewood Park Cemetery for its convenience, its beauty, and its selection of final disposition and memorialization. It is with great pride that we honor and remember the contributions of these individuals to our culture and our society.
Citations and Honors
Certificate of Appreciation
– Tom Bradley, (former)
Mayor of Los Angeles
Certificate of Recognition – National Council of Negro Women
Proclamation of Recognition – South Coast West Basin Water District
Community and National Involvement
• Inglewood Park Cemetery is a founding member of the
Inglewood Partners for Progress, dedicated to the enhancement of the quality
of life in Inglewood.
• Inglewood Park Cemetery is a long-standing member of the Inglewood/Airport Area Chamber of Commerce with a fully active role in its activities and direction.
• Inglewood Park Cemetery is an active member of the Cemetery and Mortuary Association of California, an industry organization for the benefit of cemeteries throughout the state.
• Inglewood Park Cemetery is an active member of the International Cemetery and Funeral Association, a multi-national organization for cemeteries, funeral directors and suppliers.
