Fort Rosecrans
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Urban Cemeteries in San Diego
Urban Cemeteries? Some question it. Some of us love it. Cemeteries also provide a peaceful and beautiful break from the sometimes hectic pace of travel. We have some special cemeteries in San Diego.
Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery - Southeastern San Diego
Holy Cross
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Address: 4470 Hilltop Drive
Directions
As you enter the gate of San Diego's main Catholic cemetery, drive up either one of the windy paths to reach the parking lot in front of the chapel. From here, explore the mausoleum, the chapel, and the grassy hills featuring rows and rows of grave markers. The most famous 'resident' besides actor Gregory Peck's father (in the chapel on the left wall as you walk in) is serial murderer Andrew Cunanan. Don't bother asking where he is buried because they don't have his name on 'the books." Trust us, he is here. Email us and we will tell you where to find him. Holy Cross Cemetery is owned and operated by the Catholic Diocese of San Diego. The chapel holds weekly services and offers area Catholics the option of holding Mass there before burial. The Cemetery features outdoor grave sites as well as a number of mausoleum options. This is a working cemetery and it is not uncommon to witness several funerals going on at one time. The most colorful displays of remembrance can be viewed on the eastern edge of the cemetery. This area represents the resting places of children, Chaldeans, Mexicans, Filipinos, and Vietnamese. Mt. Hope Cemetery - Southeastern San Diego
Mt. Hope
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Address: 3751 Market Street
Directions
This municipal cemetery does not look like much when you first approach it. It presently encompasses 169 acres with about 25 acres still undeveloped. The best part of the cemetery is literally across the tracks (in this case, trolley tracks). In your car, head south to cross the tracks and drive up one of the hills. You will reach the older and best areas of the cemetery. Some of it is so nicely shaded by trees that you might consider bringing a picnic. Mt. Hope Cemetery has been run by the City of San Diego since 1870. Helpful City staff are located in the main building close to the entrance of the gate. They can provide maps of the cemetery and can also point you in the direction of places and people of interest. San Diego is diverse in life and in death. This site features sections dedicated to the Chinese, Japanese, Masons, Odd Fellows and Muslims. Many of San Diego's prominent citizens are buried here including: the Horton of Horton Plaza, the Marston of the now defunct Marston's Department Store, and San Diego's major municipal tree donor, Kate Sessions. Nate Harrison is also buried here. TIP! The family that used to live in Old Town's Whaley House (haunted) is buried here at Mt. Hope. Note: There is only one way in and one way out. Mt. Hope is located near a Costco that features some of the cheapest gasoline in the County (fill up the car while you are in the area)
Home of Peace - Southeastern San Diego
Home of Peace
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Address: 3668 Imperial Avenue
Directions
Home of Peace, one of San Diego's oldest Jewish cemeteries is located on the northwestern side of Mt. Hope Cemetery. But to get to it you have to drive around the corner and enter from Imperial Avenue. It is a small cemetery that features some grave markers in Spanish, Hebrew, and sometimes English. The Sephardic 'residents' are located closer to the road while the majority of the Ashkenazi are located further away. As you walk by the tomb stones, look for pebbles and rocks on the tombs.
The custom of placing stones on a grave or gravestone may hearken back to the biblical custom of erecting a pile of stones over a grave as a marker. It may also reflect the importance of visitation to the grave, with the stone indicating that someone has been to visit. Unlike people from other religions, Jews do not typically place flowers at gravesites. Cemeteries are open throughout the day and during part of the night, but only on weekdays (not on Shabbat (Saturday) or on certain holidays. Sephardics include Iberians, North Africans, Iraqis, Syrians, Greeks, Turks and most Jews who are not Ashkenazi. The word Ashkenazi comes from a Hebrew word meaning "German" and has taken on a broader definition that includes not only German Jews but those of Eastern Europe and Russia as well.
REST IN PEACE.
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