Westview Cemetery

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Westview Cemetery
Westview Cemetery, located in Atlanta, Georgia, is the largest cemetery in the South East, comprising over 582 acres (2.36 km2), 50% of which is undeveloped. Westview includes the graves of more than 100,000 people.[1]

History

The land that would become Westview Cemetery was the site of a portion of the Battle of Ezra Church, a Civil War battle.[2] The cemetery was established in 1884[1] on Atlanta's west side when Oakland Cemetery was mostly filled out. Over 582 acres (2.36 km2) were purchased by a private corporation, headed by E. P. McBurney.[citation needed] The main gate is one of the oldest standing structures in Atlanta.

Westview Cemetery at one time had a "strict requirement that all who came there- both visitors and permanent residents- be white."[3]

Structures

  • Westview Abby - a mausoleum and chapel, was built in 1943 and houses 11,444 entombments and space to hold cremated remains. 27 stained glass panels adorn the Romanesque chapel and depicts Jesus Christ's life from nativity through crucifixion and resurrection. Look for the mural of Faith, Hope and Charity with four Christian parables presented in the artwork.
  • The Receiving Tomb - was built in 1888 and once held bodies waiting to be processed and buried. Wagons, and in later years vehicles, carrying the deceased could not get down the muddy cemetery roads during heavy rains. The marble and brick receiving tomb was also used to house an excess of bodies during the Spanish influenza outbreak in 1918.[4]
  • The Water Tower - may be mistaken for a battlefield look-out point but was only used to hold water. Look at the top of the tower to see a local example of a crenellated adornment, or a repeat of square indentations. The top looks more like a castle than the roof of a water tower.
  • The Confederate Memorial- was erected by The Confederate Veterans Association of Fulton County to honor its fallen soldiers. The monument features a stone soldier holding a flag and standing on top of small cannon balls. Two cannons lie just beyond a circle of Confederate graves and mark a path leading to the historic monument.
  • Westview Cemetery Gardens

Famous burials

Location

The cemetery is located at 1680 Westview Dr SW, Atlanta, GA 30310. Its telephone number is (404) 691-4124. The office is open Monday–Thursday 8 am to 5 pm, Friday 8 am to 4:30 pm, until 2 pm on Saturday and is closed on Sunday. Gates are open from 8 am until 5:30 pm every day except Christmas and Thanksgiving. The site is a fifteen-minute walk from the West Lake MARTA station

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Westview Home, Westview Cemetery, retrieved 2009-01-28 
  2. ↑ "Battle of Ezra Church, Westview Cemetery"
  3. ↑ Kruse, Kevin M. "White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of Modern Conservatism", pg. 58, 2005, Princeton University Press
  4. ↑ http://www.influenzaarchive.org/cities/city-atlanta.html#

See also

External links

Coordinates: 33°44′46″N 84°26′35″W / 33.746162°N 84.443142°W / 33.746162; -84.443142

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