Lake View Cemetery

Lake View Cemetery
Daffodil Hill and a nearby funerary monument at Lake View Cemetery
Map
Details
EstablishedJuly 28, 1869
Location
CountryUnited States
Coordinates41°30′45″N 81°35′31″W / 41.512492°N 81.5919379°W / 41.512492; -81.5919379
TypePrivate
StyleGarden
Owned byLake View Cemetery Association
Size285 acres (115 ha)
No. of graves104,000 (2007)
WebsiteLakeViewCemetery.com
Find a GraveLake View Cemetery
The Political GraveyardLake View Cemetery

Lake View Cemetery is a privately owned, nonprofit garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland in the U.S. state of Ohio. Founded in 1869, the cemetery was favored by wealthy families during the Gilded Age, and today the cemetery is known for its numerous lavish funerary monuments and mausoleums. The extensive early monument building at Lake View helped give rise to the Little Italy neighborhood, but over-expansion nearly bankrupted the burial ground in 1888. Financial recovery only began in 1893, and took several years. Lake View grew and modernized significantly from 1896 to 1915 under the leadership of president Henry R. Hatch. The cemetery's cautious management allowed it to avoid retrenchment and financial problems during the Great Depression.

Two sites within the cemetery are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The first is the James A. Garfield Memorial, erected in 1890 as the tomb of assassinated President James A. Garfield. The second is Wade Memorial Chapel, which began construction in 1898 and was completed in 1901. It honors the memory of Jeptha Wade, one of the cemetery's co-founders, and was donated by his grandson.