Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks: A Place for the Living

Forest Lawn Memorial-Park Association

Forest Lawn’s five Southern California funeral parks are a perfect metaphor for suburban America: beautifully landscaped, spotlessly clean, impeccably trimmed gardens… spread thinly over a putrefying mass of human decay.
But it is so much more, as this picture book attests. Commissioned by Forest Lawn itself, and put together by a Santa Barbara marketing firm, Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks: A Place for the Living was no doubt meant to be sold as a memento—or memento mori—in park gift shops. But no fan of cadaver camp should shuffle off this mortal coil without it.
Why? Because Forest Lawn is the Disneyland of the dead. All that’s missing is the snack bar. Send grandpa to his final reward, then have yours: stroll among the “exact replicas” of Michelangelo’s sculptures… enjoy a touch of Old Mexico among full-scale replicas of Toltec totems… reflect in your pick of a series of churches inspired by historic buildings… and gaze in awe at some of the most amazing Christian kitsch murals this side of Wisconsin’s Precious Moments chapel. Or just buy this book instead. It’s all here in heavenly color, including Robert Clark’s monumental 1965 canvas, “The Resurrection,” featuring a foxy Jesus “regal in his victory over death, radiant with the fulfillment of His Mission.” Of course, you won’t be able to hear the dramatic taped narration and “Hallelujah Chorus” that play in the hall housing the painting… but what do you expect for $12.95? A miracle? JAB

Publisher: Forest Lawn
Paperback: 79 pages
Illustrated