At Cypress Lawn, we believe it’s important to know where you came from.

Sharing the history of our funeral homes and cemetery campuses helps us stay connected to our past. Our diverse staff members value our Bay Area heritage and take pride in remembering those who came before us.

We want everyone who stops by our Memorial Park to know the history of our cemetery while admiring our charming chapels, stately fountains, and century-old works of art.

Keep reading to learn more about the origin of Cypress Lawn and what it means to our community.

How Cypress Lawn Began
Cypress Lawn’s founding can be traced back to a carriage ride: In 1892, Hamden Holmes Noble passed by San Francisco’s Laurel Hill Cemetery and was troubled to see the cemetery’s neglect. Noble took action to solve this problem. He wanted to see cemeteries returned to places of beauty and respect, so he led a group of local men to establish Cypress Lawn about 12 miles south of San Francisco.

What Cypress Lawn Came to Be
Noble traveled up and down the East Coast to research cemetery styles and brought what he learned back to Cypress Lawn. The result of his research was the creation of 150 acres of carefully manicured lawns and a peaceful garden. Later, an internationally certified Arboretum was added to our Memorial Park. Over the years, state-of-the-art monuments and edifices were added to memorialize the great men and women who transformed California in its early days. Visitors to Cypress Lawn today can admire stunning chapels ornamented with Tiffany stained-glass windows

Cypress Lawn’s Continuing Legacy
We created the Cypress Lawn Heritage Foundation to promote local educational and cultural activities and support the restoration and preservation of the grounds, architecture, and monuments that make up Cypress Lawn. We welcome visitors to experience our cultural heritage and architectural legacy up close. Our Memorial Park has expanded to four different campuses. When you visit, hop on our Cypress Lawn Trolley for a docent-led history tour. Our tours are constantly changing, sometimes focusing on specific periods of California or other topics related to our history.

We encourage families in and around San Francisco to contact our experienced team to find out more about our funeral, burial, and cremation services or to schedule a time to tour our beautiful Memorial Park.