When you enter our historic grounds in the Oakland and Piedmont Hills, you will be struck by the panoramic views of the bay and the lush, green gardens. You might see a young mother pushing a stroller, or come upon a photographer taking pictures of a newly engaged couple. Depending on the time of year, you might see children in Halloween costumes waving to all the cars as they pass by … or be stunned by the sight of thousands of Dutch tulips in bloom during our annual Tulip Extravaganza every April.
And when you step into our cozy front office, you will notice that it looks and feels a lot like … a living room.
You might ask yourself: “Is this really a cemetery?” Yes, it is. But it is so much more.
From gothic-style weddings to trick-or-treating, we delight in celebrating your most memorable moments with you. And when someone close to you passes through the final season of life, it’s our privilege to help you plan a meaningful tribute.
Stop by our office sometime for a chat and a tour. Through laughter, tears—and everything in between—we’re here to support you...anytime, any season.
A Cemetery is a place to gather with family and friends, present and past. It is a place for reflection. It is a place of love and life.
How one chooses to inter one’s self, someone you love, or a friend is an extremely personal decision. Influenced by culture, religion, life experience and philosophy, we want our own memorial to reflect who we are and what we believe.
Here, we describe the types of interments we offer as well as the types of monuments we can create to record our having spent time on this earth.
Burial in an earthen grave is called “interment”. A collection of graves are often gathered in a Plot or Section. A family may purchase several graves in a semi-private area, which may be surrounded by a low wall or stone coping and this is called a “private family estate”. From historic monument sections to hillside sections with panoramic views, we offer many such unique landscape setting options.
Today, many people like the idea of both saving land and saving cost. They also philosophically embrace cremation. However, most people are unaware that we offer cremation graves too. A cremation grave is usually a third to half the size of a full casket grave.
Usually, cremated remains are placed or “inurned” in a decorative and durable vessel, called an “urn”, which may be placed in a permanent memorial alcove call a niche. A collection of niches together is a “columbarium”. Our Columbariums offer both indoor and outdoor niches. We offer glass front niches, where you can see the urn and its memorial inscription. We also offer stone front niches in settings with panoramic bay or garden views.
Like the Great Pyramids or the churches of Europe, some families choose above ground placement of a full casket in a crypt, which is called “entombment”. We offer crypts in our historic Art Deco/Greek Revival mausoleum with its beautiful halls of travertine and Italian marble. We offer crypts at our Outdoor Garden Mausoleum and our Hillside Mausoleum. The former is a midcentury memorial centered about a reflecting pool and the latter is a rose granite tomb looking out upon the main cemetery lawns and drives.
We encourage you to tour the cemetery with a counselor who can show you around our 223 acres of plots, columbaria and mausoleums. Touring the grounds and memorials is a beneficial way to familiarize yourself with the beauty of Mountain View Cemetery and to begin to sensewhat form of final rest suits your beliefs, values and personality.
© Piedmont Funeral Services & Mountain View Cemetery | Oakland, CA - Funeral Home Website Design By Frazer Consultants & TA
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