Chapel of the Chimes was founded as California Electric Crematory in 1909 as a crematory and

columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria), also called a cinerarium, is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns holding cremated remains of the dead. The term comes from the Latin ''columba'' (dove) and originally solel ...

at 4499 Piedmont Avenue, at the entrance of Mountain View Cemetery in

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The present building dates largely from a 1928 redevelopment based on the designs of the architect

Julia Morgan Julia Morgan (January 20, 1872 – February 2, 1957) was an American architect and engineer. She designed more than 700 buildings in California during a long and prolific career.Erica Reder"Julia Morgan was a local in ''The New Fillmore'', 1 Febr ...

. The Spanish Gothic architecture features

Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

motifs and the interior is a maze of small rooms featuring ornate stonework, statues, gardens, fountains, and mosaics.

History

The chapel originates with a crematory built in 1909 by the California Crematorium Association on the site of a trolley car station; the old structure still has train schedules on the wall. Architect Julia Morgan was hired to expand the facility; the new crematory and columbarium were dedicated on

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

1928, named Chapel of the Chimes for the chimes in the tower. Architect Aaron Green, a protégé of

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

, subsequently contributed six additions over 24 years, including mausoleums. The building maintains its original functions and also serves as the venue for annual music festivals on the winter and summer

solstice A solstice is the time when the Sun reaches its most northerly or southerly sun path, excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around 20–22 June and 20–22 December. In many countries ...

s. The chapel's owners operate funeral homes and cemeteries, not designed by Morgan, in Hayward, also under the name Chapel of the Chimes, as well as Sunset Lawn Chapel of the Chimes in

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

. Chapel of the Chimes holds the records of the Chapel of Memories on Pleasant Valley Avenue.

Garden of Memory

''Garden of Memory'' has been held 1996–present; this is a columbarium walk-through event held every year on the evening of the

summer solstice The summer solstice or estival solstice occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). The summer solstice is the day with the longest peri ...

. It features over 40 musicians performing on unique instruments, or compositions designed for the event. The sound is often electronic or electro-acoustic in source and then electronically processed.

Notable interments

Notable burials include the following: *

Harriet Chalmers Adams Harriet Chalmers Adams (October 22, 1875 – July 17, 1937) was an American explorer, writer and photographer. She traveled extensively in South America, Asia and the Oceania, South Pacific in the early 20th century, and published accounts of her ...

(1875–1937), explorer *

Malcolm Playfair Anderson Malcolm Playfair Anderson (6April 187921February 1919) was an American zoologist and explorer. Anderson took part in several scientific expeditions and was chosen in 1904 to lead the Duke of Bedford's Exploration of Eastern Asia. Early life And ...

(1879–1919), explorer and zoologist *

Dick Bartell __NOTOC__ Richard William Bartell (November 22, 1907 – August 4, 1995), nicknamed "Rowdy Richard", was an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop from to . One of the ...

(1907–1995), baseball player * Grace Richardson Butterfield, California State Parks Board, Grand Matron of the Eastern Star * Russ Christopher (1917–1954), baseball player * Frederick George Coppins (1889–1963),

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

in World War I *

Al Davis Allen R. Davis (July 4, 1929 – October 8, 2011) was an American professional football executive and coach. He was the managing general partner, principal owner and ''de facto'' general manager of the National Football League (NFL) Oakland Rai ...

(1929–2011),

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

executive and

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

owner * John A. Elston (1874–1921), US Congressman * William Frederick "Bones" Ely (1863–1952), baseball player *

Wesley Englehorn Wesley Theodore "Moose" Englehorn (January 21, 1890 – September 3, 1993) was an American college football player and coach. Career Englehorn was born on January 21, 1890, to Herman and Emma Lenz, Englehorn attended Spokane Public Schools, Spo ...

(1890–1993), college football player and coach *

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues that he develo ...

(1917–2001), musician *

Charles Goodall Lee Charles Goodall Lee (1881 – 1973) was an American dentist and the first licensed Chinese American dentist in California. Lee financed the construction of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance lodge in Oakland, California. He graduated from the S ...

(1881–1973), first Chinese American dentist *

Friend Richardson Friend William Richardson (born William Richardson; December 1, 1865September 6, 1943) was an American newspaper publisher and politician. A member of the Progressive Party and later the Republican Party, Richardson was elected as the Californi ...

(1865–1943), California governor * Herbert A. Richardson, timber and shipping magnate * Stephen Stucker (1947–1986), actor, comedian *

Henry Vollmer Henry Vollmer (July 28, 1867 – August 25, 1930) was an attorney and politician who served as the mayor of Davenport, Iowa, and as a Democratic U.S. Representative from Iowa's 2nd congressional district. Winning a special election in 1914, he ...

(1867–1930), mayor of

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

, US Congressman

References

External links

Garden of Memory

Chapel of the Chimes (Oakland, California)
* * * {{coord, 37.83189, N, 122.24569, W, region:US, display=title Chapels in California Columbaria Julia Morgan buildings Churches in Oakland, California Music venues in the San Francisco Bay Area Cemeteries in Alameda County, California 1909 establishments in California Cemeteries established in the 1900s Oakland Designated Landmarks Funeral chapels

History

Garden of Memory

Notable interments

See also

References

External links