Holy Cross Cemetery (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Cementerio de la Santa Cruz'') is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

cemetery in

Colma, California Colma (Ohlone for "Springs") is a small incorporated List of municipalities in California, town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2020 U ...

, operated by the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Established in 1887 on , it is one of the oldest and largest cemeteries in

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 ...

History

Calvary Cemetery in San Francisco was consecrated in 1860 by the first Archbishop of San Francisco, Joseph Sadoc Alemany. Nearly thirty years later, Cavalry had nearly reached its capacity and Alemany's successor, Patrick William Riordan, purchased of land in nearby

San Mateo County San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City, California, Redwood City is th ...

. Alemany's successor, Patrick William Riordan, blessed the initial Holy Cross site on June 3, 1887, as the first cemetery in Colma. The first burials were conducted on June 7; Timothy Buckley's funeral carriage arrived just before Elizabeth Martin's. That year, the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

completed a branch track to Holy Cross. The Holy Cross site was deliberately left unconsecrated because of the possibility the cemetery may be relocated again. The site now covers . The Old Lodge Building, used as offices, were completed in 1902 to a design by Frank and William Shea, across Mission from the main entrance to the cemetery (1595 Mission Road); they also designed the stone-topped cemetery entry gates. These structures feature sandstone fascia in the

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a architectural style, style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revivalism (architecture), revival style incorporates 11th- and 12th-century ...

Revival style. It is nicknamed "McMahon's Station" after a hotel built by the brothers Owen and Patrick McMahon at the same site, which was destroyed by fire in January 1894, rebuilt, and destroyed again by fire in September 1897. Additional offices were completed in 1956, east of El Camino Real. The large mausoleum at Holy Cross was designed by John McQuarrie and dedicated on March 28, 1921 by Archbishop

Edward Joseph Hanna Edward Joseph Hanna (July 21, 1860 – July 10, 1944) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of San Francisco from 1915 to 1935. Early life and education Edward Hanna was born in Rochester, New York, ...

. It has been expanded since its opening and contains room for 40,000 crypts, covering . The Archbishops of San Francisco are interred in crypts within the mausoleum's rotunda. There are two smaller mausoleums on the site: All Saints, in the property's south corner (near Lawndale and Mission) and Saints Peter and Paul, a garden court (outdoor mausoleum) near the north corner. After the

San Francisco Board of Supervisors The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the board of supervisors, legislative body within the government of San Francisco, government of the San Francisco, City and County of San Francisco in the U.S. state of California. Government and polit ...

passed a measure in March 1900, banning future burials within city limits effective August 1, 1901, the development of Colma as the city's necropolis began in earnest, eventually culminating in the eviction of the existing cemeteries. Many of the people interred at the Catholic Calvary Cemetery were reburied between 1937 and 1945 at Holy Cross in a project to relocate graves outside of the city. There is a memorial sculpture at Holy Cross erected in 1993 to mark the moved remains, which features three crosses and reads: "Interred here are the remains of 39,307 Catholics moved from Mt. Calvary Cemetery in 1940 and 1941 by order of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Rest in God's Loving Care." After the

1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 AM Pacific Time Zone, Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated Moment magnitude scale, moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli inte ...

, it was estimated that of the monuments at Holy Cross were toppled or thrown askew, including large ornamental stone balls atop the entry gates. The subsequent 1957 Daly City earthquake damaged the cemetery again. A Googie-styled circular Receiving Chapel complex was designed by Frank W. Trabucco and completed in 1963; it contains five separate chapels, each decorated with murals by Thomas Lawless. The current chapel replaced an older chapel at the same site, completed in 1914. Image:Holy Cross Cemetery 1906.jpg, Holy Cross Cemetery shortly after the

File:Archbishop's Crypt, Holy Cross, Colma 2.JPG, Archbishops' Crypt, Holy Cross Mausoleum File:Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery (Colma, California) 13.jpg, Holy Cross Receiving Chapel (completed 1963) File:Catholics relocated from Mt. Calvary Cemetery memorial, Holy Cross, Colma 1.JPG, Relocation memorial File:Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery (Colma, California) 3.jpg, Stone-topped gate pillar on Mission Road, completed in 1902 File:Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery (Colma, California) 2.jpg, Lawn and mausoleum Two of the cemetery sequences from the film ''

Harold and Maude ''Harold and Maude'' is a 1971 American romantic black comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama. The plot follows the exploits of Harold Chasen ...

'', in which Harold attends the funerals of strangers and meets Maude, were filmed at Holy Cross in Sections T and J; the Mausoleum and Hillside Boulevard gate also appear in the film. Additional sequences were filmed at nearby cemeteries in Colma and San Bruno, including Cypress Lawn, Woodlawn, and

Golden Gate National Cemetery Golden Gate National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery in California, located in the city of San Bruno, California, San Bruno, south of San Francisco. Because of the name and location, it is frequently confused with San Francisco ...

Notable burials

File:Bufano Grave (13929291862).jpg, Beniamino Bufano grave File:Joseph Cuneo mausoleum, Holy Cross, Colma 1 (cropped).JPG, Joseph Cuneo mausoleum Image:hcc-colma-dimaggio1.jpg,

Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (; born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, ; November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career ...

grave File:Dunphy-Carmen family vaults, Holy Cross, Colma 1 (cropped).JPG, Dunphy-Carmen family vaults File:Lynch grave, Holy Cross, Colma 1.JPG, Lynch family vault File:De Young Family mausoleum door (cropped).JPG,

M. H. de Young Michael Henry de Young (September 30, 1849 – February 15, 1925) was an American journalist and businessman. Early life De Young was born in St. Louis, Missouri. The family was Jewish. Michael in later years claimed that his father was a Balti ...

mausoleum Several notable people are buried at Holy Cross, including former politicians, and people of the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

. This cemetery also contains one British Commonwealth war grave, of a Canadian Infantry soldier of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

A

Joseph Alemany Joseph Sadoc Alemany, Dominican Order, O.P. (Catalan language, Catalan: ''Josep Sadoc Alemany i Conill''; July 3, 1814 – April 14, 1888) was a Spanish Catholic Church in the United States, Catholic prelate who served as Roman Catholic Archdioc ...

, San Francisco's first archbishop *

Joseph Alioto Joseph Lawrence Alioto (February 12, 1916 – January 29, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 36th mayor of San Francisco, California, from 1968 to 1976. Biography Alioto was born in San Francisco in 1916. His father, Giuseppe A ...

, Mayor of San Francisco (1968-1976) * Pedro Altube, rancher *

Delos R. Ashley Delos Rodeyn Ashley (February 19, 1828 – July 18, 1873) was a California and Nevada politician who served as State Treasurer of California and a member of the United States House of Representatives from Nevada. Biography Ashley was born at Ark ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

U.S. Representative

B

* Ping Bodie, MLB player *

Winifred Bonfils Winifred Sweet Black Bonfils (October 14, 1863, Chilton, Wisconsin – May 25, 1936, San Francisco, California) was an American reporter and columnist, under the pen name Annie Laurie, a reference to her mother's favorite lullaby. She also wrote ...

, reporter and columnist * Jimmy Britt, boxer *

Pat Brown Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown (April 21, 1905 – February 16, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd governor of California from 1959 to 1967. His first elected office was as district attorney for San Francisco, and he ...

, 32nd

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...

* Benny Bufano, sculptor

C

* Chuy Campusano, visual artist, and muralist * Joe Carcione, "The Green Grocer" columnist and personality * Eugene Casserly, U.S. Senator * John Chapman, Civil War soldier,

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recipient * Joe Corbett,

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) pitcher * Frank Crosetti,

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MLB player, teammate of

D

(1914–1999), MLB player, Hall of Fame member * John G. Downey, 7th

E

Eddie Erdelatz Edward J. Erdelatz (April 21, 1913 – November 10, 1966) was an American collegiate and professional football player and coach who served as head football coach of the U.S. Naval Academy for nine years. He was drafted by the Chicago Cardinal ...

, first head coach of

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 ...

football team

F

James Graham Fair James Graham Fair (December 3, 1831December 28, 1894) was an Irish immigrant to the United States who became a highly successful mining engineer and businessman. His investments in silver mines in Nevada made him a millionaire, and he was one o ...

, Bonanza King, U.S. Senator *

Cy Falkenberg Frederick Peter "Cy" Falkenberg (December 17, 1879 – April 15, 1961) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1903 to 1917 for the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League, the Washington Se ...

, baseball player * Abigail Folger, Heiress, socialite, Manson murder victim * Edwin Alexander Forbes, Adjutant-General of California * Kathryn Forbes, writer * Tirey L. Ford, Attorney-General for California * Charlie Fox, MLB manager, coach, and scout

G

* Oliver Gagliani (1917–2002) photographer, and educator * A.P. Giannini, founder of

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...

* Charlie Geggus, MLB player, who played one season for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

of the

Union Association The Union Association was an American professional baseball league which competed with Major League Baseball, lasting for just the 1884 season. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season. Seven of the twelv ...

Vince Guaraldi Vincent Anthony Guaraldi (; birth name, né Dellaglio, July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) was an American jazz pianist best known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the ''Peanuts'' comic strip. His compositions for this s ...

, jazz musician known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' (briefly subtitled ''featuring Good ol' Charlie Brown'') is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run ext ...

'' comic strip including their signature melody, "

Linus and Lucy "Linus and Lucy" is a jazz instrumental composed by American pianist Vince Guaraldi. Named after the ''Peanuts'' characters Linus and Lucy Van Pelt, it debuted on Guaraldi's 1964 album '' Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown'' and rose to ...

H

, San Francisco's Third Archbishop * Michael A. Healy, American Captain in United States Revenue Cutter (predecessor of the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

) * William Edward Hickman, American convicted murderer * Edward Higgins, General of the Salvation Army *

Eric Hoffer Eric Hoffer (July 25, 1902 – May 21, 1983) was an American philosopher and social critic. A conservative moderate with an atypical working-class background, Hoffer authored ten books over his career and was awarded the Presidential Medal of F ...

, American moral and social philosopher

I

* Samuel Williams Inge, U.S. Representative for

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

K

Paul Kantner Paul Lorin Kantner (March 17, 1941 – January 28, 2016) was an American rock musician. He is best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist, and a secondary vocalist of Jefferson Airplane, a leading psychedelic rock band of the counterculture of ...

, guitarist for

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1965. One of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the San Francisco Bay Area, ...

* George Kelly, MLB Hall of Famer

L

* Bill Lange, MLB player for

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

(1893–1899) *

William Joseph Levada William Joseph Levada (June 15, 1936September 26, 2019) was an American Catholic prelate who served as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2005 to 2012. During that time, he was the highest-ranking American in the Rom ...

, San Francisco's Seventh Archbishop,

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

emeritus of the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

(elevated to

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in 2006)

M

* Ralph Maradiaga (1934–1985), Chicano artist, printmaker, muralist * Leo McCarthy, former California Lieutenant Governor * Pete McDonough, bail bondsmen * James A. McDougall. U.S. Senator * Joseph Thomas McGucken, San Francisco's Fifth Archbishop * Theresa Meikle, first woman elected to Superior Court Judge in a major American city * John J. Mitty, San Francisco's Fourth Archbishop * John J. Montgomery, pioneer aviator, aerodynamicist, and physicist; first American to fly in a heavier-than-air machine * Maggie Moore, silent film actress *

George Moscone George Richard Moscone ( ; November 24, 1929 – November 27, 1978) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 37th mayor of San Francisco from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. He was known as "The People's ...

, Mayor of San Francisco

N

* George Hugh Niederauer, San Francisco's Eighth Archbishop * John I. Nolan, U.S. Representative * Mae Nolan, California's first female congressperson

O

* William S. O'Brien, Bonanza King *

Bryan O'Byrne Bryan Jay O'Byrne (February 6, 1931 – December 4, 2009) was an American film and television character actor and acting coach. His credits include numerous television shows, films and many television commercials. Biography Early life O'Byrn ...

, actor * M.M. O'Shaughnessy, San Francisco city engineer

P

James D. Phelan James Duval Phelan (April 20, 1861 – August 7, 1930) was an American politician, civic leader, and banker. He served as nonpartisan mayor of San Francisco from 1897 to 1902. As mayor he advocated municipally run utilities and tried to protect ...

, Mayor of San Francisco, U.S. Senator * Ralph Pinelli, MLB player

Q

* John Raphael Quinn, San Francisco's Sixth Archbishop

R

* Patrick William Riordan, San Francisco's Second Archbishop * Angelo Joseph Rossi, Mayor of San Francisco (1931–1944) * Pietro Carlo Rossi, wine maker and first President Italian Swiss Colony * Charles M. Rousseau (1848–1918), Kingdom of Belgium-born American architect * Oliver Rousseau (1891–1977), American architect, home builder/contractor, and real estate developer

S

Hank Sauer Henry John Sauer (March 17, 1917 – August 24, 2001) was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He appeared in 1,399 games, primarily as a left fielder, in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds (1941–1942, 19 ...

, MLB player *

Eugene Schmitz Eugene Edward Schmitz (August 22, 1864 – November 20, 1928), often referenced as "Handsome Gene" Schmitz, was an American musician, musical director, and politician. He served as the 26th mayor of San Francisco from 1902 to 1907, in office dur ...

, Mayor of San Francisco (1902–1907) * Fred Scolari, professional basketball player * John F. Shelley, Mayor of San Francisco (1964–1968) * William M. Stewart, U.S. Senator * James Joseph Sweeney, First bishop of Diocese of Honolulu

T

* Ethel Teare, American silent film actress

W

* Richard J. Welch, U.S. Representative * Kaisik Wong, fashion designer * William J. Wynn, U.S. Representative

Y

* Michael de Young, co-founder of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'', namesake of the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum.

Z

* Frank Zupo, MLB player with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

References

External links

Official website

– interment.net {{Authority control Cemeteries in San Mateo County, California Colma, California Protected areas of San Mateo County, California Roman Catholic cemeteries in California Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco 1887 establishments in California Cemeteries established in the 1880s