Laurel Hill Cemetery
Laurel Hill Cemetery, also called Laurel Hill East to distinguish it from the affiliated West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts.
Laurel Hill Cemetery | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
U.S. National Historic Landmark | |
Pennsylvania state historical marker | |
Laurel Hill Cemetery Gatehouse in 1972 | |
| Location | 3822 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°00′14″N 75°11′15″W |
| Built | 1836–1839 |
| Architect | John Notman |
| Architectural style | Exotic Revival, Gothic, Classical Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 77001185 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 28, 1977 |
| Designated PHMC | May 20, 2000 |
The cemetery is 74-acre (300,000 m2) in size and overlooks the Schuylkill River. The cemetery was designed by John Notman and grew to its current size through the purchase of four land parcels between 1836 and 1861. It contains over 11,000 family lots and more than 33,000 graves, including many adorned with grand marble and granite funerary monuments, elaborately sculpted hillside tombs and mausoleums. It is an accredited arboretum with over 6,000 trees and shrubs representing 700 species.
In 1977, Laurel Hill Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and in 1998, became the first cemetery in the United States to be designated a National Historic Landmark.