The Community Idea Stations: Hollywood Cemetery

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About the Production
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HOLLYWOOD: Richmond’s Garden Cemetery
Monument

During the 19th century, industrialization created a surge in urban areas with densely packed populations. People longed for green, open spaces as escapes from dirty, crowded cities. At the same time, as churchyards and family cemeteries filled up, the back-to-nature movement known as Romanticism offered a solution: a park-like setting outside the city where the public could immerse themselves in natural beauty while visiting the final resting place of their loved ones. The concept of such a setting—with winding roads and paths, indigenous trees and shrubbery—came to be called the rural or garden cemetery.

Richmond boasts its own such cemetery, named “Hollywood” because of the natural proliferation of holly trees on the grounds, whose history, beauty and tranquility have made it a local treasure. In December the Community Idea Stations will premiere a 90-minute documentary about this landmark and its role in the story of Richmond, HOLLYWOOD: Richmond’s Garden Cemetery.

Hollywood’s place in local history, lore and culture was not always what it is today. At first the cemetery was rejected by locals who claimed that it would spoil westward expansion of the city; by neighboring landowners who cried foul over petty easement rights; and by others who claimed that decaying corpses would seep into the city’s water supply.

Attitudes changed, however, and today, Hollywood lives out its original intention for the living and the dead. It is a mature green space with a commanding view of the James River that serves the public as a natural retreat within the confines of the city. It is the final resting place for two U.S. presidents, the only confederate president, several confederate generals, a Supreme Court justice, writers and local celebrities—as well as many people who are not famous at all. In addition to its legendary status in Richmond and beyond, Hollywood remains a working cemetery.