Salem Memorial Park

Salem Memorial Park and Garden was founded in 1891, originally as the New Salem Cemetery, and is located at 1711 El Camino Real in Colma, California.

Salem Memorial Park and Garden
Restrooms for Salem Memorial Park Garden Mausoleum
Details
EstablishedDecember 20, 1891 (1891-12-20)
Location
Colma, California
CountryUnited States
Coordinates37°40′38.9510″N 122°27′31.8492″W
TypeJewish
Owned by
Websitejcemsf.org/salem-memorial-park/
Find a GraveSalem Memorial Park and Garden

History

Congregation Beth Israel had consecrated a portion of City Cemetery in San Francisco as Sholom or Salem Cemetery on December 2, 1877.[1][2]: 77  City Cemetery was mainly used to bury immigrants and the indigent,[3] with the vast majority of those interred being Chinese immigrants to California; the site is now occupied by the golf course in Lincoln Park and the Legion of Honor museum.[4] Public sentiment against burials in San Francisco began in the early 1890s, culminating in a ban on new burials by 1902.[5]

Wm. Curlett designs for New Salem Cemetery (1891)[6]
Entrance arch
Mortuary Chapel

Congregation Beth Israel proactively purchased 35+1⁄3 acres (14.3 ha) in Colma for the New Salem Cemetery from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco in October 1891, and a ceremony was held on December 20, 1891, to lay the cornerstone for the new cemetery.[2]: 76–77 [6] An entrance arch and mortuary chapel, designed by William Curlett, were completed and consecrated by May 1892,[7] and a vintage photograph of the chapel exists,[1] although the structures no longer stand at the site; it is not known if they were damaged and demolished following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.[2]: 78  Remains from the original Salem Cemetery were exhumed and moved to Colma between 1901 and 1907.[1][8]

Since the original establishment, approximately half the site has been sold, leaving it at its present size of 17 acres (6.9 ha). The site's outdoor Garden Mausoleum was completed in 1950, and a Holocaust memorial was completed and dedicated in 1974.[2]: 78  Congregation Beth Israel-Judea sold the cemetery to Congregations Emanu-El and Sherith Israel in July 2004, merging it with the neighboring Hills of Eternity and Home of Peace cemeteries.[8]

Notable burials

See also

References
  1. Stern, Norton B. (January 23, 1891). "Our Pioneer Heritage: Beth Israel's Salem Cemetery". San Francisco Jewish Bulletin. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  2. Svanevik, Michael; Burgett, Shirley (1995). City of Souls: San Francisco's Necropolis at Colma. San Francisco, California: Custom & Limited Editions. ISBN 1-881529-04-5.
  3. "The City Cemetery". Daily Alta California. February 5, 1891. Retrieved 13 September 2023. The Jewish cemetery is called Salem. [...] the agitation of [the question of condemning the present City Cemetery near Point Lobos] produced a feeling of uneasiness among the Jewish people having relatives interred in that cemetery. Many of them are very poor.
  4. Zigoris, Julie (June 4, 2022). "Largely Erased by Time and Development, the Dead of City Cemetery May Soon Get Proper Memorial". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  5. Proctor, William A. (1950). "Location, regulation, and removal of cemeteries in the City and County of San Francisco". SFGenealogy.org. Department of City Planning, City and County of San Francisco. Retrieved 2022-10-31.
  6. "Well and Duly Laid". San Francisco Call. December 21, 1891. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  7. "An Impressive Ceremony". San Francisco Call. May 23, 1892. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  8. Eskenazi, Joe (July 9, 2004). "Beth Israel-Judea sells cemetery to Emanu-El, Sherith Israel". The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  9. "General Salomon Answers 'Taps'". San Francisco Call. July 20, 1913. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  10. Stern, Norton B. (November 27, 1981). "Our Pioneer Heritage: Gen. Edward S. Salomon". San Francisco Jewish Bulletin. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
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