Hollywood Forever Sunset Mausoleum

The Hollywood Forever Cemetery, a 53-acre historic landmark in Los Angeles, was originally designed by noted landscape architect Joseph Earnshaw (1831-1906) and opened to the public in 1899 as the Hollywood Cemetery. Emblematic of early Nineteenth-Century Lawn Cemetery planning, the site eliminated fencing and barriers, favoring open views, bucolic landscapes, and curving pathways intended for strolling and contemplation—a design ethos that has made it a cultural mainstay in the city.

In 1909, Sylvan Lake was added as part of Earnshaw’s original landscape vision, with its island later expanded to incorporate the Clark Mausoleum in 1921. Over time, as with many cemeteries, Hollywood Cemetery evolved, integrating new structures and adapting its facilities to reflect changing burial practices and cultural values. In 1998, it was renamed Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where it now functions as a modern park cemetery, active burial site, and beloved public venue hosting cultural programming and events.

Led by award-winning LA based Lehrer Architects LA and Roberto Sheinberg’s Arquitectura y Diseño, the Gower Street Mausoleum reimagines contemplative spaces within this historical context. A five-story structure, it features tiered gardens and terraces that call to mind the grandeur of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Studio-MLA’s landscape architectural design builds from ground-level gardens to intimate, vertical terraces, culminating in a rooftop garden that offers expansive city views. Each landscape layer is woven into the architecture’s geometry, grounding the structure in the natural environment and enhancing visitors’ experiences.

Visitors entering the ground-level are greeted by calming water walls and a curated selection of lush, evergreen trees, shrubs, and grasses. The plantings and materials, chosen to evoke weight and timelessness, create a serene space insulated from the city’s pace. As Studio-MLA president Mia Lehrer, FASLA, notes: “We aimed to create spaces that draw visitors into quiet reflection, connecting them with nature—a reminder of the enduring and the ephemeral. The walls remind us that water holds a particular resonance here in Los Angeles and around the world as a vital force that invites contemplation.”

At the upper levels, a series of terraces flank the mausoleum’s corridors, offering moments of respite amid mid-level planted niches. Vibrant Bougainvillea blooms, low carpets of Rosemary, and the iconic form of Italian Cypresses create a backdrop that accentuates the architecture’s façade, evoking a layered, ethereal experience.