Atlanta’s Westview Cemetery: An Historic Final Resting Place
- At October 22, 2014
- By communitymaus
- In Article
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The hit AMC Television series “The Walking Dead” famously takes place in and around an Atlanta that has been ravaged by a zombie apocalypse. Whether the series’ creators selected this city out of a personal tie or connection, or it just seemed a program based in Georgia was the next logical location, they couldn’t have selected a better area that would present a lot of actual drama should a real zombie apocalypse ever occur.
Despite the historic Westview Cemetery celebrating a storied 130-year anniversary this year, the private, perpetual care cemetery provides new final resting places for approximately 200 individuals each year. Traditional burial plots were supplemented by the construction of the cemetery’s immense abbey and mausoleum, which celebrated its 70th birthday last year.
Located off of MLK Boulevard and Interstate 20, Westview Cemetery has breathtaking views of downtown Atlanta and is a stately resting place for some of Atlanta’s most prominent sons and daughters including, among others, William Hartsfield, the city father and former mayor for whom Atlanta’s international airport was named.
Balancing Solemnity With Celebration
Westview cemetery is a 600-acre cemetery with some of its initial land encompassing a civil war battlefield where nearly 400 Confederate soldiers are buried to this day. It’s history is bringing preservationists and others through the gates of this memorial park. Considering that the structures that meet you at the entrance, a bell tower and an archway, date back to the cemetery’s founding in 1884, it is understandable why historical societies are eager to ensure the protection and maintenance of these structures.
For those interested in visiting Westview Cemetery, with its 30-plus miles of roadway and its Gothic Mausoleum that is one of the largest structures of its kind, the month of October presents several opportunities, including speakers this weekend and guided bus tours of the cemetery.
The dignity and beauty of Westview’s Gothic Mausoleum is not to be missed. This large structure was created to be a lasting community columbarium. Whether one is considering a private or public mausoleum for their end-of-life plans, tours through mausolea such as this aid in providing inspiration for your own final resting place.
Later in the month, the Atlanta History Center is hosting their “Party with the Past” event. Free to the public (with an online reservation here), this event recognizes the Battle of Ezra Church, the aforementioned Civil War battle that occurred on lands used by Westview Cemetery.
The operation of this historic memorial park falls to Charles Bowen, Jr., a third-generation caretaker for Westview Cemetery. His own historical perspective of the cemetery leads to careful consideration of which type of events to host on the hallowed grounds. “We’re feeling pressure to do some things (to promote Westview’s history), but we still have to balance it,” Bowen remarked to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Andy Johnston. “There’s a ton of history here.”
Throughout the history of Atlanta and other southern cities is the familiar cry of “The South Will Rise Again.” Considering the popularity of the Atlanta-filmed “The Walking Dead” and the many burials and interments over Westview’s 130-year history, we hope that phrase never applies to Westview’s current and future residents, whom we hope will forever rest in peace.