The trolley station that became a Spanish Gothic maze

If you look closely at the walls of the original 1909 structure, you can still see old train schedules. The site started as a trolley car station before the California Crematorium Association built a crematory there in 1909.

By 1928, Julia Morgan was hired to redesign the building. She gave it a Spanish Gothic look with Moorish motifs. Architect Aaron Green, a protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright, later contributed six additions over 24 years, including mausoleums.

The interior is a maze of small rooms. It is packed with ornate stonework, statues, gardens, fountains, and mosaics. You can find the remains of people such as California governors, Victoria Cross recipients, Rickey Henderson, and musician John Lee Hooker.

The building stays active today with an electronic music twist. Every summer solstice, the site hosts the Garden of Memory. It is a columbarium walk-through featuring over 40 musicians performing on unique instruments or specific compositions, with music that is often electronic or electro-acoustic.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons