Rose Hills Memorial Park, Memorial park and cemetery in Whittier, United States.
Rose Hills Memorial Park is a cemetery and mortuary in northern Whittier, California, and the largest cemetery in North America. Its entrance is marked by a grey sign with pink "ROSE HILLS" lettering and a petal emblem. The grounds hold 280,000 burials, with mausoleums such as the 1917 Whittier Heights Mausoleum and the 1999 Buddhist Columbarium, a three-story pagoda with crimson pillars and golden glazed tiles.
The cemetery was founded in 1914 by a group of Los Angeles businessmen who sought to create a burial ground for the growing population. Over the following decades, the site expanded several times and became one of the largest cemeteries on the West Coast.
The grounds allow families to follow their own religious customs when honoring the deceased, with sections shaped by different traditions side by side. Some areas feature stone lanterns, others display crosses or simple markers, each reflecting the beliefs of the communities they serve.
Visitors can search for specific graves using an online database before arriving, which helps with navigation across the large site. The roads are easy to drive, though weekends and holidays bring more traffic and foot visitors.
The Buddhist Columbarium, built in 1999 on 2.5 acres at the highest point of the grounds, is described as the largest Buddhist pagoda in the United States: three storeys, 21,000 niches for cremated remains, crimson pillars and golden glazed tiles modelled on ancient Chinese palaces. It is linked to Fo Guang Shan's Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights.
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