TRAVEL TALES : HISTORY, ART LIVE AT FOREST LAWN.Byline: Susanne Hopkins Daily News Travel Editor ``Forest Lawn Forest Lawn is the name of a number of different places:
- Hubert Eaton, ``The Builder's Creed'' When Hubert Eaton set about transforming the dusty, depressing grounds of a small cemetery near Glendale into Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in 1917, he probably did not realize he was bringing the world to the Valley's doorstep. But thanks to the vision of the cemetery's former general manager, Valley residents don't have to go far to see replicas of Leonardo da Vinci's ``Last Supper Last Supper, in the New Testament, meal taken by Jesus and his disciples on the eve of the passion. Jesus broke bread and passed a cup of wine among the disciples, identifying himself with the bread and the wine and linking the meal to his impending death on the ,'' Boston's Old North Church, Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Sistine Chapel (sĭs`tēn) [for Sixtus IV], private chapel of the popes in Rome, one of the principal glories of the Vatican. Built (1473) under Pope Sixtus IV, it is famous for its decorations. paintings or massive stone carvings of the Olmec Indians. They and other reproductions of some of the world's greatest art and artifacts artifacts see specimen artifacts. can be found at Forest Lawn cemeteries in Glendale and Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills, an unofficial designation of part of the City of Los Angeles, California, are part of the eastern section of the low transverse range of the Santa Monica Mountains, which extends from the Los Feliz District and Hollywood, on the south side of the Valley, to . The two cemeteries - and, to a lesser degree, their sister parks in Covina, Cypress and Long Beach - are repositories for extensive collections of bronze and marble statuary stat·u·ar·y n. pl. stat·u·ar·ies 1. Statues considered as a group. 2. The art of making statues. 3. A sculptor. adj. Of, relating to, or suitable for a statue. , stained-glass windows, mosaics, Indian carvings and re-creations of churches in England, Scotland and New England New England, name applied to the region comprising six states of the NE United States—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The region is thought to have been so named by Capt. . The collections are so impressive - and so impressively displayed - that about 1 million people, including a large number of schoolchildren schoolchildren school npl → écoliers mpl; (at secondary school) → collégiens mpl; lycéens mpl schoolchildren school , visit the parks each year to see them, said Forest Lawn spokesman Dick Fisher. The majority - about 400,000 - come to Glendale's park, Fisher said. It is the oldest, dating to 1917, and was created around an Americana and Christian theme. ``They come (mostly) for the `Last Supper' presentation and the `Crucifixion' presentation,'' Fisher said, noting that admission is free. Da Vinci's painting of the ``Last Supper'' has been re-created in stained glass stained glass, in general, windows made of colored glass. To a large extent, the name is a misnomer, for staining is only one of the methods of coloring employed, and the best medieval glass made little use of it. and housed in an elegant hall - the Memorial Court of Honor a court or tribunal to investigate and decide questions relating to points of honor; as a court of chivalry, or a military court to investigate acts or omissions which are unofficerlike or ungentlemanly in their nature. See also: Honor in the Great Mausoleum mausoleum (môsəlē`əm), a sepulchral structure or tomb, especially one of some size and architectural pretension, so called from the sepulcher of that name at Halicarnassus, Asia Minor, erected (c.352 B.C. - where it is displayed with great ceremony and dramatic narrative every half-hour from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. It is part of the ``Sacred Trilogy'' depicting three scenes from the life of Jesus Christ Jesus Christ: see Jesus. Jesus Christ 40 days after Resurrection, ascended into heaven. [N.T.: Acts 1:1–11] See : Ascension Jesus Christ kind to the poor, forgiving to the sinful. [N.T. . The world's largest religious painting, the 195-foot-long, 45-foot-high ``The Crucifixion'' and its companion piece, ``The Resurrection,'' also are featured in shows complete with narrative, sound effects sound effects Noun, pl sounds artificially produced to make a play, esp. a radio play, more realistic sound effects npl → efectos mpl sonoros and Handel's triumphant ``Hallelujah'' chorus every hour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily in the Hall of the Crucifixion-Resurrection. But the peaceful grounds with their rolling green lawns also contain other treasures: all of Michelangelo's greatest statues reproduced in Carrara marble, mosaic reproductions of ``The Signing of the Declaration of Independence,'' works by Raphael and three churches. The Church of the Recessional re·ces·sion·al n. 1. A hymn that accompanies the exit of the clergy and choir after a service. 2. A recession from a church. adj. Of or relating to a recession. pays tribute to author Rudyard Kipling and was inspired by his church in Rottingdean, England; the Wee Kirk o' the Heather tells in eight stained-glass windows the tragic Scottish love story of Annie Laurie; and the Little Church of the Flowers, with its indoor garden, was inspired by the English church where Thomas Gray penned the poem ``Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard meditative poem of a melancholy mood. [Br. Lit.: Harvey, 266] See : Melancholy .'' (The churches are not only for funerals, Fisher noted. About 30,000 couples - some the third generation in their family to do so - have wed over the years in Forest Lawn churches, most at the Wee Kirk o' the Heather.) ``There's also a museum,'' Fisher said of the Glendale park's features. ``It contains some of the first printed Bibles in various languages, and ancient Roman and Grecian coins, and Michelangelo's Sotterraneo.'' The latter, he said, is a room patterned after the one the artist hid in beneath a church for 92 days while being pursued by authorities who sought to hang him for his campaign against the powerful Medici family. ``And what he did was draw charcoals on the walls to pass the time,'' Fisher said. The drawings, discovered within the last two decades, have been reproduced photographically for the exhibit. Not far from the Glendale park, visitors can take a historical journey through Revolutionary America at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, the second of the parks, which opened in 1948. With the white church spires silhouetted against the green hills, it could almost be a New England village (there are no headstones here, only bronze plaques flush with the ground). Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln are memorialized in bronze statues, but the park's centerpiece is the Hall of Liberty with its ``Birth of Liberty'' mosaic. Ten million pieces of glass form 25 scenes from America's history on an exterior wall of the hall; stone tablets etched with the Preamble to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights flank the artwork. Inside are two museums. One is dedicated to Early American history, which is told in reproductions of manuscripts, uniforms and personal mementos such as Thomas Jefferson's writing desk, as well as a 26-minute film, the ``Birth of Liberty.'' The other is the Museum of Mexican History, which traces the Indian cultures of North America. Here, you can try your hand at Mayan mathematics, see a replica of a chieftain's tomb and study the art of such civilizations as the Aztecs, Zapotecs, Olmecs and Mixtecs. The museum also leads to the small Plaza of Mexican Heritage, with its life-size reproductions of stone and basalt basalt (bəsôlt`, băs`ôlt), fine-grained rock of volcanic origin, dark gray, dark green, brown, reddish, or black in color. Basalt is an igneous rock, i.e., one that has congealed from a molten state. Indian statues. The hall is joined to a reproduction of Boston's Old North Church by the Court of Liberty, a terraced, landscaped courtyard. The church, immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, ``Paul Revere's Ride "Paul Revere's Ride" is an American poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that commemorates the actions of American patriot Paul Revere on April 18, 1775. [1] The poem was written on April 19, 1860 and first published in The Atlantic Monthly in January of 1861. ,'' contains documents and mementos of the era, but is often closed to the public for funeral services. So is the Church of the Hills, which is a re-creation of a Portland, Maine, church where Longfellow worshiped. There is so much to see at the parks that people return again and again. ``Some people come here a lot and always bring their relatives when they come to visit,'' Fisher remarked. ``It's a special place to them.'' Always free, never boring The five Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks are open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in winter and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. spring and summer. A variety of programs are offered during the year, from concerts and historical programs to portrayals of famous people. Admission to the parks and all events is free. Information: (800) 204-3131. The parks are located at: Glendale, 1712 S. Glendale Ave.; Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive; Covina Hills, 21300 Via Verde Drive, Covina; Cypress, 4471 Lincoln Ave.; Sunnyside, 1500 E. San Antonio Drive, Long Beach. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, Box Photo: (1) The ``Birth of Liberty'' mosaic, the centerpiece at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park, Hollywood Hills, depicts 25 scenes in American history and is made up of about 10 million pieces of glass. (2) George Washington prays in a ``Birth of Liberty'' scene. Jeremy Greene/Special to the Daily News Box: Always free, never boring (See Text) |
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