Holy Sepulcher Cemetery Mt. of Olives Mausoleum

Project Description

Situated on a cemetery hillside surrounded by the beautiful vistas of the Santa Ana Mountains, the recently completed Mt. of Olives Mausoleum will enable Holy Sepulcher Cemetery to serve the surrounding community for an additional 30 years.

As the largest of the cemeteries in the Catholic Cemeteries of the Diocese of Orange system, Mekus Tanager developed a Master Plan to help serve the cemetery’s best interests into the future. After completion of the Master Plan, Mekus Tanager was hired to complete the design of the Mt. of Olives Mausoleum, a project that blends several types of burial options in a unique way.

Project Challenges
The Mt. of Olives project site is located on the east side of the cemetery along the side of a hill, with spectacular views overlooking the Santa Ana Mountain range to the east. Challenges for the project included: making use of the site’s topography, which had a 16 foot elevation drop, dealing with drainage and storm-water issues, and addressing the concerns of families who thought a new project may block their views of the mountains from their existing burial plots.

The Project / Value Added
Designed to embrace the majestic views of the mountains, Mekus Tanager developed a design that incorporated the topography of the hillside by tiering the side of the hill to create a terraced effect. This allows for a unique combination of different burial types as well as improved access for vehicles and pedestrians to visit the deceased. Centering the project, a life-size bronze statue of Jesus is placed atop a continuously running fountain at the center of a rotunda, which is flanked by two olive trees, symbolic of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where Jesus was buried and resurrected.

The tiered design not only allows existing views to remain unobstructed, but allows for the unique variety of inventory types at the Mt. of Olives which include: 4-high wall crypts and niches with lawn crypts above, arranged as family estates which are at the same grade-level as the existing traditional burial section; columbarium walls and niches interspersed in key areas; and more lawn crypts arranged into family estates east of the road and pedestrian walkways. The Mt. of Olives Mausoleum will add: 1,008 semi-private family estate burials, 1,899 wall crypts, 570 niches, 707 lawn crypts, and 2586 traditional ground burial plots for Holy Sepulcher Cemetery. To solve storm-water runoff issues from the cemetery and project site, a bio-swale was added downhill of the project to filter the site’s runoff water.

Despite its large scale (almost a quarter mile in length), the Mt. of Olives Mausoleum not only adds unique burial options for the surrounding Catholic community, it embraces and promotes the beautiful local topography and the Catholicism of Holy Sepulcher Cemetery.

Quick Facts

• Client: Diocese of Orange - Catholic Cemeteries
• Project Size: 4.5 Acres, 1,008 semi-private family estate burials, 1,899 wall crypts, 570 niches, 707 lawn crypts, and 2586 traditional ground burial plots
• Services Performed: Architecture, Planning
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