July 24: Hollywood Cemetery and the Cimetière du Montparnasse

In downtown Richmond, Hollywood cemetery is a well-known cemetery that houses a few United States presidents, around 25,000 confederate soliders, and many other individuals. Because of its reputation, it is a bit unfair to compare it to Cimetière du Montparnasse but I think it is interesting to compare and contrast their layouts nonetheless (and also because my mom was there today so she got pictures for me. Thanks mom!). To start, Hollywood Cemetery is huge and is a little over 100 acres big. It is very hilly and all of the graves are really spaced out, even though it is in the middle of Richmond, Virginia. This is the total opposite of the Cimetière du Montparnasse, where the graves are close together to make use of all the space they have and is in a grid pattern (not to say all French gravesites are structured in a grid or all American gravesites are planned like hiking trails but it’s interesting to see). However, both of the cemeteries act like parks, which I think makes it feel more welcoming for visitors.

American graves also strictly conform to the 6-feet deep rule, where one person is buried in one section, whereas in France it seems like coffins are stacked on top in order to make more space. This makes family graves very common in France. However, I think America also prioritizes family graves, even if they are not technically buried together (since they are normally side-by-side). In fact, there are a ton of family graves in Hollywood Cemetery.

Whenever I go to Hollywood Cemetery, I also notice that the graves are sectioned off. For instance, a lot of the Confederate soliders are put close together, and then individuals/families will have a small square to themselves with some space inbetween. The Cimetière du Montparnasse includes people of all different religions and socioeconomic statuses, but Hollywood Cemetery seems to not be as diverse, for some reason. It is also nice that cemeteries in France usually have a donation box where you can help families who usually can’t bury their loved ones get an opportunity to do so.

Finally, I want to talk about walkability / accessibility in these parks. Hollywood Cemetery has a bit of a disadvantage in this category because it is super hilly, while Cimetière du Montparnasse is (mostly) flat. Both cemeteries also allow cars to drive through them. Because of Hollywood’s hilly nature, it is harder to make room for pedestrians, so people often have to walk in the grass. Cimetière du Montparnasse lacks sidewalks too. However, both of them have pretty wide roads, so people can walk in the road if needed. And there are plenty of benches in both for people to sit. I will say that Hollywood Cemetery’s abundant green space makes it better to have a picnic or just hang out with people, but I do not know what either cemetery’s policy is on that or either culture’s opinion on it.