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Beatitudes
This room was designed by Julia Morgan, and was
constructed in the early 1940s. Miss Morgan also did
extensive work for the Hearst family for many years
during the construction of Hearst Castle at Cambria,
California, which has since become very famous. She
also built other homes for the Hearst family in
Northern California. She was a graduate of the San
Francisco School of Architecture and also studied in
Paris, France. Julia also studied under Mybeck, who
was second only to Frank Lloyd Wright. She made her
mark at a time in history when women were not
readily accepted into the professional fields. You
may notice her work in the inlaid tile flooring and
the fountain.
The stone-faced door arches are very ornate and are
gothic in design. The placement of the skylight and
the way the light comes into this room makes it a
very unique place.
Blessings Room
It is called the Blessings Room because it is small
and intimate.
The Chapel of Prayer
This is our garden chapel, which seats 150 people.
It is glassed in along the north wall, which allows
for extra light and there is a coy pond, which is
very restful. The Lamp of Memory burns 24-hours a
day, and is in memory of those who rest with us. We
also have a Baldwin baby grand piano and an organ,
which came from a theater in San Francisco. We have
accomplished musicians available, Richard Cincebough
and Zella Woods. They are available should you want
live music or special selections. We also have tape
music available. We serve all faiths here as well.
Should we need extra space, the hallway next to us
has a speaker system connected to the chapel and can
be used as an overflow area. We have held some very
large services here.
Rail Section
In 1941 they added a mausoleum to the building. As
you can see it is of "rail construction." At the end
of this room are the original front entrance doors.
Office Section
In our office section, we have travertine marble
from Italy. This type of marble has holes and pit
marks when cut. These are filled with a colored
compound that adds colors when it is hardened and
polished. It not only enhances the finished look,
but also strengthens the marble. This same marble is
used throughout our facility.
Next Section
This next section was constructed in the early
1950s. Imperial Cremo is cut from one piece and is
then fitted together to form a "book-matched
pattern." This is very costly and rare. You won't
see this type of detail very often today. This
building is patterned after Chapel of The Chimes in
Oakland, California. There is nothing like it
between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.
It is very unique. This section also has our first "Westminister"
crypts. The building is actually raised; the crypts
do not sit in the dirt.
Couch Crypt Area
This area was built in the early 1950s. In the Couch
Crypts, a casket is placed in sideways. Originally
intended to become a private estate, but did not
sell well. Crypts were then sold individually and
the other wall became glass front niches.
Patio Fountain Area - Imperial Cremo And
Tennessee Marble
This was constructed in the 1950s. The Tennessee
marble is of a matched pattern. This was originally
an outside patio area. As the building grew and
expanded to the North, this area was closed in, the
furnace room over was moved and glass front niches
were constructed. These niches are covered and the
ones directly across from them are glass. The
covered ones, as I mentioned were once outside
niches. They also moved the entrance to the side,
and constructed a parking area.
Life - Imperial Cremo Marble
This room has a cathedral ceiling. The light from
the northern exposure affords maximum light. The
architect was Aaron Green who studied under Frank
Lloyd Wright at "Talisman West," his school of
architecture in Arizona. The skylight provides
maximum light and yet keeps out the hot summer sun.
Love - Italian Marble
Built by Harris Construction of Fresno in the early
1970s. The most recent addition, it features a full
skylight and a water fountain. One of the things our
families like most about Chapel of the Light is the
ambiance and serenity of this beautiful building.
New Construction
You can see that as we have grown through the years
we have maintained a high standard of quality. There
is nothing like this between Los Angeles and the San
Francisco Bay Area. We have reached the point of
needing to expand and as we speak bids are out to
construct our new mausoleum addition and also our
ground burial garden.
Mausoleum - Designed by Aaron Green |
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