West Laurel Hill Cemetery

Laid out on a plateau above the Schuylkill River in Bala Cynwyd, West Laurel Hill Cemetery covers about 187 acres in 44 sections divided by winding roads with circular focal points. It was established in 1869 by the founders of the Laurel Hill cemetery, who bought two farms that year and in 1870, and it expanded westward toward Belmont Avenue. The grounds follow the Landscape Lawn system, which limited individual markers and accessories, and they hold many mature trees planted in the early years. The cemetery is regarded as a well-preserved example of the romantic rural cemetery of the later nineteenth century. Its 270 family mausoleums, built from 1875 onward, include the French Second Empire Betz mausoleum of 1885, and its monuments range from 1870s marble stones to Art Deco-era work. Company-built structures include an 1887 bell tower by Cope and Stewardson.