The Chapel of the Chimes

The Chapel of the Chimes is a large columbarium located in Oakland, CA next to Mountain View Cemetery. The present building is a 1920s remodel of the original building and was based on designs by Julia Morgan. The oldest rooms are presented as libraries with the ashes of the dead contained in "books".

The rooms are light and airy with tastefully chosen plants.

Other rooms are finished in a plainer style. In this room the vase holders unfortunately cast  noose-shaped shadows.

Skylights let in plenty of light and glimpses of the outdoors.

A king is interred here.

In typical American fashion there's an even brighter future coming.

The entire building is called The Chapel of the Chimes but it has an actual chapel in it that hosts concerts at several times during the year; however, its central function is shown by these boxes of tissues.

Autumn 2014

We do get a few Autumn colors out here. This was on November 23.

It's unlikely that any of the trees with colored leaves are native to California.

These photos were shot in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland CA.

The cemetery climbs a pretty steep hill. That is downtown Oakland in the distance.

The weather was unusually mild at San Francisco's Land's End, on Thanksgiving Eve.

The ocean was very calm.

It was beautiful.