Pierce Brothers Westwood Memorial Park was established in 1905 by the State of California under the name of Sunset Cemetery with the earliest burials at the site dating back to the 1880s.

In 1926, the cemetery’s name was changed to Westwood Memorial Park as the city began to take shape, with nearby UCLA opening a few years later. At that time, the cemetery offered only ground burials and it wasn’t until 1952 that the first of our current 10 mausoleums was built on the cemetery property.

In 1961, the existing wood-framed chapel was added on the southern-most side of the property and remains a beautiful addition to the cemetery grounds. The cemetery opened with 2.72 acres but in the 1950s and 1960s, portions of the land that were not being used for cemetery purposes were sold to the developers of the AVCO Building and Theatres and the Westwood Presbyterian Church, leaving the cemetery with a little more than two acres.

Today, the cemetery is a member of the Dignity Memorial® network of funeral, cremation and cemetery service providers. In November of 2002, Pierce Brothers Westwood Memorial Park was designated as Historical-Cultural Monument No. 731 by the Cultural Heritage Commission of the City of Los Angeles.

What was once a country graveyard surrounded by grasslands, a few country homes and dirt roads is now a beautiful cemetery tucked away in the heart of Westwood’s business district as a serene oasis where families can continue with the tradition of ground burial or chose a crypt in the newly added Sanctuary of Prayer Mausoleum. In addition to traditional burial spaces, the cemetery has added private and semi-private burial spaces along with many options for cremation. With a variety of options for memorialization, Pierce Brothers Westwood Memorial Park has something to offer each individual and family.