William Andrews Clark, Jr.

(1877-1934)

 

 

Born: March 29, 1877, Deer Lodge, Montana

Died: June 14, 1934, Salmon Lake, Montana

Cause of death: Heart attack

Service: St. John’s Episcopal Church

 

People are always asking who is interred in the huge mausoleum in the center of the lake at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The answer is - William Andrews Clark, Jr. the second son of millionaire copper-king and Montana Senator, William A. Clark, Sr. (1839-1925).

 

Clark, a philanthropist, was founder of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (1919) and a collector of rare books. At his death, he left his library of rare books and manuscripts to the regents of UCLA. Today, the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library specializes in English literature and history from 1641 to 1800, materials related to Oscar Wilde and his associates, and fine printing.

 

 

The Clark family mausoleum at Hollywood Forever Cemetery is built on an island approached by a huge bridge fashioned of 40-foot granite slabs. The structure was erected in 1920-21 at a cost of more than $500,000, including the island site, the bridge and the lake which originally had palely beautiful lotus blossoms, hyacinths and lilies from far-away lands.

 

Because only a limited amount of the Italian marble used in the mausoleum could be mined every year, it took Clark many years to collect the stones from which it was built. From the rich creamy marble to the exquisite white stones veined delicately in tracery of gold, green, orange or blue, the interior presents a magnificent picture.

 

 

A rare look into the interior of the Clark mausoleum

 

On the walls (above are Biblical scenes done in mosaic and on which 18 Italian artists worked 14 months.

 

Clark family sarcophagi (click on each to enlarge)

 

There are seven sarcophagi in the mausoleum, three on each side, and one at the head where Clark is interred. Also interred are Clarks two wives, Mabel Foster Clark (1880-1903) and Alice McManus Clark (1884-1918) and his only son, William A. Clark III (1902-1932). They all preceded him in death.

 

 

Clark’s father, Senator William Andrews Clark, Sr., is interred in his own grand mausoleum (above) at the Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City.

 

The preceeding is one in a series of biographical sketches of permanent residents at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. (All photos from my collection)