William Andrews Clark Mausoleum
HOLLYWOOD ARCHITECTURE
William Andrews Clark, Jr. Mausoleum
(PHOTOS: Allan R. Ellenberger)
By Allan R. Ellenberger
Visitors to Hollywood Forever Cemetery invariably ask who is interred in the huge mausoleum in the center of the lake. 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 is built on an island approached by a large bridge fashioned of 40-foot granite slabs. The artificial lake, island and bridge, which covers 50,000 square feet, were constructed in 1909 at a cost of $10,000. At the time it was said to be modeled after “one of the large cemeteries of the East.”
In January 1920, Clark bought the island and within a few weeks, contractors began work on the foundation of the mausoleum which is made of reinforced concrete. Clark contracted the Georgia Marble Company (Tate, Georgia) for $125,000 worth of white Georgia crystaline marble, where it was quarried but was cut here in Los Angeles.
The mausoleum, which was designed by architect Robert D. Farquhar, is in the Ionic style. The pediment is all in one piece. The bronze door was cast from a model design and made by an eastern sculptor.
The interior of the mausoleum is finished with reddish marble and the sarcophagi, of which there are seven, are in like material. The inside dome is finished with a design worked out in mosaic of pigeon blue and old gold. A similar mosaic is laid on the floor. The four interior stained glass windows were made by Lamm & Co. of New York. On the walls are Biblical scenes done in mosaic which 18 Italian artists labored on for 14 months.
The mausoleum was completed in 1921 at a cost of more than $500,000, which includes the island site, the bridge and the lake which had palely beautiful lotus blossoms, hyacinths and lilies from far-away lands.
When the mausoleum was completed, Clark transferred the body of his first wife, Mabel Foster Clark (1880-1903) to it from a vault in Butte, Montana, and also the body of his second wife, Alice McManus Clark (1884-1918) which was then resting in the family mausoleum of his uncle, J. Ross Clark, at Hollywood Cemetery.
There are seven sarcophagi in the mausoleum, three on each side, and one at the head where Clark is interred. Besides his two wives, also interred there is his only son, William A. Clark III (1902-1932), who died in an airplane crash. They all preceded him in death.
William Andrews Clark, Jr. died of heart disease at his summer home in Salmon Lake, Montana on June 14, 1934.
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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.
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June 4th, 2010 at 10:37 am
Thanks, Allan, for another wonderful post. I always wanted to know what the inside of the mausoleum looked like.
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Hi Bill, you’re welcome.
June 4th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
What a beautiful monument! Hollywood Forever has so many interesting monuments. So thankful the Cemetery is being well cared for and open to the public. A visit to Hollywood would not be complete without visiting H4E.
June 4th, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Remember that today would have been Rosalind Russell’s 103rd birthday. Great photo blog on the mausoleum.
June 4th, 2010 at 6:55 pm
WOW this is again an amazing story that only you Allan can deliver!
Thank You – AND did you get inside? The photographs are just brilliant!
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I got the interior photos many years ago during an LA Conservancy tour.
June 4th, 2010 at 10:19 pm
Having never been able to photograph the interior, I am so happy to finally have a good idea of what it contains. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful photos of this important and generous man’s beautiful final home.
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Hi Melissa, you’re very welcome. – Allan
June 5th, 2010 at 12:28 am
I was allowed inside only once, after a Rudolph Valentino service about 12 years ago. Nice to see it again. Great job, Allan!
June 5th, 2010 at 2:23 am
Excellent post Allan. Very informative, especially for those curious about the interior. Thanks for sharing. David Eastburn
June 5th, 2010 at 5:28 am
I notice that Mable died in 1903 and Wm III was born in 1902. Were there complications at the birth that weakened and finally caused her death? Do you know the story?
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I don’t know but now you made me curious!
June 5th, 2010 at 9:13 am
Get this – his sister Huguette is still alive at 103 years old but her whereabouts are known only to a few close friends! Clark’s father was a most “unusual” character, this is what Mark Twain wrote about him, “He is as rotten a human being as can be found anywhere under the flag; he is a shame to the American nation, and no one has helped to send him to the Senate who did not know that his proper place was the penitentiary, with a ball and chain on his legs. To my mind he is the most disgusting creature that the republic has produced since Tweed’s time.”
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Wow that is interesting. I wonder what Twain really thought!
June 5th, 2010 at 9:59 am
Mabel Foster Clark, the first wife of W. A. Clark, died on Jan 1, 1903 due to complications from the birth of her son who was born on Dec 2, 1902.
June 5th, 2010 at 6:46 pm
What a mega-cool post! Thank you! Loved all the detail, and I ran the inflation calculator. The cost in today’s money would have been $5.94 million.
June 6th, 2010 at 12:05 am
Thank-you so much for the wonderful post. I am never not totally amazed and “wowed” at anything you post, and this one was REALLY something! I had heard that in the past this mausoleum was open to the public one day per year ( maybe in conjunction with the Rudolph Valentino Memorial Service). I recently called to confirm this and was advised that this is no longer the case. Mr. Clark Jr must have been a very fascinating person to have known— if Mark Twain’s opinion of Mr Clark Sr was supported by other people, it can only be hoped that in this case the “apple” fell very, very far from the tree……
June 6th, 2010 at 10:43 pm
Robert D. Farquhar was also the architect of Clark’s library, built on the grounds of his property in West Adams. Today, that Oscar Wilde collection started by Mr Clark, is the largest in the world .
i was not surprised by Mark Twain’s comments until it got to the Boss Tweed part. Perhaps Mr Twain was speaking about Clark pere? while i have not heard any stories about Clark’s business dealings, there are wild stories told about WAC’s personal life, which today we would take in stride but in his own time made him scandalous.
Don Lynch says he was told by someone “inside” that the only actual corporeal remains in the mausoleum are those of the son. Perhaps Don’s source really isn’t “in the know”
Mabel Clark’s complications were “child birth fever”- toxemia.
i have been inside; 3 times.
June 7th, 2010 at 4:53 pm
You’ve outdone yourself, Allan! A lovely article with wonderful photographs.
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Hey stranger!
August 8th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Great information and pictures! His son, William III, mansion in Clarkdale, AZ just recently burned down.
September 3rd, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Thanks to everyone here who has contributed information on the Clark family. My boyfriend is John Clark, son of J. Ross Clark II. Walter Clark is John’s grandfather – he died on the Titanic when J. Ross was a baby. J. Ross Sr. was the younger brother of William Clark, the senator. We live on the east coast and have not visited the mausoleum, so again I thank you all for your photos and input. I am fascinated by the Clark family history and would love to hear any more stories you may have.
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Hi Jill, its a fascinating family. At some point I want to do a story on Walter Miller Clark and the Titanic. There is a marker for him in the J Ross Clark mausoleum at Hollywood Forever.
October 7th, 2010 at 3:50 pm
Someone at the cemetery told me that William Andrews Clark was not buried there, at the insistence of his family. However there are photographs of the funeral so apparently that is not true.
I wrote a long article on Walter and Virginia Clark for the Titanic Commutator, the magazine of the Titanic Historical Society, about twenty years ago. I wish I knew then what I know now.
Don Lynch
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Hi Don, you are correct there are photos of the funeral so if Clark is not there, he was removed afterward, which I find hard to believe. I’ve done research Walter and Virginia Clark myself and would love to read your article sometime.