The Forest Lawn empire began in 1906 when its forgotten first founder John B. Treadwell established its flagship Glendale cemetery. The company became “Forest Lawn Memorial Park” in 1917 under the leadership of newcomer Hubert Lewright Eaton (1881-1966), who Forest Lawn still considers its true founder. One of Eaton’s partners was wealthy realtor William Irving Hollingsworth (1862-1937), who also owned the property that would eventually become Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills. In 1926, Hollingsworth allowed the City of L.A. to lay a highway through said property. First called Riverside Drive South, it was rechristened Hollingsworth Drive in 1941. Forest Lawn acquired the land by 1946; after years of protests (led by Van M. Griffith, son of Griffith Park‘s benefactor), the company was finally allowed to build their graveyard here in 1950, which is when Hollingsworth Drive was renamed Forest Lawn Drive. Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills officially opened in 1952.
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