CLEVELAND — While it’s encourage people get outside to get some fresh air, officials at Lake View Cemetery on Cleveland’s East Side ask that people respect the living and those at rest, too.
Kathy Goss, the president of the cemetery, said they’ve seen a large uptick in people coming to see the beauty of the cemetery.
With 285 acres of land, it’s been a staple for sightseeing and strolls.
“Between April and November we have about 50,000 visits come specifically to use the cemetery as a destination,” said Goss.
But she said that number has more than quadrupled since the start of the pandemic.
Goss said she does love that people are getting out to see the beauty of the parks, the amount of people, at times, concerns her.
A main attraction is Daffodil Hill. A part of the cemetery that has over 100,000 daffodils blooming.
“They are one of the first flowers that come out in the spring, so it is joyful and exciting to see all of those golden blooms,” she said. “In the spring, at the cemetery, it represents spring and hope and rebirth and a new life.”
A metaphor that seems to resonate with people right now.
But when it gets congested Goss asks that people maintain their distance (6 feet) from one another and wear masks.
If you see that it’s busy, come back to the cemetery at another time.
Goss said early mornings are usually less congested.
She also asks that people remember they are still an essential operation and have burials every day.
“It is a place of bereavement for many people,” she said. “Many people, it may not be obvious, but they may be grieving. They may be visiting a child that they buried or a recent loss of a parent or grandparent, so while it is a little intoxicating, for sure to be around all that beauty we just ask that people conduct themselves respectfully.”
The cemetery has begun closing an hour earlier to make sure everyone is out on time.
The hours are 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
To follow the cemetery’s updates go here.
