Hollywood Cemetery
410 S Cherry St
Richmond, VA
Winding paths, old trees, and grand monuments cover the hills above the James, where two presidents and thousands of soldiers rest in one of the great garden cemeteries of the American South.
Hollywood Cemetery is one of the most beautiful and historic burial grounds in the American South, laid out in the 1840s in the fashionable garden-cemetery style, with curving carriage roads, native trees, and monuments set into rolling hills rather than a rigid grid. Perched on bluffs above the James River in Richmond, it was meant to be a place for the living to walk and reflect as much as a place to bury the dead.
The cemetery holds an extraordinary roll of history. Two United States presidents, James Monroe and John Tyler, are buried here, along with Confederate President Jefferson Davis and thousands of Civil War soldiers. Its shaded lanes, dramatic tombs, and long views over the river make it a quiet, powerful window into Richmond's past and into the divided history of the nation.
What Guests Love
- River-bluff views over the James and its rocky rapids
- The graves of two United States presidents, James Monroe and John Tyler
- A rolling, tree-shaded landscape designed as a garden, not a grid
- Striking nineteenth-century monuments, including the granite pyramid to Confederate dead
Worth Knowing
- This is an active cemetery and a place of mourning, so visit quietly and respectfully
- The roads and paths are hilly, so wear comfortable shoes and watch your footing
- Guided walking tours are offered on a seasonal basis for those who want the history
- Stay on roads and paths, and do not lean on or climb the old monuments
Details
Richmond, VA
Learn about Hollywood Cemetery
A garden built for the living
Hollywood was created in the 1840s during a wave of enthusiasm for rural, or garden, cemeteries, a movement that treated burial grounds as landscaped parks. Designers used the natural roll of the land above the James, planting trees and winding roads to make a peaceful, picturesque setting where families could stroll, picnic, and remember. The name comes from the stands of holly that grew on the hills.
That design philosophy is still what visitors feel first: this is a landscape as much as a cemetery. Paths curve past ponds, hillsides, and clusters of monuments, opening now and then to sudden views of the river below. Long before Richmond had public parks, places like Hollywood served that role, and it remains a green, contemplative space at the city's edge.
Presidents and the roll of the dead
The cemetery's most famous residents are two presidents. James Monroe, the fifth president, was reburied here in the 1850s beneath an ornate Gothic ironwork tomb often called the Birdcage, a striking monument on Presidents Circle. Nearby lies John Tyler, the tenth president, and the two make Hollywood one of the few cemeteries in the country to hold more than one head of state.
Hollywood is also the resting place of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, along with generals, statesmen, and public figures who shaped Virginia and the nation. Their monuments tell a complicated story, and reading Hollywood honestly means holding together its beauty, its role in memorializing the Confederacy, and the human cost of the war that filled so many of its graves.
The Civil War and the granite pyramid
Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy, and the Civil War left its mark all over Hollywood. Thousands of Confederate soldiers are buried in the cemetery, many of them young men brought here from the battlefields and hospitals of a besieged city. Their graves fill entire sections of the grounds, a sobering measure of the war's toll.
The most recognizable monument is a large rough-hewn granite pyramid raised after the war as a memorial to the Confederate dead, built from stone laid up without mortar. Like much Civil War memorialization, it has drawn renewed reflection in recent years about how the war is remembered. However visitors read it, the sheer number of graves around it makes the human scale of the conflict impossible to ignore.
The river, the trees, and Richmond around it
Part of Hollywood's power comes from its setting above the falls of the James, where the river breaks over rocks and rapids at the edge of the city. From the bluffs, visitors look out over the water, the old rail lines, and the wooded islands of the James River Park System just across the way, tying the cemetery to Richmond's river heart.
Around the grounds, mature trees, seasonal color, and resident wildlife make Hollywood feel like an arboretum as well as a historic site. Just beyond the gates lie the walkable Fan District, the state capital, and Richmond's museums and neighborhoods, so a quiet hour among the monuments folds naturally into a fuller day exploring the city.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Grey Pine Lodge
Honorable Mention494 Three Notched Mountain Hwy, Waynesboro, VA
84 miles away|Learn More ›
Things to Do Near Richmond
James River Park System
About 1 mile
A ribbon of wooded islands, rapids, and trails along the James, popular for hiking, paddling, and river views in the heart of Richmond.
Virginia State Capitol
About 2 miles, a 10 minute drive
Thomas Jefferson's neoclassical capitol on a hill downtown, with grounds and monuments open to visitors.
The Fan District
About 1 mile
A celebrated Richmond neighborhood of tree-lined streets, historic rowhouses, cafes, and shops just inland from the cemetery.