At the end of Loraine Court, a short dead-end street in the Inner Richmond, sits an easy-to-miss copper-domed building: the San Francisco Columbarium, a resting place for the ashes of thousands of people.
A survivor of the city's lost cemeteries
The Columbarium was built in 1898 as part of the Odd Fellows Cemetery, according to its own history page. San Francisco passed an ordinance banning new burials within city limits in 1900, and between 1914 and the 1940s its major cemeteries were moved to Colma, according to the Columbarium's history. The Columbarium was not moved. It also came through the 1906 earthquake largely intact.
Decline and restoration
The building fell into neglect for decades. The Columbarium's history says the Neptune Society bought it in 1980 and restored it. It became San Francisco Landmark No. 209 in 1996.
What's inside
The building has four floors of niches arranged around a central rotunda lit by stained-glass windows, under a copper dome, according to its history page. Axios puts the rotunda at 45 feet and notes the building has its share of ghost stories.
Visiting
The address is 1 Loraine Court. It's a working columbarium, so be respectful. Published visiting hours differ between sources, so check the Columbarium's site before you go. Its history page says tours are available by appointment.
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