Grandlawn Cemetery Looking Seedy

[Lorax]

This is of particular concern to me, and our family, since our mother and grandparents are buried at Grandlawn.

When our mother died in 1998, the cemetery didn't look bad, but in the years since, and especially lately when I visited, I've noticed the deferred maintenance such as the collapsing fencing and stone posts along Telegraph and Grand River, the unlocked bathrooms and unmanned entrance building [[on a Saturday recently).

The bumpy potholed gravel roads, fallen trees, some rotting, the bridge over the river collapsing, the lightposts having their tops knocked off.

The entrance building which is a lovely English style structure has a roof which is literally peeling off, windows which need painting, crappy signage, etc.

Only the lawns looked relatively good on this last trip, and the vertical headstones had been clipped around.

Most distressing is the fact that anyone can walk in at night due to the many breaches of the iron fencing.

I have brought this up to the management, but I feel it has fallen on deaf ears.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe cemeteries pay property taxes, so aside from the maintenance, electricity & water for the entrance building and grave digging, are there many more expenses? They are still selling gravesites, and built a new columbarium, so there is some income coming in.

We will be moving the graves if something isn't done to better maintain this truly beautiful part of Redford/Detroit.

[reddog289]

I have noticed that the fencing in places was not in the best of shape. It is a shame that cemetaries are neglected, or have become unsafe to visit. I may not visit my departed loved ones very often, But I myself would be angered over the state of the memorial park that they were interned in looking ragged and /or unsafe.

[oldredfordette]

I was in the old neighborhood yesterday - the first time in a very long time. It made me so sad, it's the worst I've ever seen it.

I hope Grandlawn gets some attention, it is such a beautiful old cemetery.

[Lorax]

Hi Oldredfordette, thanks for lookin in on the cemetery. I did find out that new owners have taken over 28 Michigan cemeteries including Grandlawn from a scandal ridden LLC in Nevada whose owner went to prison over the fraud.

Crain's had alot of news on it since the story broke in 06. The new owners just took over from state receivership in March, and are a well known reputable east-coast cemetery owner/operator. So hopefully things will improve.

[barnesfoto]

it's owned by a large corporation that has been pocketing the monies that are supposed to be put aside for maintenance. For the last 28 years, corporations are less regulated and have more rights than individuals, so this is one of the benefits of such policies.
Having grown up near the place, and having a couple grandparents buried there, it makes me sad too, I sure hope nobody wastes money on a silly cemetery plot for me when I'm gone...[[Not suggesting that they leave my husk on the curb, but rather a quick shove into the crematorium and the emptying of the ash can into a garden somewhere...)

[BasementBeat]

Yeah, even across the street from it [[opposite side of telegraph) an abandoned gas station + an abandoned housing structure. Such a giant eye sore. Although I did recently see people building what seems to be a temporary ramp to the structure. I hope they are remodeling it....

[Lorax]

I am going to call the new owner/operator MMG Midwest Memorial Group and discuss my concerns and their plans tomorrow.

I have a mother and two grandparents buried at Grandlawn, I will be doing this for their memory, as they always though the place was beautiful, which it is, and needs to be maintained as such.

The gates, stone posts, entrance building, crappy signage, all need to be addressed. Also, some bronze plaques have been stolen due to the breaches in the iron fencing. The bridge is falling down, and the lamp posts on that bridge have their tops knocked off. Dead trees, swampy areas, etc, need attention.

I also want the Redford Granite Company building saved across the street- it apparently is out of business now. Really a neat early building. We bought all the headstones there over the years.

[DetroitTeacher]

I was just at Grandlawn today [[visiting the grandparents) and they have cleaned up some of the trees that had toppled over during a storm. It was BUSY and not looking too shabby on the inside [[I have been there when it was much worse). I was disturbed, however, that some lady was blocking traffic down Grand River because she was INSIDE the gates handing out fliers to apply for a credit card. She stopped EVERYONE and it was quite annoying. I wasn't there to get credit, I was there to pay my respects to my grandparents.
I would like to see the fountains in working order and a standard time for closing the gates. It varies depending on who is working. Two weeks ago they closed at 4PM!! We were locked in...well, except there was no lock on the gates and the fence around the place had such huge gaps in it, we could have driven through, if need be...

[Lorax]

I know, I found this same situation a couple of weeks ago, before returning to Miami.

Maybe if enough of us offer our concerns to the new owner/operators of theses 28 cemeteries, we can effect some changes for the better.