
Colma, Calif., Is a Town of 2.2 Square Miles, Most of It 6 Feet Deep (2006) - apsec112
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/09/us/09cemetery.html
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xvedejas
I recently took a walk around Colma. The cemetaries were in fact the least
creepy part of that town. Walkways leading nowhere covered in racially charged
graffiti, lack of sidewalks along the roads, and sprawling parking lots
occupied the area not reserved for the dead.

I walked past some sort of workshop that made tombstones. I took a picture of
some tombstones on display outside, since they looked kind of cool. Some
worker there started asking me: "Are you here to buy one? Then why the hell
are you taking pictures of them?!" Not the most inviting place. The graveyards
were nice though.

~~~
randycupertino
> I walked past some sort of workshop that made tombstones. I took a picture
> of some tombstones on display outside, since they looked kind of cool. Some
> worker there started asking me: "Are you here to buy one? Then why the hell
> are you taking pictures of them?!"

I mean, I can see where they are coming from, that's kinda disrespectful to
the dead. I wouldn't want you to take pictures of my recently passed away
father's headstone just so you could put a cool filter on it, load it up with
edgy hashtags and get likes on your instagram. :(

~~~
cfqycwz
I think they were display headstones, outside the workshop that makes them.

~~~
randycupertino
... maybe. Maybe they were pre-orders waiting for customers to come pick them
up. Who knows. Either way, still kinda tacky and in poor taste, imo. Grief
shouldn't be a sideshow for kitchy photo-ops.

~~~
DonHopkins
Maybe they were tombstones for dead teenagers who would have appreciated you
taking a selfie with their tombstone, putting a cool filter on it, loading it
up with edgy hashtags and getting likes on your instagram. Each generation has
its own way that they want to be remembered. YOLO!

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labster
Colma is a lovely necropolis. I went there once to visit the grave of Emperor
Norton I, one of my personal heroes. I'm still disappointed they didn't name
the Bay Bridge after him.

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randycupertino
Colma is home to a simply amazing bar. Go there if you are ever in town. It's
awesome and everyone is so friendly.

[https://www.yelp.com/biz/molloys-tavern-south-san-
francisco](https://www.yelp.com/biz/molloys-tavern-south-san-francisco)

~~~
msherry
Said bar was mentioned in the article, even.

~~~
randycupertino
well, that's just uncanny :)

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volaski
I once lived there for a few months. The first day I arrived, I opened by
window and looked at the view and thought "Wow this place has a beautiful
view, no buildings, all nature... wait... what are all those things on the
ground?"

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dylanhassinger
Colma was the inspiration for Buckethead's best album:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKQypgRJ9vU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKQypgRJ9vU)

^ excellent focus music!

~~~
roflchoppa
damn dude. i did not put two-n-two together. That is a really good album! :D

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anthony_franco
You're 800% more likely to get robbed in Colma than in the average US city
(based on per capita crime stats).

I always found that as the fun fact nobody mentions about Colma. It's usually
just graveyard talk.

~~~
chaostheory
Are you sure?

[http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Colma-California.html](http://www.city-
data.com/crime/crime-Colma-California.html)

It's a really quiet and boring place where you go to Home Depot and Target. It
looks like theft is more likely than robbery. I don't live in Colma, but I
know SF and Oakland are much worse.

~~~
bkjelden
I would guess the high crime statistic is just a quirk of the fact that Colma
has very few residents, but many more people visit from neighboring
communities for shopping.

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Animats
Skylawn [1], a few miles south, is about the same size as the biggest cemetery
in Colma, and it's still expanding. The scale of the place isn't visible from
the highway. It's on Lifemark Road (Their slogan: "Every life leaves its
mark") off of CA 92 at the summit near CA 35. Their section with sample
gravestone sculptures is worth a visit. Some of them are humorous.

[1] [https://goo.gl/maps/T971V3ChLL62](https://goo.gl/maps/T971V3ChLL62)

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ck2
Cremation for me, thanks.

I think as the world very very slowly loses its religion, this kind of waste
will finally come to an end in a few centuries.

Then there is the Tibetan "sky burial" which is amazing.

~~~
BHSPitMonkey
Cremation apparently requires much more energy than burial and has a large
carbon footprint. Perhaps it's simply another kind of waste.

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danso
FWIW, the NYT did a new story about Colma a few weeks ago, with the Super Bowl
happening nearby:

[http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/06/sports/football/the-
town-o...](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/06/sports/football/the-town-of-
colma-where-san-franciscos-dead-live.html)

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GigabyteCoin
>“We have 1,500 aboveground residents,” Mayor Helen Fisicaro said

>Today the little city has many thriving businesses, including car
dealerships, two Home Depots, shopping centers and a game room.

Two Home Depots for 1,500 residents? People don't generally build the coffin
at the burial.

Something tells me there is a lot more supporting that town than just their
cemeteries.

~~~
grimmdude
There's two Targets I believe too.

~~~
stellar678
It's insane. You literally leave one Target parking lot, drive under the
freeway and turn into another Target parking lot. I would have decision
paralysis even picking one.

~~~
spike021
The one at Serramonte Shopping Center is almost always busy/crowded. Parking
can be absolutely awful. That's since it's a mall. When the "Colma" Target
didn't have a pharmacy, that was the one advantage that the Serramonte one had
over it.

Nowadays it's almost always better to go to the Colma one if possible to avoid
the crowd.

I think someone told me a while back that the one at Serramonte is one of the
best-selling Target locations in the country, which I can definitely believe.

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lordnacho
It's a lovely place. I've got several family members buried there, and the
graves are well looked after.

As a non-American it reminds me of how everything in America is bigger.
Haven't looked at the numbers, but it's probably bigger than even the WWI
memorials in northern France.

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self
I'm surprised no one's mentioned this novel: Alive in Necropolis, by Doug
Dorst:
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2439336.Alive_in_Necropo...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2439336.Alive_in_Necropolis)

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mml
Colma a also features a passable par 3 golf course (as of 2005 anyway). A good
option if the municipal is too full of a weekend. Out of bounds in many areas
is guarded by the deceased.

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kzhahou
Prime real estate that could otherwise help lower housing costs.

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Gratsby
There's more people underground in Colma than there are above it.

~~~
craigching
At least the mayor is quoted in the article as saying so:

    
    
      “We have 1,500 aboveground residents,” Mayor Helen Fisicaro
      said, “and 1.5 million underground.”

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ChuckMcM
Not a good place to be during the zombie apocalypse.

