Westview Cemetery Inc. — Attraction in Atlanta

Incredibly beautiful cemetery and kind, caring, professional staff, especially Connie and Mr. Myers, who have gone out of their way to be helpful and kind every step of the way and even today are always happy to answer any question; they also do a great job of making sure my relatives' gravesites look neat and pretty. I highly recommend Westview - it is a rare jewel! Also, while I think it is tacky and in poor taste to compare cemeteries, I strongly disagree with the poster who said Westview is "not as grand" as Oakview Cemetery; for those unpolished people who actually compare cemeteries, I believe that Westview, which consists of land once owned by the Candler family and includes the graves of many prominent Atlantans of every ethnicity, is actually MUCH more "grand" and certainly larger, more open, and lush than Oakland. It is so pretty and peaceful there, and it feels larger than NYC's Central Park. The architecture of the castle and abbey are stunning, and I have never found the lights in the abbey not to work. In addition, unlike Oakland, which doesn't do burials anymore, Westivew does several a day and STILL maintains beautiful grounds. Finally, while it does close at 5:30 pm, that is more than enough time (who wants to be at a cemetery after sunset?) and for those odd (and hopefully rare) people who stay past closing time and get locked in, I have seen a large sign at the gate with a number to...

I went here for a photo shoot. I love going to Oakland and I saw some beautiful pictures of westview online so I thought I’d check it out. It was our first time here and we didn’t know that you had to be out by 5:30. We didn’t see anyone around and I didn’t see any signs saying that. At around 6pm a man drives up and asks if we were planning on spending the night because he locks the gate at 5:30. I thought he was joking but he was not. He precedes to say how we better rush over to the gate because he can’t wait around all day for us. We quickly drive over to the gate and probably waited 15 minutes before he showed up. He then waits about 5 minutes before even getting out of his car. As we’re driving out I apologize and say thank you so much for this. I didn’t know the rule but it won’t happen again. He then again lectures us by saying next time we come in he’ll lock us in and we can’t call the cops they won’t help us and just overall being very rude especially after I have apologized multiple times. He then asks where I’m from probably expecting me to say some where else. Well I was born and raised in Atlanta and I hate when people make assumptions based on how I look. I was more than respectful to him and if I had know we would not have stayed after. The place was beautiful just make sure to leave by 5:30 or you’ll have to deal with this...

Beautiful very large cemetery, the abbey near the back is one the most interesting parts. The outside of the abbey was used as the shooting scene in the tv show Ozark where it stood in for a Mexican mansion owned by a drug cartel leader in the show. The abbey appears older but is only from the 1940s, however it does seem to be in a bit of disrepair. Many of the lights inside were not functional upon my visit and it looked like water was leaking in from the roof. I do think it is being renovated though, so hopefully those are things they are addressing. This cemetery isn’t as grand as the more famous Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta but has its own charms all the same.

I am leaving one star off because this cemetery keeps very odd hours! Closing at 5:30 on weekdays is fair enough but they close at 2 on Saturday and aren’t open at all on Sundays. I presume it’s a staffing/security thing but it’s not great. Oakland Cemetery embraces the “we are a cemetery but also a park to enjoy” thing and Westview feels like the opposite. They lock the gates so you cannot access it after hours and you risk getting locked in if you are still there...