Cambridge Cemetery Master Plan

Cemetery Planning + Design | Cambridge, MA

Established in 1855 as a replacement of the City’s overcrowded burial grounds, Cambridge Cemetery was designed according to the Rural Cemetery ideals; its later expansions reflect the city’s growth and changing burial customs over time. Lacking the possibility of expansion beyond the cemetery has been implementing infill strategies since 2005, but new opportunities for conventional burials are coming to an end.

In this context, the City of Cambridge engaged Halvorson and HDR to prepare a master plan seeking to prolong active operations and to widen the cemetery’s appeal as a historic and open space resource.

The master plan recommends investment in high-quality cremation gardens and columbaria. As important are preservation and replacing over time of the aging tree collection along with accreditation as an arboretum.

To improve visitor experience, we recommended improvements to arrival areas, creation of visitor tours, and enabling web-based burial records search as well as historic rehabilitation of the Chapel as a visitor amenity.

Principal-in-charge

Robert Uhlig FASLA, LEED AP BD+C

project Manager

Vesna Maneva RLA, LEED AP

Team

Client
HDR, Inc.
City of Cambridge, MA

Owner
City of Cambridge, MA