L ike most large cities, Houston has a number of cemeteries just outside of downtown in areas that were, at one time, the outskirts. Glenwood Cemetery was the first in the city to be professionally designed. Landscape artist Alfred Whitaker was brought in from England for the job. He molded the cemetery around the undulating hills thrown up by Buffalo Bayou floods. Today, Glenwood is a peaceful place for families, the bereaved, and the merely curious to reflect on the monuments and the fact that the best views of Houston's skyline are reserved for the dead. It is worth a few hours to wander through the twisting lanes to see the sculptures, the soaring obelisks, and the historic markers. Some are beautiful. Some are poignant. A few are just plain creepy. The cemetery's most famous resident is Hollywood big-wig, aviator, and legendary eccentric Howard Hughes. His grave lies in a fenced-off family plot. It is hard to spot because the marker is flush with the ground.
M. H. Rigsby
Five stars.