Dead centre

I know some people are dying to go to San Francisco, but did you know you won’t be welcome there if you’re dead? In 1902 the city’s Board of Supervisors outlawed burials in city limits – and demanded that the larger cemeteries in the city move their remains elsewhere. It took nearly 40 years, and many legal battles, before the last bodies were removed from the city – leaving only two cemeteries, neither of which accept new burials, in the city.
So, what to do with the dearly/newly departed? You move them out of town – in this case to the nearby city of Colma (population 1200 above ground, over a million below). From the 1950’s, according to The Cemetery Project site, Colma city officials restricted development in the city to cemeteries and its supporting industries (except for gambling, introduced in 1996).
According to the Colma town site, its 17 cemeteries comprise approximately three-quarters of the town’s land area. Dying is a thriving business, and apparently it doesn’t need to be morbid or macabre. Take a look at the Cypress Lawn site if you need proof!