In the City of Souls,' the living don't fear the dead

"Add the dead, and it becomes the Bay Area's largest city, home to more than 1.5 million eternal residents buried across 17 historic cemeteries. Known as the City of Souls, Colma is shaped as much by its dead as its living. Children play among headstones, and locals see ornate mausoleums daily on their way to run errands; the graveyards woven into public life as parks and libraries are in other cities."

"A longtime resident since 1977 and city councilmember, Helen Fisicaro said the view from her home framed by acres of memorial parks has never been unsettling. It's very calming, she said. We raised our kids here, and they never thought anything different of it. I remember when I had a Girl Scout troop, we took a walk to the Italian Cemetery to see the old section, where you'd find photos of young people on their gravestones dressed in the clothes they wore in life."

"Colma's cemeteries have also become tourist destinations in their own right. Guided trolley tours through the memorial parks often sell out weeks in advance especially as Halloween and the Catholic observances of All Saints and All Souls draw near in October. A major attraction for those that visit from across the country is the graves of some of America's most famous figures. Fans still leave baseballs at the tombstone of New York Yankees hall of famer Joe DiMaggio at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, more than 25 years after his death."

Colma, a Peninsula town of roughly 1,700 living residents, contains over 1.5 million buried people across 17 historic cemeteries. The cemeteries dominate the town's landscape and daily routines, with headstones, mausoleums, and memorial parks visible along errands and used like public parks and libraries in other cities. Longtime residents describe the surroundings as calming and integral to community life. The memorial parks attract tourists year-round, with guided trolley tours often selling out around October observances. Notable graves include Joe DiMaggio and Wyatt Earp, and visitors leave baseballs, pebbles, and coins as tributes.

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