Michael Jackson’s fans may pay their respects at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California on Friday – the one-year anniversary of the singer’s death – but they will not be allowed inside the mausoleum where the King of Pop is entombed.
“We will be open to the public as usual, and visitors may walk by the building where he is entombed, but they will not be allowed inside, and that’s in keeping with the family’s wishes,” said a spokeswoman for the cemetery.
The late entertainer’s brother, Randy Jackson, has said he believes the late entertainer’s fans should be given such access, but cemetery officials say they are making no special arrangements.
There were several reports that the younger Jackson wanted to turn the mausoleum site into a place where fans could gather, similar to Graceland, the former home of the late Elvis Presley, which is now a major tourist attraction.
“I’m meeting with Forest Lawn and the City of Glendale. Although they have strict rules, I’ll do my best 2 see if fans can visit & pay their respects beyond the gates of Forest Lawn, on the 25th. I will inform you all soon,” Jackson wrote on his Twitter page.
Recently, Jackson’s ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis’ daughter, told fans to send flowers to Jackson’s grave site, and thousands of sunflowers were shipped to the cemetery.
When the word got out that visitors would not be allowed inside Jackson’s mausoleum, the cemetery was flooded with calls accusing the memorial park of changing the rules to discourage fans from visiting.
“Everybody’s saying Forest Lawn changed the rules, but the rules did not change,” the spokeswoman said. “Visitors may come and leave flowers and gifts. They just can’t go inside the mausoleum.”
Forest Lawn, which was built in 1906, is known as the cemetery to the stars. The not-for-profit Forest Lawn Memorial Parks and Mortuaries manages several sites in metropolitan Los Angeles, but the site in Glendale, where Jackson is buried, is also the final resting place of a number of luminaries, including Sammy Davis Jr., Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart.
The design of the grounds certainly is in keeping with the over-the-top style to which Jackson was accustomed in life. According to CNN, the Glendale location contains 13th-century stained glass, a bronze and marble statuary and recreations of Renaissance-era art, inspired by the centuries-old Campo Santo in Genoa, Italy.
The memorial park is open daily 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. PST
