Events - Event View

In the past several years, Laurel Hill East has undertaken several important projects – the Kelly Drive Meadow Project, the rehabilitation of the historic Gatehouse, new lighting, and the creation of “Valley View Green,” an area devoted for green burials.

Laurel Hill was designed in 1836 by John Notman. It is the first cemetery in the US to be designated as a National Historic Landmark. The Gatehouse on Ridge Avenue is the only remaining structure from the cemetery’s founding. In 2023, Laurel Hill received a Save America’s Treasure’s grant from the Preservation Fund administered by the National Park Service, two Redevelopment Capital Assistance Program grants from the Commonwealth of PA, and a grant from the William B. Dietrich Foundation to rehabilitate this historic building. The Gatehouse exterior rehabilitation project is complete and was rededicated on May 2, 2025.

In 2022, Laurel Hill began the Kelly Drive Ecological Restoration Project to remove invasive species and replant the steep hillsides with native meadow plantings. You may remember seeing the work on the grounds above Kelly Drive and wondered what was happening.

The project involved removing invasive vegetation and installing approximately 3 acres of native plantings. Benefits include reducing erosion and stormwater runoff on Kelly Drive and providing a better habitat for birds and other wildlife.
Hear about these projects from the principal contractors and see slides taken before, during, and after the Gatehouse Rehabilitation and Kelly Drive Meadow projects.