Colorado’s Mount Lindo Cemetery and Mausoleum rests on top of a
mountain that overlooks Highway 285 and Denver. On the East side
of the mountain is the largest lighted cross in the United States.
The history of the lighted cross goes back to the Olinger family,
who founded the Olinger mortuary company in Denver in the 1890s.

George Olinger Sr., son of Olinger mortuary founders, John and
Emma Olinger, bought Mount Lindo in the 1930s. He later sold it
to Francis S. Van Derbur, who was married to George’s daughter,
Gwendolyn. Van Derbur originally intended to develop the mountain,
but instead he made it into a cemetery in 1963. His father,
Francis C. Van Derbur, expressed an interest in being buried
on Mount Lindo with the spot being marked by a cross. Francis S.
had the famous lighted cross installed on the East side of the
mountain so his mother, Pearl, could see it from her home in
Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood.

The cross is 393 feet high and 254 feet across, and can be seen
from the highway and parts of the city it watches over. It was
partially conceived by designer Donald Lee Frees, who also worked
on designs for many Olinger buildings, including the Tower of
Memories at Crown Hill Cemetery. The cross was first lighted on
Easter in 1964.

The Mount Lindo cemetery gates are on South Turkey Creek Road
just off Highway 285 near Tiny Town. Mount Lindo rises 7660
feet above sea level and is owned and operated by Olinger
Mortuary.