Golden Gate National Cemetery
1300 Sneath Ln, San Bruno, CA, 94066
GPS Coordinates:
37.632750, -122.434561
County: San Mateo
Record count: 145,399
Ownership: National Cemetery Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Directions: Bounded by Interstate 280 on the west, Interstate 380 to the south, and State Route 82 (El Camino Real) to the east. Main entrance is at the south-west corner of the cemetery at Sneath Ln.
Background: Golden Gate National Cemetery, established during the interwar expansion of the National Cemetery System between 1934 and 1939, was created to address the growing veteran population and lack of burial space at existing sites like San Francisco National Cemetery, which closed to burials by 1940. Located in San Bruno, 12 miles south of San Francisco, the cemetery was authorized by Congress in 1937 and sits on land once belonging to the Buri Buri tribe, later owned by Spanish, Mexican, and American landholders before being purchased by the federal government in 1938. Construction began in 1940 with labor from the WPA, and the first interments took place on June 2, 1941, with a formal dedication on July 4, 1941. Known for its Mediterranean Revival architecture and monumental entrance, Golden Gate quickly filled due to high numbers of World War II and later war veterans, reaching capacity by 1966, far earlier than expected, with unsuccessful attempts to expand it since.
Transcriptions
We have 2 transcriptions for this cemetery.
- Unidentified Burials, compiled by Interment.net, April 17, 2025, (41 records)
- Veterans Affairs Database, compiled by Interment.net, April 17, 2025, (145,358 records)
