Secrets in plain sight, that is what I am discovering. Once again thanks to the Obscura Society, I had a chance this summer to visit and learn about a place I have seen but never really investigated.
Near Burbank Airport, behind the Fry’s is this interesting building. Of course it is behind a gate, so how can one check it out? Two inscriptions, Valhalla Memorial Park and Portal of the Folded Wings. That must have been the fanciful name that was given to this structure.
The entrance to cemetery is off Victory Blvd. This is very much a working cemetery. This wonderful structure was built in 1924 as the grand entrance and offices of the Valhalla cemetery. At the time this was out in the middle of no-where and there was a lot of swindling going on. But the cemetery survived and now is in the middle of bustling suburbia, with Burbank Airport right beyond the northern fence.
By the 1950s a new office was built at the Victory Blvd entrance and this beautiful ornate structure stood empty. 
The 20s’ were a time when a lot of detail and decoration went into buildings. The dome from inside.
The dome from outside. 
As well as a lot of decorative elements cast in concrete.
By 1991 a group of former aircraft designers, builders, and flyers formed a group, were able to get use of this building and created the Burbank Aviation Museum. Unfortunately these days you probably have to call to make an appointment, it used to be open the first Sunday of the month, but I don’t think it is any more.
There are 4 small rooms that hold aviation memorabilia, Southern California really is the birthplace of the Aviation industry. A lot has happened in Burbank itself, in the San Fernando Valley as well at the South LA corridor. 
Today these names mean very little to us. Such is the case, a few great names remain, the rest are lost to the tides of time. These are a sample of the plaques on the ground, where many of the pioneers of flight are buried. Unfortunately, often relatives are unaware that they can intern their loved ones here.
As always happens, one or two people are remembered, but all those others who worked with them, are not.
I love the fact that a dedicated group of volunteers has decided to create this memorial as well as utilize a wonderful old structure.
What a perfect example of adaptive reuse. This building is on the National Register of Historical places, it’s nice to see it has found a new purpose. All around us, people were visiting family graves, some stopped in to see what was going on, since the building is always locked.
It is also nice to see that the originators of flight appreciate the building. A hawks nest above the outstretched arms of an angel. I didn’t see the hawk himself, but many an airplane took off right over our heads from Burbank Airport.