For over 100 years, Alto-Reste Park has promised to support families going through difficult times by offering a place of peace and beauty. Join us as we walk through the past.
Beginning of 1924
Robert P. Good and Fannie Werking Good began the process of buying a 33 acre tract of land that was part of the Andrew Kipple farm in the outskirts of Altoona with the desire to create a modern burial park.
1924 – July 1925
The land has now been obtained and R.P. began to lay out the design of the roads. Paving began in 1924 and was completed by mid-1925. The very first burial took place on the grounds on July 1st, 1925 and the cost was a mere $8.50.
November 23, 1925
Alto-Reste Park Cemetery Association is Incorporated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with 3 original shareholders: R. P. Good, C. L. Brumbaugh and I. H. Dickinson.
December 17, 1925
The first meeting of the board of directors was held, where C. L. Brumbaugh was elected President, I. H. Dickinson was elected Vice-President and R. P. Good was elected Secretary and Treasurer.
R. P. and Fannie Good sell the initial tract of 33 acres to Alto-Reste Park Cemetery Association for the sum of $300,000. The obligation of paying the price was split between the three shareholders.
March 3, 1926
Alto-Reste Park Cemetery Association “directed that the Association provide a perpetual maintenance fund equivalent to Five-Thousand Dollars for each acre of lot area sold, such fund shall be paid to a Trust Company, as Trustee, under a contract to keep the same invested and pay the net income there from to the Association, which income is to be applied exclusively to the care, maintenance, repair and replacement of roads, walks, drains, enclosures, lawns, trees, shrubbery, surface of lot areas and improvements and structures for the use of lot owners generally, such as chapels, rest houses, etc.” The Mountain City Trust Company was selected as the Trustee.
November 14, 1927
R. P. Good offers to buy the interest of C. L. Brumbaugh and I. H. Dickinson in Alto-Reste Park Cemetery Association.
March 23, 1928
New stockholders are named, which include: R. P. Good, R. B. Replogle, H. G. Mock. The Good, Replogle, and Mock families still have ownership interest today.
April 13, 1931
Alto-Reste Park obtains 145 acres of additional land owned by the Andrew Kipple Farm.
The Garden of the Last Supper
August 1953
The Garden of the Last Supper is opened. The feature was set in October of 1954 and is made of white Carrara marble and sculpted in Italy. It weighs more than 12 tons and is 14’ long, 7’ high and 1’ thick.
The Introduction of the Gardens
August 1954 – The Garden of Prayer is opened. The feature was set in September of 1955 and at that time was the largest open Bible in the world. It is made of Carrara marble and sculpted in Italy.
April of 1955 – The Garden of Gethsemane is opened. The sculpture of Jesus praying was sculpted in Carrara, Italy and set in September of 1956.
August 1955 – The Garden of Transfiguration was opened. The sculptures of Peter, James and John signifying their experience at Mount Hebron were set in September of 1956.
August 1957 – The Garden of the Sermon on the Mount was opened. The sculpture of Jesus was sculpted in Carrara, Italy and set in September of 1958.
June 21, 1960
R. P. Good died of a heart attack during the 28th annual convention of the Cemetery Association of Pennsylvania in York, PA. He was speaking at the convention on the merits of cemeteries having memorial care funds that were separate from perpetual care funds. Two years later, the new chapel in the office building was officially dedicated to R. P. Good.
1968 – 1971
Proposed new highway (Route 220) to take 3 acres of our cemetery property for construction and the Board of Directors standing against them putting the road on our property. 1972 the Highway Commission decides against putting the highway through our ground.
January 8, 1976
The Board of Directors decides to construct our first Mausoleum unit with niches for cremains. The unit would have 384 crypts and 48 niches. The unit would be in section E by the chapel building. Pre construction sales began in March of 1976.
The Garden of Honor
On January 21, 1980, the Board of Directors decides to open a new section specifically for Veterans and their family. By October, The Garden of Honor would officially open. Today, there are over 400 Veterans laid to rest here.
Our first Memorial Day service in the Garden of Honor was held in May 1989.
February 1990
Alto-Reste starts Family Service program to help those that just experienced a death in the family. Family Service included walking the family through immediate steps like funeral and burial planning, and then offers grief counseling to help them through the grief process.
Our New Office Building
On May 11th, 1992, planning begins to move the original entrance because it must coincide with the developer’s entrance across Plank Rd. This includes a move of the existing office or the construction of a new building. About 1 year later, construction of the new office building begins and by 1994 the construction had been completed.
The Good Funeral Home is Established
In October 1994, The Good Funeral Home was established with the plan of building the funeral home on the grounds of Alto-Reste Park, unlike many other funeral homes at the time. Construction began in the fall of 1996 and was completed in May 1997.
November 29, 2007
The GriefShare program is offered for the first time by Fourth Street Church of God, Alto-Reste Park and The Good Funeral Home, Inc. The 13 week program is still offered to the community twice a year.
Garden Revitalization Project
Updating of all gardens at Alto-Reste. The gardens that are updated are as follows: the Garden of the Cross, the Founder’s Garden, Garden of Gethsemane, Garden of Prayer, Garden of the Sermon on the Mount, Garden of Ascension, Garden of the Last Supper, Garden of Honor, Garden of Transfiguration, Garden of Valor, front bank facing Plank Rd, Himes lot, and the office garden.
Garden of the Empty Tomb
By November 2017, the board of directors has approved funding to build the new garden and approved a tentative design. Construction began in September 2019 with Kerr Landscaping and phase one was completed in November 2020.
In October 2024, The Garden of the Empty Tomb won the National Retaining Wall of the Year through the Hardscape North America Convention.
Present Day Alto-Reste
Alto-Reste has spent the last 10 years improving internal processes to better serve this community. Every process has been taken from hand written paper forms to digital processes that allow us to better communicate internally with our employees and externally to the families we serve. We are doing this by using appropriate levels of technology that do not take away from the personal connection that is so vital to what we do.
Along with improving processes, Alto-Reste has focused on communicating our mission and our commitment to this community that began in 1925 through print, radio, tv and social media platforms. Those platforms point to a revamped website that was made to be a valuable resource to our community while showcasing the beauty of our park.
OUR PROMISE TO YOU
Our Family Service Representatives will guide you through the entire process of selecting the right material and creating the perfect design to memorialize your own legacy or the one of someone you love.
