The first Forest Lawn, in Glendale, was founded in 1906 by businessmen who, 6 years later, hired Dr. Hubert Eaton, a firm believer in a joyous life after death.

He stated "I shall try to build at Forest Lawn a great park, devoid of misshapen monuments and other customary signs of Earthly death, but filled with towering trees, sweeping lawns, splashing fountains, singing birds, beautiful statuary, cheerful flowers, noble memorial architecture with interiors full of light and color, and redolent of the world's best history and romances.

A curving and irregular road, laid out by 1951 among the rolling green hills, gave a rural effect in the heart of the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

Salas used hand tools to first quarry, then work, the native Mexican stone into precisely scaled, detailed replicas of artwork and artifacts that are representative of the Aztec, Huastec, Maya, Mixtec, Olmec, Teotihuacan, Toltec, Totonac, and Zapotec civilizations that preceded both Spanish colonialism and modern Mexican culture.

A smooth Olmecan head, an intricate Aztec sun calendar and a sinuous Teotihuacan bas relief were some of the sculptural features of the plaza that were set off by crushed stone walkways and complemented by groupings of Mesoamerican plants.