Glendale is a picturesque romantic landscape with its curving roads, use of promontories to create vistas and a variety of architectural styles that draw upon ancient building forms.

Nineteenth-century accounts described Glendale as “beautifully laid out in romantic drives and walks” and note its role as an area park and tourist destination.

Due to the increased development surrounding the cemetery during the late 19th century, the natural spring that fed the lakes dried up.

The superintendent of the cemetery at that time proposed running a pipe to the Ohio and Erie Canal to re-water the lakes, but this was never realized.

Today the open space or Great Meadow recalls the scale of Swan Lake and several mausoleums have small foot bridges that once crossed over the stream fronting them.