Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Puglia Italy - Matera
Italy • 8 days, 7 nights
Southern Italy: Castles, Caves & Coastal Treasures in Puglia
from
Turkmenistan Gates of Hell Darvaza crater
Turkmenistan • 10 days, 9 nights
Turkmenistan & the Gates of Hell
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Pinal Airpark
Note the chrysanthemum crests.
Hachiman Bridge
Clarendon War Memorial.
Clarendon War Memorial
This fried chicken is one of Bangkok’s most famous.
Gai Tord Jae Kee
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
This fried chicken is one of Bangkok’s most famous.
Gai Tord Jae Kee
Chefs Aruss Lerlerstkull and Atcharaporn Kiatthanawat lean into regional traditions.
Charmgang
The khao soi at Gedhawa comes with a rich, coconutty broth.
Gedhawa
At Nai Mong Hoi Thod, the oyster omelet is worth waiting for.
Nai Mong Hoi Thod
In this deceptively simple dish, top-quality ingredients are paramount.
Kor Panich
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Haleakalā National Park’s summit region, shrouded in the pre-dawn fog.
Beware the Legends Behind These National Park Souvenirs
3 days ago
For Aguilar-Carrasco, nature is a powerful reminder of the interconnectedness of all life.
How Can National Parks Be Made Accessible to All? AO Wants to Know.
3 days ago
Podcast: Finding ‘The Great Gatsby’ in Louisville
4 days ago
Here’s which treats you can safely lug home without risking a fine.
Dear Atlas: What International Food Can I Legally Bring Into the U.S.?
6 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Michigan Detroit Beth Olem

Beth Olem

This historic Jewish cemetery sits right in the heart of a Detroit car factory.

Detroit, Michigan

Added By
Eric Grundhauser
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Beth Olem   Alissa Shelton on Model D
Beth Olem   Alissa Shelton on Model D
Beth Olem   Alissa Shelton on Model D
Beth Olem   Karen Apricot on Flickr
  apbreuhan / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

According to strict Jewish law (and some modern laws), moving graves is prohibited, so when GM wanted to build a new factory over the existing Beth Olem cemetery, they had no choice but to simply build around it, completely surrounding the small walled graveyard within its borders. 

Beth Olem interred its first bodies in the mid-1800s marking the burial of a number of Jewish immigrants within its (at the time) middle-of-nowhere plot. However as the area grew, the Jewish community largely dispersed from the area leaving Beth Olem to moulder for decades, receiving its final body in 1948.

With the rise of the Detroit automotive industry in the 1960s, large swaths of land began being bought up to house sprawling manufacturing complexes and soon the once remote Beth Olem was in the way of industrial progress. At first the cemetery was simply walled off and a long road leading to its gates was created, but when GM snapped up the land in the early 80s, they were not quite so accommodating and they simply built their plant around the whole cemetery, effectively hiding it from the public.

Today Beth Olem still sits right in the bowels of the active Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly Plant. However, anyone wanting to pay their respects to anyone buried there will have to wait for the two times a year that the gates are opened to the public. Either that or get a job in the car factory.      

Related Tags

Cemeteries Graveyards Automotive History Hidden

Know Before You Go

This is not open to the general public year round. It's inside of the GM Poletown Plant where you cannot access, except on the two days it is open to the public. The cemetery is only open to the public two days every year: Sunday before Passover and Rosh Hashanah.

Community Contributors

Added By

EricGrundhauser

Edited By

hrnick, tamsenrochelle1, apbreuhan

  • hrnick
  • tamsenrochelle1
  • apbreuhan

Published

February 5, 2015

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.modeldmedia.com/features/Beth-Olem-GM-092314.aspx
  • http://nighttraintodetroit.com/2011/09/30/beth-olem-the-cemetery-in-the-gm-poletown-plant/
  • http://michiganradio.org/post/visiting-loved-ones-beth-olem-cemetery-complicated
Beth Olem
1678 Hamtramck Dr
Detroit, Michigan, 48211
United States
42.382354, -83.051609
Get Directions

Nearby Places

The Russell Industrial Center

Detroit, Michigan

miles away

Fisher Body Plant 21

Detroit, Michigan

miles away

Ford Piquette Avenue Plant

Detroit, Michigan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Detroit

Detroit

Michigan

Places 47
Stories 18

Nearby Places

The Russell Industrial Center

Detroit, Michigan

miles away

Fisher Body Plant 21

Detroit, Michigan

miles away

Ford Piquette Avenue Plant

Detroit, Michigan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Detroit

Detroit

Michigan

Places 47
Stories 18

Related Places

  • A Brooklyn Rapid Transit electric streetcar in 1908.

    Brooklyn, New York

    Canarsie Trolley Graveyard

    Residents of this Brooklyn neighborhood may be unaware their houses sit atop a buried trolley graveyard.

  • The Hidden Colonial Cemeteries of Oyster Bay

    Oyster Bay, New York

    The Hidden Colonial Cemeteries of Oyster Bay

    Some of the earliest burial grounds of New York State are to be found hidden away in this quaint town.

  • Rynek Underground Cemetery

    Krakow, Poland

    Rynek Underground

    Beneath Kraków Old Town's main square lies a hologram-filled medieval market vampire graveyard wonderland.

  • Plot E

    Seringes-et-Nesles, France

    Oise Aisne American Cemetery, Plot E

    This secret cemetery where no flag is allowed to fly holds the bodies of American soldiers convicted of heinous crimes during WWII.

  • “ANDREAS MORGENRØDT – Time Traveller – 1996–2064”

    Copenhagen, Denmark

    The Time Traveler's Grave

    Hidden in plain sight, a gravestone seemingly inscribed from the future stands among the cemetery’s historic tombs.

  • Allinge, Denmark

    The Russian Cemetery in Allinge

    World War II Soviet Russian soldiers were buried on the Danish island after the war had ended.

  • From the entrance.

    Cork, Ireland

    Temple Hill Cemetery in Ballintemple

    Both Catholic and Protestant graves dot this 17th-century burial ground.

  • The Honolulu Memorial is located at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

    Honolulu, Hawaii

    National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

    Hawaii’s largest cemetery rests inside an extinct volcano crater.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.