An additional 15 acres of land extending to Coolidge and Grove Streets were purchased in 1912. This purchase included the remainder of Willow Pond.
The Cemetery anticipated that, as the parkways extended along the Charles River, this newly acquired land would become the principle entrance for carriages. The new land was developed for use beginning in 1929, resulting in the Willow Pond area. Landscape architect Laurence Caldwell created the design for the area, laid out avenues and paths, and saw to the dredging of the pond. The new interment landscape reflected the changing needs of the 20th-century Americans: economic concerns, decreasing family size and increasing mobility meant that the public preferred interment spaces for one or two graves rather than large family lots. Mount Auburn responded to these changing needs by developing Willow Pond in the new park landscape style.