Green-Wood Cemetery

Green-Wood Cemetery
source
Name	Green-Wood Cemetery
Location	Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States
Established	1838
Type	Rural cemetery
Size	478 acres

Green-Wood Cemetery. Located in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States, it is one of the oldest and most famous rural cemeterys in the country, attracting visitors from around the world, including Paris, London, and Rome. Founded in 1838, it was designed by David Bates Douglass and Henry Alexander, and it has been a National Historic Landmark since 2006, recognized by the National Park Service and the United States Department of the Interior. The cemetery is also a member of the Museum of the City of New York and the Brooklyn Historical Society, and it has been featured in numerous publications, including The New York Times, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and Harper's Weekly.

● History

The history of Green-Wood Cemetery dates back to the early 19th century, when it was founded by Henry Evelyn Pierrepont and a group of Brooklyn businessmen, including William Furman, Abraham J. Berry, and James W. Beekman. The cemetery was designed to be a rural cemetery, with winding roads, picturesque landscapes, and ornate mausoleums, inspired by the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris and the Highgate Cemetery in London. During the American Civil War, the cemetery was a popular destination for funerals and memorial services, with notable attendees including Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and William Tecumseh Sherman. The cemetery has also been the final resting place for many notable New Yorkers, including Peter Cooper, William M. Tweed, and Henry Ward Beecher, as well as Charles Ebbets, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, the famous artist.

● Geography and Layout

Green-Wood Cemetery is situated on a hill overlooking New York Harbor, with stunning views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Manhattan skyline. The cemetery covers an area of 478 acres, with over 600,000 interments, including mausoleums, monuments, and gravestones, designed by notable architects and sculptors, such as Richard Upjohn, Calvert Vaux, and Emma Stebbins. The cemetery's layout is designed to resemble a park, with winding roads, lakes, and woodland areas, featuring a variety of tree species, including oak, maple, and pine, and a diverse range of wildlife, including deer, turkey, and hawk. Visitors can explore the cemetery on foot or by trolley, taking in the sights and sounds of this unique and historic landscape, which has been featured in numerous films and television shows, including The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, and The Amazing Spider-Man.

● Notable Interments

Green-Wood Cemetery is the final resting place for many notable individuals, including Leonard Bernstein, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Horace Greeley, as well as William Magear Tweed, the infamous Tammany Hall politician, and Charles H. Alcock, the baseball player and sportswriter. Other notable interments include DeWitt Clinton, the Governor of New York, William Cullen Bryant, the poet and journalist, and Henry George, the economist and social reformer, as well as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the women's rights activist, and Susan B. Anthony, the suffragist. The cemetery is also the resting place for many Civil War veterans, including General Henry Halleck, General Joseph Hooker, and General Fitz John Porter, as well as World War I and World War II veterans, including General John J. Pershing and General Omar Bradley.

● Landmarks and Monuments

Green-Wood Cemetery is home to many notable landmarks and monuments, including the Main Gate, designed by Richard Upjohn, and the Chapel, designed by Warren & Wetmore. The cemetery also features a number of notable sculptures, including the Angel of the Waters fountain, designed by Emma Stebbins, and the Soldiers' Monument, designed by John Quincy Adams Ward. Other notable landmarks include the Fort Hamilton Parkway Gate, the Ocean Hill Gate, and the Cypress Hill Gate, as well as the Lake and the Ridge, which offer stunning views of the surrounding landscape, including the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and the Statue of Liberty.

● Conservation and Tourism

Green-Wood Cemetery is a popular tourist destination, attracting visitors from around the world, including Europe, Asia, and South America. The cemetery offers guided tours, including walking tours and trolley tours, which provide visitors with a unique glimpse into the history and culture of New York City, including the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The cemetery is also committed to conservation and preservation, with a number of initiatives aimed at protecting the cemetery's historic landscape and architecture, including the Green-Wood Historic Fund and the Brooklyn Preservation Council. Visitors can also attend a variety of events and exhibitions, including concerts, lectures, and art exhibitions, which showcase the cemetery's rich history and cultural significance, including the Brooklyn Museum and the New York Historical Society.

● Cultural Significance

Green-Wood Cemetery has played a significant role in American culture and history, with many notable authors, artists, and musicians drawing inspiration from the cemetery's landscape and history, including Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, and Jasper Johns. The cemetery has also been featured in numerous films and television shows, including The Godfather, The Sopranos, and Boardwalk Empire, as well as music videos and advertisements, including those by Jay-Z and Beyoncé. The cemetery's cultural significance extends beyond the United States, with visitors from around the world coming to pay their respects to the notable individuals buried here, including Napoleon Bonaparte's Marshal of France, Louis-Nicolas Davout, and the Russian composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The cemetery is also a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the International Council on Monuments and Sites, and it has been recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a unique and historic cultural landscape. Category:Cemeteries in New York City