A Green-Wood Coming Out Party

We recently held a coming out party in our Historic Chapel to introduce the public to developments in our events, collections, and archives. The evening  was co-sponsored by the Archives Round Table of Metropolitan New York.

The proceedings began with a wine and cheese reception outside the Chapel, on a lovely fall evening.

Then it was into the Chapel, which was packed. We set up a one day exhibition, displaying a few of the thousands of items we have added to our Historic Fund Collections as well as intriguing items from Green-Wood’s archives.

Chelsea Dowell, manager of Green-Wood’s programs and membership, spoke about the packed calendar of events at Green-Wood. She also talked about the historic Weir Greenhouse, which Green-Wood is in the process of converting to a visitors center.

Chelsea Dowell,
Chelsea Dowell,

Anthony Cucchiara, professor emeritus at Brooklyn College who now teaches at Pratt, offered a slide presentation on the remarkable strides Green-Wood has made, under his supervision, and with the help of thousands of hours of work by volunteers and interns, in rehousing and cataloging its archives.

Tony Cucchiara,
Tony Cucchiara speaking about Green-Wood’s archives, which contain millions of unique items telling the story of its more than half a million permanent residents. Note the blueprints of the Historic Chapel, dating circa 1910, at right. Photographs of the Chapel as it was being built were also on display.

Green-Wood’s historian, Jeff Richman, did a show and tell of items in Green-Wood’s collections, talking about both the items on display and other items he had brought from storage to share with the crowd.

This display case held three Lorillard Tobacco tins, a radio designed by Walter Dorwin Teague (one of the leading designers of the 20th century, a Henry Ward Beecher glass bottle, and a Matthews Soda Fountain stoneware syrup jug.
This display case held three Lorillard Tobacco tins, a radio designed by Walter Dorwin Teague (one of the leading designers of the 20th century), a Henry Ward Beecher glass bottle, and a Matthews Soda Fountain stoneware syrup jug. Lorillard, Teague, Beecher and Mathews are all Green-Wood permanent residents.
This exhibition, up for just one day,
This exhibition, up for just one day, featured a 3D viewer of images from the Civil War and several display cases, including the one at left, holding a Civil War uniform jacket, missing its sleeve (cut off by Union surgeons to expose the wounded arm of the soldier).
This wall displayed a poster of Jean Michel Basquiat (who is interred at Green-Wood) in a boxing pose with his mentor, Andy Warhol, and a poster advertizing the Beatles first concert in America, promoted by Sid Bernstein, who died recently and is interred at Green-Wood, as well as cartes de visite photographs of Civil War veterans who lie at Green-Wood.
This wall (one of 8 pre-fab walls that can be brought into the Chapel for exhibitions) displayed a poster of Jean Michel Basquiat (who is interred at Green-Wood) in a boxing pose with his mentor, Andy Warhol, and a poster advertising the Beatles first concert in America, promoted by Sid Bernstein, who died recently and is interred at Green-Wood, as well as cartes de visite photographs of Civil War veterans who lie at Green-Wood.

And Mark Daly, manager of research services with our Green-aelogy program, which offers a genealogical research service, explained the scope of that program, that it had had responded to requests coming in from throughout the world in the few months it has been in operation, and the various services offered.

Great thanks to Robert Denbo for taking these photographs and allowing us to use them.

 

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