Jeff Richman Two permanent residents are tied for the most asked about by visitors to Green-Wood Cemetery: Leonard Bernstein and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Both were fascinating figures. Now a new movie has been released on the Brooklyn-born Basquiat, graffiti artist and Andy Warhol protege who died in 1988. The movie, “Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child,” is reviewed in … Read more
Just last week, I heard from Jane, the second great-granddaughter of Leon Javelli (or Giavelli). Jane had done a great deal of research on him, and she generously shared that with me. It turns out that Leon is interred at Green-Wood Cemetery. And, just as good, he has a very interesting story. Javelli was born … Read more
Green-Wood has 561,000 individuals interred across its grounds. Some are fascinating; some, not so much. Of the many characters I have come across in my research on Green-Wood’s permanent residents, few can compete with Isaac Hull Brown when it comes to fascinating lives. Brown was featured in an article this past Monday in The New … Read more
I have been a collector my whole life. I started with baseball cards, then moved on to stereoview photographs of New York City. In fact, that’s how I wound up at Green-Wood the first time. Like all collectors, I would sometimes go to a show and not find what I was looking for. It then … Read more
Several weeks ago, Klaus-Peter Siegloch, correspondent and New York bureau chief for ZDF German Television, came to Green-Wood for a visit. And was he impressed! I showed him around for several hours, said a few things on camera, his cameraman shot some great video across the grounds, and the results are now in. Here’s their … Read more
One of the best sculptures at Green-Wood Cemetery is the Valentine Angel by Adolfo Apolloni (1855-1933). I’ve taken many photographs of it, and it is still an honor to do so. It never fails to impress, front or back. I recently got an e-mail from Cara, one of our Historic Fund volunteers, who had just … Read more
The Green-Wood Historic Fund was honored on June 23 to receive a Municipal Arts Society award for its collaboration with Dance Theatre Etc. on “Angels and Accordions,” the site-specific music and dance performance that has been staged gloriously across the cemetery grounds for the last six years as a part of openhousenewyork. Presenter Alison Tocci, … Read more
For several years we’ve talked about doing a Birthday Calendar for Green-Wood’s permanent residents. Here’s our first effort: July. Among Green-Wood Cemetery’s permanent residents whose birthdays occurred in the month of July are: July 5, 1810: Henry Cruse Murphy; the “Moses of the Brooklyn Bridge;” played a key role in its construction, only to die … Read more
Stephanie Carey has been a Green-Wood Historic Fund volunteer since as long as we’ve had volunteers–almost 8 years now. She comes to our Research Days with her husband Mark, and even has brought her daughters along to help out. Stephanie works in New Jersey as a public health professional: she is in charge of communicable disease … Read more
Last week, I headed out to the Bayard Cutting Arboratum in Great River on Long Island near its south shore, along the west bank of the Connetquot River . This magnificent private estate, home of William Bayard Cutting (1850-1912) and Olivia Murray Cutting (1855-1949), his wife, (pictured here) and their four children, was donated by the … Read more