Moonlight Tour
Join other fearless trekkers to explore Green-Wood’s intriguing tombstones and unforgettable catacombs under the glow of the full moon. Historian Jeff Richman leads these immensely popular walking tours, which begin at sunset and are accompanied by the ethereal and atmospheric sounds of live accordion music. Buy your tickets soon; these tours always sell out.
Black in Nineteenth-Century Brooklyn
In 1838, just eleven years after New York State abolished slavery, a free Black man named James Weeks made his first purchase of land in Brooklyn. In the same year, Green-Wood Cemetery was established as one of the first rural cemeteries in the United States. This tour begins with a survey of the many prominent Black New Yorkers and abolitionists laid to rest at the Cemetery, including Margaret Pine (1778–1857), the last woman to have lived as a slave in New York, Susan Smith McKinney Steward (1847–1918), whose family owned land in Weeksville and who became first black female doctor in the state, and the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (1959–1988), among many others. Then we head to Weeksville Heritage Center in Crown Heights to learn about its history (one of America’s largest free Black communities prior to the Civil War) through the stories of its residents.
Day of Remembrance
Green-Wood Cemetery 500 25th Street, Brooklyn, NY, United StatesRemembrance is a unifying force when the pain of separation is validated and shared. This special evening embraces both the sadness and wisdom that stems from the loss of a loved one. With carefully selected poetry and music, we will share a beautiful series of rituals designed to heal and restore. The evening will conclude with the lighting of memorial lanterns at sunset and launching them onto Valley Water, a glacial pond near Green-Wood’s historic chapel.
Birding in Peace
Before our gates open to the general public, birding expert Rob Jett leads these peaceful Sunday morning walking tours to discover the birds that make Green-Wood their home – at least temporarily. By September, offspring of these nesting birds will be on their own. Returning warblers will be in their less flamboyant fall plumage. Large numbers of blackbirds, flycatchers, sparrows, vireos, and swallows will also be passing through. By October, waterfowl are returning, and we’ll look for raptors heading south. November will bring back our overwintering feathered denizens from the north.
Historic Trolley Tours
Green-Wood Cemetery 500 25th Street, Brooklyn, NY, United StatesExperience the most magnificent and historic 478 acres in New York City. Join our expert tour guides to hear fascinating stories of Green-Wood’s permanent residents, see breathtaking views of Manhattan, tread where George Washington and his troops fought the Battle of Brooklyn, and much more.
Victorian Fads
From arsenic complexion cream and electric corsets, to séances and spirit photography, the Victorians missed no opportunity to jump on the bandwagon of wacky and sometimes outrageously dangerous fads. On this tour, discover complex and compelling figures behind these crazes, such as the curious lengths to which Victorian women went to achieve ultra-white skin and the strange and dangerous obsession with green dye in the fashions of the day.
(SOLD OUT) The JACK Quartet: Modern Medieval
Green-Wood Cemetery 500 25th Street, Brooklyn, NY, United StatesThe JACK Quartet were called “superheroes of the new music world” by The Boston Globe, and there could be no more apt description for this endlessly adventurous ensemble. They’ve played pieces completely in the dark, performed on a raft in the middle of a lake, and more. For The Angel’s Share, they will play an extraordinary program that follows a musical thread from medieval plainsong through to the present day, drawing sonic similarities from wildly divergent works and echoing the timelessness of the space surrounding them.
Historic Trolley Tours
Green-Wood Cemetery 500 25th Street, Brooklyn, NY, United StatesExperience the most magnificent and historic 478 acres in New York City. Join our expert tour guides to hear fascinating stories of Green-Wood’s permanent residents, see breathtaking views of Manhattan, tread where George Washington and his troops fought the Battle of Brooklyn, and much more.
Sculpture in Gotham
Art historian and Stony Brook professor Michele Bogart’s new book, Sculpture in Gotham: Art and Urban Renewal in New York City, explores how The Big Apple became an epicenter for public art in the second half of the twentieth century. Her research tracks the ways artists and civic leaders respond to the turbulent political and social climate to make dynamic and aspiring projects.
Become a Citizen Pruner
Learn how you can play an active role in supporting the health of our urban forest, including the basics of watering, tree bed gardening, and soil cultivation.
Green-Wood’s public programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, as well as the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
