This is a guest blog by Benjamin Feldman, a great Green-Wood and New York City enthusiast who is the author of “Butchery on Bond Street: Sexual Politics and the Burdell-Cunningham Murder Case in Ante-Bellum New York” and “Call Me Daddy: Babes and Bathos in Edward West Browning’s Jazz-Age New York.” Ben blogs at The New … Read more
The Green-Wood Historic Fund recently lent a magnificent bronze of Civil War Brigadier General Thomas Sweeny to the exhibition, “American Heroes in Bronze: The Artwork of James E. Kelly,” at Macculloch Hall Historical Museum in Morristown, New Jersey. You will find more on Sweeny’s fascinating story, from an earlier blog post, here. As the museum … Read more
This Friday, the much-ballyhooed 3D movie, Oz The Great and Powerful, a prequel to the classic 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz,” opens across the country. It stars James Franco as Oz. Here’s the video trailer. Which, of course, reminds us that veteran actor Frank Morgan reached the pinnacle of his career when he played … Read more
Ever on the watch for items for our Green-Wood Historic Fund Collections, I recently came across this photograph. And, after doing some research, I purchased it for Green-Wood. That name–Alexander Saeltzer–rang a bell for me–I am quite the fan of 19th-century New York City architecture and architects. So, I did some research. It turns out … Read more
Pitchers and catchers have reported for spring training. Baseball is in the air! And, earlier this month, an 1865 photograph of a baseball team sold at auction in Biddeford, Maine, for a $92,000 ($80,000 was the top bid; with buyer’s premium, the total for the buyer to take it home was $92,000). Now, that was … Read more
Green-Wood is a great place for a photographer to roam–whether it is to capture spring bloom, fall foliage, a snow storm, or devastation in the wake of vandalism, a tornado, or a hurricane. And now Green-Wood in the fog. Art Presson, our superintendent of the grounds, is quite the artist. Before coming to Green-Wood, Art … Read more
Soon after Hurricane Sandy hit, I blogged “Sandy Hammers Green-Wood.” David Dunlap of The New York Times reported soon thereafter, “Many Cemeteries Damaged, But Green-Wood Bore The Brunt of the Storm.” On December 13, I reported that, in the wake of the massive damage Hurricane Sandy had caused to Green-Wood (300 trees destroyed, several hundred … Read more
Last week was Antiques Week in New York City. Antiques shows were everywhere! So, being a fan of such things, I thought I would take a day off from my work as the historian at Green-Wood to check out the shows. My first stop was the Armory Show at the 69th Regiment Armory–26th Street and … Read more
Last Thursday, a construction worker, using a jackhammer, was working on the expansion of Green-Wood’s Crematory and Columbarium when he hit something strange in a wall: a metal box. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that this was no ordinary box–it was a time capsule! It turns out that Ken Taylor, Green-Wood’s vice president for … Read more
Marge Raymond has been birding at Green-Wood for years. She also is a tour guide for The Green-Wood Historic Fund, leading tours every Wednesday and two Sundays per month. Marge just has sent this report in about recent bird sightings at Green-Wood: We are having what’s likely to be one of our most exciting winters … Read more