Our Green-Wood Historic Fund Collections continue to grow. Green-Wood’s president, Rich Moylan, is always on the look-out for paintings or sculpture by Green-Wood’s permanent residents. He recently purchased this marble bust: And here is the inscription on its back: “T. Crawford” is of course Thomas Crawford (1814-1857), renowned 19th-century sculptor best-known for his sculpture, “Statue … Read more
Kurt Andersen has quite the resume. A novelist, he also has written for movies, television, and theater. He has been a columnist for The New York Times, Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, and The New Yorker. He is the host of “Studio 360” on Public Radio International and WNYC. A co-founder and editor of Spy … Read more
On Friday, July 13, a ceremony 164 years in the making occurred.
Well, this was too fascinating not to share with you. Theft is a problem everywhere–and that includes cemeteries. So, when American flags are put out at the graves of veterans–in a massive effort by Green-Wood volunteers, we put 4,000 out for Memorial Day 2011 to honor our Civil War veterans–one must pause, take a deep … Read more
I have long been fascinated with Thomas William Sweeny (1820-1892), who is interred at Green-Wood in section 163, lot 14257. He was quite a character. Born in County Cork, Ireland, he came to New York City at the age of 12. Within a few years, he was working there as a printer and had joined … Read more
It was not business-as-usual in New York City on July 12, 1848. The remains of the officers of New York’s First Regiment who had died in the far-off Mexican-American War had finally come home. On that date, respects had been paid to them as their caskets were displayed in front of City Hall–the crowd had … Read more
Dr. Richard Isay, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and gay-rights advocate, died of cancer on June 28 and was interred at Green-Wood yesterday. When Dr. Isay, as a young man, trained for his profession, homosexuality was looked upon as a disease to be cured. In fact, anyone who was openly gay was barred by the American Psychoanalytic Association … Read more
Green-Wood has many great stories. But few, if any, can match the drama of that of the Civil War Prentiss brothers: “Two Brothers, One South, One North.” It is an A+ at all levels: two brothers from the border state of Maryland, one who fought for the North, the other for the South, during the … Read more
I have a Google alert for “Green-Wood Cemetery.” And, it is a rare day that a blog entry about Green-Wood does not come up. Some are very interesting; some not so much. I just came across one that I found to be fascinating. There are more and more people who “get” cemeteries–who understand the peace, … Read more
Green-Wood is many things: sculpture garden, historic park, bird-watcher’s paradise, suburb for the dead. But it is also a great arboretum, with one of New York City’s great tree collections. Our 478 acres are home to almost 7,000 trees. An expert from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, after touring the grounds recently, told us that Green-Wood … Read more