Green-Wood Stories

Go Behind the Scenes at Brooklyn’s Historic Cemetery

 

Always More To Find

The more I see of Green-Wood, the more amazed I am. It’s a big place: 561,000 burials, 478 acres, 7,000 trees, tens of thousands of monuments. I’ve been wandering its grounds for twenty years now. And, I am still seeing so many things that I’ve never seen before.

Standing Up

I came across this carte de visite photograph a few weeks ago. The seller described it as an image of Rev. Dudley Atkins Tyng, who had been born in 1825 and died in 1858. So, I checked the cemetery’s database and discovered, as I had hoped, that the Reverend Tyng was in fact a permanent resident of Green-Wood.

Angels Off To Heaven

It was quite a day. The seventh annual, and final, performance of “Angels and Accordions,” choreographed by Martha Bowers of Dance Theatre Etc., and co-designed by Green-Wood Cemetery historian Jeff Richman, took place across the rolling Green-Wood hills on October 9.

Green-Wood At Gettysburg

Just back from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. I attended the Center for Civil War Photography’s annual seminar. It was just a great experience–Garry Adelman and Tim Smith, who led the three days, did an incredible job.

Green-Wood Connections Everywhere!

Well, I really had no idea. I was off to see my friend somewhere in Manhattan. Had never visited him at his home before. Checked the address: 33 West 67th Street. Turns out it is The Atelier Building, built 1904-1905 as, according to the AIA Guide to New York City, as one of the first co-op buildings in NYC. Quite a remarkable place. What a building!

Raising the Roofs

The back entrance to Green-Wood, on Fort Hamilton Parkway, just doesn’t get the respect it deserves. Admittedly, it is not a spectacular as the brownstone Arches at the main entrance to Green-Wood, Fifth Avenue and 25th Street, described by Robert A. M. Stern, dean of Yale’s School of Architecture, as the finest example of High Victorian design in America.

Tiffany Windows in Maine

While wandering around Bar Harbor, Maine, I came across St. Savior’s Episcopal Church. It is quite a place, with 42 memorial windows, including 10 by Louis Comfort Tiffany, one of Green-Wood’s permanent residents. Here’s a sampling of some of Tiffany’s great work there.

A Walk in the (National) Park

I just got back last week from my favorite place in the world: Acadia National Park up in Maine. For me, Acadia is an incomparable mix of climbable mountains, rocky coast, quiet carriage trails, scenic ponds, and lobster dinners. Well, there I was, enjoying a ranger-led walk in the woods, when we came across a … Read more

Boardwalk Empire

HBO’s latest hot series, “Boardwalk Empire,” the story of Atlantic City and organized crime during Prohibition, got off to a roaring start on Sunday. It received raves from the critics for the first show, directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Terence Winter (of “The Sopranos” fame). The premier was a smash hit–the second highest-rated … Read more