Louis Comfort Tiffany was quite the genius. The son of Charles Tiffany, who founded Tiffany and Company, he was a talented painter, interior designer, and stained glass artist. He is, of course, interred at Green-Wood Cemetery. Tiffany is best known today for his stained glass lamps. But, that would have greatly frustrated him. He did … Read more
I thought the snow storm we had a few weeks ago was pretty severe. With all that wet snow, many wonderful trees lost limbs. Discussing that storm with our Superintendent of the Grounds, Art Presson, a few days after it struck, we marveled at the fact that all of the falling limbs then had somehow … Read more
Richard Upjohn was a pioneering American architect. In the 1840’s, he designed Trinity Church, which stands at Broadway and Wall Street, . He was the first president of the American Institute of Architects. He also was Green-Wood Cemetery’s chosen architect of the mid-nineteenth century, designing the Arches at the grand entrance to the cemetery (the … Read more
Friday morning I entered the cemetery at the Fort Hamilton Parkway entrance, and walked across Green-Wood to our offices. It was drizzling, good cemetery weather, and it was a treat to wander the quiet grounds. As I got near the Catacombs, I reached the grave of Edward Anthony. Now, I know he is a rather … Read more
Dear Friends of The Green-Wood Cemetery, This past weekend’s rain and wind storm that ravaged the metropolitan area—said to be the worst in 30 years—damaged countless neighborhoods in and around New York City. Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery was not spared. Our heavily forested 478 acres sustained significant damage: hundreds of trees were uprooted; shrubs were ripped … Read more
CONTACT: Josh Salter/Colleen Roche Linden Alschuler & Kaplan Public Relations 212-575-4545; jsalter@lakpr.com LISA ALPERT APPOINTED AS DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT & MARKETING FOR THE GREEN-WOOD HISTORIC FUND New York — Lisa W. Alpert, 48, an experienced professional in the fields of marketing, business development and institutional fundraising, has been appointed Director of Development and Marketing … Read more
CONTACT: Josh Salter/Colleen Roche Linden Alschuler & Kaplan Public Relations 212-575-4545; jsalter@lakpr.com GRAVE OF 19TH CENTURY “IRISH REBEL” DISCOVERED AT GREEN-WOOD CEMETERY Excavation Unearths Gravestone of Patrick O’Donohue (Brooklyn, NY) – The gravestone marking the final resting place of 19th Century Irish nationalist Patrick O’Donohue (1815-1854), leader of the Young Irelander Rebellion, has been … Read more
I’ve been wandering Green-Wood Cemetery for almost 25 years. Yet, I have never seen this monument before. It really is unusual–I’ve never seen anything like it in any cemetery. Thanks to Frank Morelli, supervisor of our Restoration and Preservation Program, who found this gravestone depicting a baby carriage. Quite a find!
Well, I guess Nature giveth and Nature taketh away. We do have a great collection of trees at Green-Wood Cemetery–an expert from the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens recently described our trees as the best collection of mature trees in New York City. We have about 7,000 trees–some just getting started, some more than a century old. … Read more
This is another entry in the Green-Wood-connections-are-everywhere file. So, we go out for lunch in Santa Barbara, California, and can’t quite figure out how to get into the selected restaurant. Finally it occurs to us that access is through Sullivan Goss, An American Gallery. And who do you think is the featured artist in the … Read more
I just got back from California. Sue Ramsey, one of our Civil War Project volunteers, lives out in Santa Barbara, and invited me to come out and give presentations to the Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society and the local Civil War roundtable. I did a slide show on our Civil War Project, one on Green-Wood, … Read more
** REQUEST FOR CALENDAR LISTING ** GREEN-WOOD CEMETERY ANNOUNCES SPRING 2010 EVENT SCHEDULE An exciting array of historic walking tours, trolley tours and events make up Green-Wood Cemetery’s new spring schedule. These activities are part of an ongoing series of cultural and educational events that highlight Green-Wood as an important visitor destination. A portion of … Read more
My son just e-mailed this link to me. If you scroll slightly down the page, you will see some great photographs of New York City a century or so ago. It appears many, if not all, are from The New York Times. Some incredible images of men balancing on girders high above Manhattan–even one of … Read more
Well, that was quite a snow storm last week. The snow was deep across the cemetery. And it was spectacular! This was no ordinary storm. It blew snow across, piling up in its wake. Days later, you could tell which way the wind had blown–an icy snow covered one side of many monuments and tombs, … Read more
With Lincoln’s Birthday rapidly approaching, and with a new purchase I’ve made, I thought it would be appropriate to return to the story of the funeral procession for the martyred President Abraham Lincoln through New York City. Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C. on the evening of Good … Read more
In September, 2002, we launched The Green-Wood Historic Fund’s Civil War Project. Our goal was to identify those who had served, to tell their story, and to honor them. When we began, we naively thought, based on numbers from those who had searched Green-Wood Cemetery over the years, that there were 500 or so Civil … Read more
This angel, in front of a tomb near Fort Hamilton Parkway, recently lost its head. Fortunately, Frank Morelli, our supervisor in charge of the Green-Wood Restoration Program, found it in a nearby urn. And its now back in place. Below are photos of it clamped, waiting for the adhesive to set, as well as with … Read more
Since 2002, The Green-Wood Historic Fund’s Civil War Project has been identifying Civil War veterans who are buried there, writing biographies for each of them, and making sure that each lies in a marked grave. For those whom we have discovered in unmarked graves, we have requested gravestones from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Few names are as big in American furniture making as Duncan Phyfe (1768-1854). And, of course, Phyfe is one of Green-Wood Cemetery’s permanent residents. For generations, dealers and collectors have tried to attribute American furniture made in the first half of the 19th century to Phyfe. His name was magic–it meant the best. Above is … Read more