Green Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn: A Picture Thread

minerva say hi to me
http://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/14/7f/a9/147fa98e11377e12811f8f9a358c661d.jpg

Zorro Squeo is the coolest name.

There it is! I think that's the highest point in Brooklyn.

(...which your first link says)

Beehives!
http://southslopenews.com/blog/animals/sweet-deal-green-wood-cemetery-gets-honey-business

btw, i'm aware that there's probably a zillion spots like this in europe where folks have had opportunity to build multi-generational hundreds of year old resting places but they're rarer around here. I would love to see pics from those as well if anyone is into this!

Some context on this: places like Green-Wood are part of a pretty conscious movement in the early 19th century to change burial practices/attitudes toward death. Burial grounds had been used as de facto public spaces throughout European history - can't speak as much to other traditions - but only around this time did they start to be consciously set apart from churches and landscaped. This had something to do with urban overcrowding (sites like Green-Wood were suburban at the time, and development has grown around them), something to do with non-sectarianism (Napoleon set up the first one, Pere Lachaise in Paris, in part to contest the church's monopoly on burial), and something to do with sentimentality and civic paternalism (along with public parks, which were being popularized at the same time, these cemeteries were meant to teach the urban masses the moral glories of nature).

Forks, if you are ever in the Boston area, definitely search Mt. Auburn Cemetery, the earliest US example, and like Green-Wood well cared-for and preserved (Forest Hills Cemetery there is nice as well). Laurel Hill in Philadelphia and Green Mount in Baltimore are a few other prominent examples, but most cemeteries in the US have something of this stuff in their DNA.

that's interesting; i have some vague understanding of the rural cemetery movement but nothing too deep. Green Wood isn't the largest or oldest cemetery in the states by my estimation but there's certainly something special about it being so heavily populated, vast, well-maintained and served by a spectacularly moneyed community... monuments and rococo crypts abound.

(sites like Green-Wood were suburban at the time, and development has grown around them)

Yeah, I hear that - a friend took me a few years ago and that sense of contrast (along with the views from the cemetery back into the city) makes it that much more special. Mt. Auburn still is in a fairly suburban area and doesn't benefit from that; it's actually more crowded inside the cemetery than outside, which leads to all sorts of schemes for how to continue to pack in monuments to the wealthy - trees with plaques on them, columbaria, etc.

On the other hand, Bellefontaine Cemetery here in St. Louis, which still has all sorts of city father-types in it, is disinvested and mostly lawn. The most depressing thing is a kind of white flight of the dead where people disinter their relatives and re-bury them in the suburbs.

worth noting that i'm on the kensington side and that there are hipster enclaves elsewhere on the 3.5 mile perimeter... my understanding is that there's a bar that does regular "Frontline of the Zombie Apocalypse" outside the cemetery party nights, which seems really crass to me? Like haw haw, you watch walking dead too great, but that's my grandma in there.

that's ridiculous

everyone knows the frontline of the zombie apocalypse is the morgues, the zombies in gravyeards will take a while to dig themselves out

a few more pics:

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/k8qkt32g-1y_8V5hfITY7XwDuFOqpJQl3aaTEyItS1I%3Dw919-h1239-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gFl05isiIabJjSt4oN2vkOFjk1H8aUUR76_56HqcVTw%3Dw1379-h556-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/dxaO00xSK2FvX_aNNe9DP3Vc57yK2LRXL5-vUMyd9yo%3Dw1379-h1056-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/S3irwIJGbKq5QZCX_6zWhvU2UlLRTYfvsZXdggvHRdY%3Dw1379-h1202-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xTi7S8wCnVaqsd1l9lF2j-Wman6fV3GeINGfvcQyNBU%3Dw1354-h1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lhX8P3ehBVo_sdV-8PNP4lRB8Bqml_hstkDNcFOr298%3Dw1379-h903-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ThBLuoXjaduJ5PscEp0CXn1pDRccaLHTAJ3EdtEX_08%3Dw1374-h1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/SMjfrr0LjhTo3Xg2b4LV1oxHNquP-wMXjZQFY8YSG8o%3Dw1342-h1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/G4vgQH44Usit7uFlRMgYb0-i7zSNChrh8ya7cu2iLms%3Dw1379-h808-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/uj42ixqrktOvp8e9H1xU3AlWqWFazh939YDORsfRIyM%3Ds1238-no

along with the unfortunately named "Margaret B. Steenken" we have the Coffin family
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3vibfiOdgs75FbTDlu_aWkPQyT8GuQkiBwsI_6cP_GU%3Dw1379-h1000-no

if i was named coffin i'd have made sure to be cremated to scoff at escaping the trap of nominative determinism

Took a long walk over the weekend. Found some amazing things.

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/y288w7gy9e0Ms73UzNov1cXAmSbLVmpRqmhe4tulKpc%3Dw1291-h969-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/BJoNlG6llrdcPCBRfY6PWSzALzeYIoLm4LybIrIpXFg%3Ds1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/L3XNRZaf4QZwzpB5XwawYq5eOys13u9ZLWQ-VoUDkvs%3Dw1291-h969-no

From opposing sides of a monument:

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/5mpKUvNr8b9WR6geBKA3VAg0cwn15DsBgSnrwsQlJd8%3Dw929-h1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/h_nlxNskJzM21LX48A7LLLV9Ahc8kwmtL7AodeR0hzw%3Dw929-h1238-no

This was about 4 feet tall, ten feet wide and four feet thick
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Y5nw7oMp0z8-iOhKLEzXCgNSiuU9DN_77gukni6SMFY%3Dw1291-h969-no

Worn gravestone marker for three children from a family; one aged three and twins who died before they got a full year
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_ibxttS_S043MPc9DQCkYHJbSiMrB_cXbIfyEH2SSi8%3Dw929-h1238-no

Four Tripods
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/RSfRjAElKw7j8S4zL60O_SeFuyonHJA3eQjZ0C45PrU%3Dw929-h1238-no

a few intense obelisk types, notable either for design, setting or nomenclature

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/dQkoJRQNijgaGvjc_wW0M5Eu41Lmf6g5NWeNIj8j6MM%3Dw929-h1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/CTuW41Om-ZTdAWi_Sx4tsYmVHHRevM6p25kk7m8lCoc%3Dw887-h1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/SxCqna8aVFu_yTRjsq_td46wu1MYCbYMuM4Ovmz5nP0%3Dw1043-h1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/t3CWTvLZgzSsEC_TlKCC0rY8xGwDOUGc2kw-zBpaQ4o%3Dw929-h1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/LZvXsAZ_r7rCZ9PR0U066tQLjmVIlLLMmeEXOBYjeqU%3Dw959-h1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_04GOPTppq19hVtfWvoG3ydOTJj3atGxXp4qgZQ8dFI%3Dw929-h1238-no

on the second to last "FATHER AND MOTHER" one, you'll see a metal disc near the base. Those are marked "Eternal Care" and tend to be in better shape than other graves. As well as they keep the place up, you do run into LOTS of graves that are knocked over from gravity or weather... many graves are on very steep hills and topple over. some wear down over time. in many cases, you'll find pieces of the stone scattered nearby, often the toppers for some of the older and more rococo pieces poke up from the ground like chess pieces or wedding decorations. In many cases, especially where there's delicate sculpture work near to the ground, time has worn the stone down so much that it's barely recognizable as a form. Some of those fetal pieces are strangely touching and sad.

Some damaged and worn markers:
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/GBzF-LoXHRpzymr0EdiNtiDWN_nJ-Pg2VzbtcuZns64%3Dw1291-h1232-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/nIMuEu1rp7FfQ_MvRLUEScOx2qYnGn7D6rXtbyKEJac%3Dw1160-h1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gzzs7gQGBhcXz12ylcCjgXHj1-tU-8-72qK_MVMe9aE%3Dw1012-h1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gJ9cZKG_HmtTF9gcd4HwR7tGnmaDY5QfxkD3JlZH5zE%3Dw1291-h969-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/yk6sMsfcK7A3GU_DzRvPqsG28jueZWMK1eRf4yWSqGw%3Dw1291-h1200-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xD0irN-adE8MxRJYoD6wCe6s7Wfeqf6UKAORW2V2Qgw%3Dw929-h1238-no

Amidst a smattering of stones, I found a burrow hole as thick and wide as a man's leg that carved directly into several folks final resting place. That is one macabre fox.

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Iy4OberD4gXZqUsQ2KyjJHaWLAVRE_lWCUYYNya1sNE%3Dw1076-h1238-no

many of the trees in greenwood predate the cemetery and you will quite often find cases where the headstones have been eaten by them

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/9Mh39PIcnctosZeXZH3AFiylNBavwgTrEdyAAvFvv6E%3Dw1214-h1238-no

a handful of interesting stones:

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Bqvj45kT6pYXn1oJHcZrCcD_m587zs6qk6jrnqT032Q%3Dw1291-h969-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/IT2QAy2IbeRpQb-s8yBYW4kSSFbzOFMGvVyfd6UZFOo%3Dw886-h1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/QxeMAA7M_9MBZQ7-Le0ak5ZbQtYLWOTzLY0PHCNtMVs%3Dw1276-h1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/eBWQsCPy-pXWKiURLVtrbOXyuoEZxZK8WeGGVp36g1g%3Dw1154-h1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/PmI5jrIEnQvZ4QlWfeCL8MzEZgMIx-BuxPwJIq27FqU%3Dw1291-h1132-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/w0ylzZAvi88wy3xZ7oD2w33f34JxUPl-gfV4Dx7_FOw%3Dw929-h1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/bE-aTdzV5Tg5YXIz4d3U5SYWKh6rTHmPEJsCrp5nWS4%3Dw836-h1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/dAh7RV9p4n46NpTQE3xJSGOtlBhPBgfKuT9hfvE15Po%3Dw1061-h1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/JYB9quHRhpvw_78mkGrqTwJQ7dm9Ww_0Lt2336pceFk%3Dw1291-h630-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/GVJDdH2ilQJHfAOddejSUTBCt7WmRm_-K2yzufPrWVU%3Dw988-h1238-no

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/weAPOyvQllaPw5DDVeSnr93zyXwMfUnx76Ok-qEu2B4%3Dw1291-h969-no

At this site, where the most recent burial was over a century ago, the graves themselves feature carefully cultivated shrubbery growing over the coffins.
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/z_CUwFILHpeH1kQ1J2815R8hSjCj0ONMyHFBvaJafLo%3Dw1291-h969-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/NNiUnSVzX0-q3i8f-ACQyI71uQjAUfRQ_B6YcUiNTzQ%3Dw929-h1238-no

more to come

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/civLiQaLp9P-iX1-8tMWRVATBVOPUNEE0eguE_WzCkk%3Dw929-h1238-no

the rose marble cylinders on the sides of this piece were loose enough where you could likely have pulled them out

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/TR2lI_E7pq4mkwmuesH7DYgx6HAf5alh4zTuXp7EHJY%3Dw929-h1238-no

this zinc?/copper? "gravepole" was completely hollow and rang out when i knocked on the side like a bell

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/TR2lI_E7pq4mkwmuesH7DYgx6HAf5alh4zTuXp7EHJY%3Dw929-h1238-no

if you look to the right side you'll see an adjoining marble fire helmet at roughly ankle height... looks like there was some drama in the funeral plans.

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/CC-ZFDCdO-v03a172FRun8qlseYxvk0GDyUr0oKz99o%3Dw1291-h975-no

whoops, that first photo should've been:

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/15qaiI4CM8BeLQnbBBqdCJabe4CZc-Y-drRIvmepJvw%3Dw929-h1238-no

another hollow metal marker for a nine year old: "GONE FROM OUR HOME, BUT NOT FROM OUR HEART".
Given that the marker is 115 years old, I can't imagine who left the stone and the not-so-ancient fake flowers.

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7AlX2ssuLRFkIOEeWLjtExwM-EF28tY0Yj74j5J4LCI%3Dw1292-h764-no

Is this a colonnade? a gazebo? it's pretty goddam imposing whatever it is. each of the four slabs is a sarcophagus for the James family.

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6M5OGek5qBDorfbs_tWDsyWu1zOi7902WCof4NqTJDc%3Dw1291-h969-no

the inner circle is engraved with scripture and the individual names. there's a semicircle bench to sit on that looks decidedly uncomfortable.

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/4fk_61qfXPL62iZUVsYhiRCMtYrqdKypTsAdy_Zbtb0%3Dw1291-h969-no

Fun with Typography: the NYTimes' "T"!

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/iILLMKmUcvsuXnh_vb7nJX9u8yqZJ_GIKI_nx0lxbvs%3Dw929-h1238-no

typography here is killing me

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/t74OH_XpNkJbY99tEY6dIponxIZCGX_WKMDZG-_cxCM%3Dw929-h1238-no

there's a lot of great moments for the eagle-eyed out here; we noticed that Charles Christmas was born on Christmas Eve

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/dVB5IbvZU448V3TYY583R8p7h5ewzb-vSMDHBiZPQYw%3Dw929-h1238-no

score one for the jews

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/sEj2ofdNsP0SkdAXHCcsEI_Jot_ci_oag3Qp_3wrcLc%3Dw1291-h768-no

this particular family plot featured an array of ultra gothic, weatherworn markers with a sailor motif

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/4LDwJUvnATVCw5d_9puZ6YFmwLuNaB5LqtSUsB4Ftz0%3Dw1291-h969-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/MtG-PQ22cCa3-13gk7qdTwqoLmtjQCTl-fltskRJXfo%3Dw739-h1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/cz5UFhIx5_lUcsZjVG_JwDo266Wgpf9Imibf7ZWlGH4%3Dw708-h1238-no

A more contemporary piece with a bronze "time's arrow" sculpture atop the marker

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wYRPHT7RLQVoumaXAe_RmrSwQneowUlBtyplMb8HsTU%3Dw937-h1238-no

inner ring of one of the bands are roman numerals for clock markers, exterior is astrological symbols

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/fm7UE-Qbwk3v7Kpzowx_DFFSRvvceY6M86VB4V0qy0M%3Dw1084-h1238-no

more angels 4 u

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/uLi1kALpsBd6eptVJTjSo5Nn_CWBJnl6FqlNDvc2URA%3Dw698-h1238-no

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/bvQeoMVJLma_btmYNL_71RDMOwY0hlw_OU7BvZm-u_0%3Dw929-h1238-no

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/RHW271uol6jhrndUUzl-uonZeqs5xGcwvAlJ8Ed3GT4%3Dw929-h1238-no

so we're walking along on a plateau and suddenly all these vents/skylights come into view on the ground.. in the background you can see what looks like the top of a roof with a padlocked door

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/tHpQq8S4GD-G--04xfD4oKszHVwA3e_tXp97LNAhRYc%3Dw1291-h969-no

we go down the hill towards the "house" and this is what's there

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JjNSCfFXTelzL7an2evYa1GXBvdOTP9GX04Yu4oIfY%3Dw1291-h900-no

it's a shotgun crypt for folks who couldn't afford their own above ground burial space; they could just move into a brooklyn death apartment. Doors were locked unfortunately but i got an okay shot between the bars of the horror movie beyond.. would love to get a tour of this place with someone who has the keys

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/49nrmhpAo69_KpWOKId9vgeQaE0M7rAUNVnSwPxbbBw%3Dw785-h1238-no

there are loads of beautiful and amazingly well kept flower gardens all over the premises

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/j55Kjp7osZE6UPA6bai1fFhuf4ERtTS9iuP8XS4M0pg%3Dw1291-h969-no

plus wildflowers growing alongside paths

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/MTQlBo4HsurJAXPBy9CVkTIsmN5UTQl6KaCmX211XHw%3Dw929-h1238-no

more amazing above-ground crypts

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/jo8OeX1HtX-eHBGzZMOZ9dUm-EJV9uLrcD2t9A3jUu0%3Dw1291-h836-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/zD1rm7v5AuL4ftYERribmXqqgQVvvpHQfBnAy1lMN8Y%3Dw871-h1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/KpD7TXysEbIowkO4CaNIlSjNPZJn7FwUAIprz5dYHKA%3Dw929-h1238-no

great thread forks, i don't know how i missed it til now!

hi dere long forgotten gargantuan forty foot tall monument in the middle of nowhere

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7tjPyNS2BDyR28m9cDVHsirBiO94GnfYz4gguF-GFhw%3Dw1120-h1238-no

http://www.brooklynvisualheritage.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/fullsize/externals/73bd1c5e395b0feed711e5dadb0663f7%26ext%3D.jpg

KM, you need to take a trip with us to this amazing place; it's near your home!

hi dere two five foot long metal lions guarding a long-gone grave site that now has a tree rising in the center

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/4KOO_ItKv1JkGro_VxRBmbeA5gEdaYhvN7vowNTUtgE%3Dw1291-h911-no

this grave for a lost child is heartbreaking and bizarre as the sculpture of the reclining babe has worn down to nothing

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lXPSCFYsVPa_n8SZMuFfxSDj4-UCr9sMfLgyh5NChi8%3Dw929-h1238-no
http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/uKJ7sk8KZyUm7YYSyvB3_1TOkT2GMplG5QgzDVgerbk%3Dw929-h1238-no

more of the same

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/WD53u0e_uMA5_Ll3pLDBmlZXik0IesjReMQxelS2X8M%3Dw855-h1238-no

at the foot of the stone above, there's THIS... which i think is a dog grave. The sculpture's face being worn off makes it all the more intense...

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ejGMzFKKCG5O0M0m4I-ZqcverkhrqzJP7rCBo5FGOvc%3Dw1291-h969-no

great photos, forks!

did you come across any 'white bronze' (actually zinc) headstones in your travels? I tend to look out for them when I'm walking through a cemetery. you can spot them by their color and sharp lettering (or by knocking on them) and they always seem to be extremely well-preserved compared to stones of the same vintage.

yes, great thread
<3 those eroded sculptures
yes 'heartbreaking' 'bizarre' 'intense'
terrifyingly, uncannily beautiful

Funny you should bring up baseball though, as I went out for a short walk on April 20 and found this monument to Henry Chadwick on his Death Day
http://i.imgur.com/I2Iksry.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Chadwick_(writer)
https://www.green-wood.com/2011/opening-day-are-you-ready-for-some-baseball/
https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mlb-starts-fans-flock-henry-chadwick-grave-b-klyn-article-1.3904461

Some striking moments of nature in bloom taking place out there:
http://i.imgur.com/LCBPrEr.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/EfdQIOU.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/YdGRDC6.jpg

And some violence here, where the recent storm snapped a huge tree in half. The stone in the foreground is probably twelve feet tall for scale.
http://i.imgur.com/Qbv2oGX.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/2D63NFW.jpg
"Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am."
https://biblehub.com/john/17-24.htm

http://i.imgur.com/vVWcStG.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/eNs2OmJ.jpg
signing an epitaph like a letter

http://i.imgur.com/6yxz3LY.jpg
From the turn of the 20th century Egyptomania period
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptomania

http://i.imgur.com/a6jcaVB.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/lgj0UVj.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/kLFlk3I.jpg

One of my all-time favorites is the grave of Clara Ruppertz Koch, which features the golden rule on her gravestone:
http://i.imgur.com/rfzR6L8.jpg

Fronted by a sculpture that I guess we have to assume is her, holding a book:
http://i.imgur.com/VemL8kZ.jpg

And the front of that book, in bronze, is yet another portrait of her with the inscription "THE BEST WOMAN THAT EVER LIVED"
http://i.imgur.com/npA8lfb.jpg

Morbs, here's a lecture for you
https://www.green-wood.com/event/virtual-tour-of-green-woods-baseball-legends/

we can't have nice things apparently so i may have to be a volunteer cop

It’s very difficult for me to send this email. The conduct of a small percentage of our visitors has created an unacceptable situation. If things don’t change, we may be left with no choice but to close our gates as many other cemeteries have done.

Four weeks ago today, we decided to staff all four of our gates until 7pm every day of the week. We knew how important that was. We all need open space, a connection to nature, and a place for serenity. Thousands of you have come to visit. We’ve been delighted to welcome you.

But some of our visitors have behaved very badly. They have brought their dogs. They've ridden bikes. Their kids have climbed trees. They've taken flowers that had been placed on graves. None of these actions is appropriate or permitted.

Green-Wood is a cemetery. It is an arboretum, and a place of tranquility. Families come to visit the graves of their loved ones. It is not a public park. It is a not a place of recreation. Our rules are clear on what is allowed and what is not.

With the nice weather predicted this weekend, we will surely again be seeing large crowds. We have a group of volunteers who will be assisting us as Green-Wood Ambassadors, making sure the cemetery rules are honored. If you would like to join the group, please click here. We hope, together, we can keep Green-Wood open and available for everyone.

http://i.imgur.com/fsElfR3.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/pJY9ME5.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Poole
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oro4ph7yTmc

http://i.imgur.com/7Ucfhm7.jpg

a child's size throne, next to a baby's grave with a single shoe sitting on the seat
http://i.imgur.com/hCGUyas.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Jttq6Br.jpg

good ol' dime titty mary
http://i.imgur.com/tOxwCGB.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/commB4c.jpg

Packard, Silas Sadler (28 April 1826–27 October 1898), pioneer business educator, was born in Cummington, Massachusetts, the son of Chester Packard, a mill operator and mechanic, and Eunice Sadler. The family had resided in Massachusetts since the first Packard settled in Hingham in 1638. Chester Packard succumbed to the “Ohio Fever” in 1833, and the family moved to the vicinity of Fredonia, in Licking County, Ohio. After a number of irregular terms in district schools, Packard had a year of secondary school at the Granville Academy. That concluded his formal education. He began teaching at seventeen, as a writing master in Eden, Ohio, after learning the craft from an itinerant instructor of penmanship. While teaching at a district school in Delaware County, Ohio, the following year, he learned the art of portrait painting in just three weeks of lessons from a traveling artist. In the fall of 1845 he crossed the Ohio River into Kentucky, where, for the next two and a half years, he taught school and painted portraits. Packard apparently thought his paintings lacked artistic merit for, many years later, he dryly remarked that “the houses that harbor them are absolutely free from rats.”...

One of the few mausoleums out there that has been allowed to fall into a kind of disrepair. The glass in the left-hand door has fallen out and the ivy has entered uninvited.
http://i.imgur.com/FUVkZcW.jpg

My favorite name on this day out: "Matilda Tomes Stoutenburgh"
http://i.imgur.com/JgeePze.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/CHa76Ca.jpg
https://www.nytimes.com/1862/06/28/archives/the-battle-near-charleston-list-of-killed-wounded-and-missing-of.html

i dearly love constant and try to visit her every time i go
http://i.imgur.com/VAfHTDi.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/8h1jgFe.jpg
a paper wasp nest wedged in the bars protecting stained glass on the outside of a tomb. "Hymenopotera" indeed.

http://i.imgur.com/fXsPJQ7.jpg
From my May 2 trip.

http://i.imgur.com/iK9QGG2.jpg
my first cemetery dick pic

http://i.imgur.com/P2u3Kw3.jpg
This was one of a bunch of stones around a family plot with an Italian last name... perhaps this was/is colloquial for "little one"?

http://i.imgur.com/7j2f8DT.jpg
With COVID going on, the cemetery has seen an influx of people who are not used to the basic rules of the space and who do some exceptionally disrespectful stuff. This (amazingly incorrect) arithmetic pencilled onto a zinc grave marker is an unpleasant example.

http://i.imgur.com/1eILViy.jpg
Outrageous interlocking typography.

http://i.imgur.com/LGt1BWF.jpg
"mon epoux regrette" = "my late husband"
the handshake symbol is a mark of The International Order of Odd Fellows: https://blog.billiongraves.com/club-society-and-fraternity-gravestone-symbols-part-2/

http://i.imgur.com/xC5BLAr.jpg
Fisher Howe, Eliza's husband, appears to have been an author of some works on the Eastern world:
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Oriental_and_Sacred_Scenes/xZNCAAAAcAAJ
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_True_Site_of_Calvary_and_Suggestions/d-x7IqdGHTQC

http://i.imgur.com/4WnZFlP.jpg
The Howe family's stones appear to be made of slate and are beautifully carved. They look virtually brand-new some 140 years later with utterly outrageous detail work. This piece stands about three feet tall.

http://i.imgur.com/OZlj3uD.jpg
This Confederate grave (a rarity amongst NY graves) houses the first General officer killed in the Civil War.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_S._Garnett
This is obviously not the original marker. In 2007, Green-Wood had 1300 fresh stones put in for veteran servicemen as part of their Civil War Project.
https://www.green-wood.com/2010/civil-war-project/

http://i.imgur.com/7z4b6jH.jpg
In addition to possums and raccoons (and possibly some skunks?), Green-Wood has a healthy population of groundhogs who have set up notable burrow around the grounds. Another, presumably young, visitor to the cemetery has set out a gift for when they emerge.

http://i.imgur.com/VzkEYL7.jpg
Several smaller markers - either parts of a larger piece or stones that were recently exhumed from where they've slumped into the earth - can often be found dotting the landscape almost randomly. I like how this one has been installed like a fairy home.

http://i.imgur.com/BBsmXtU.jpg
Basquiat's grave is a personal favorite as I'm a fan of his work. It's one of the most heavily-sought out (and, given the size of the stone, hardest to find) spots in the cemetery and attracts the most offerings from visitors. Generally these are cleared out on a weekly-or-so basis by the groundskeepers but, given the current influx of bodies and general madness, I imagine they're running behind. I've found letters, artwork, pens, paints, spray cans, money, all kinds of stuff here. Today's sighting includes a cunning miniature bust of Van Gogh made of Sculpey clay (barely visible in this picture above the dash in "Jean-Michel"), a tattered Puerto Rican flag and a macrame coaster.

http://i.imgur.com/EXKR3rp.jpg
Age has worn down most of the stones and left behind a dark patina of lichen and soot. Sometimes this makes them difficult to decipher; sometimes it renders them newly beautiful in ways the original sculptor could hardly have dreamed of.

http://i.imgur.com/tv9SeGM.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/JOAdnAg.jpg
One of the best of the Cemetery's many outrageous ornamental door handles.

http://i.imgur.com/i0IKR9g.jpg

Spectacular metal work on a tomb door window.

http://i.imgur.com/UoH7J9G.jpg
Probably unrelated... but who knows!

http://i.imgur.com/ya3y67y.jpg
This grave is something of an ongoing mystery for me. There are no other markings or names on the stone but the ones you see here and the marker stands a good seven feet tall. There are no stones for a considerable portion of space in front of the marker... enough room to, say, bury a horse. That said, when I asked him, the Cemetery historian stated categorically that he does not believe there is a horse buried on the grounds. One wonders if perhaps the Seaman in question is Seaman Lichtenstein who, as per this 1902 obit "was a lover of horses and owned many fast trotters, some of which held records"? Further research and conversation is likely necessary.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/136450223/seaman-lichtenstein

http://i.imgur.com/94oBWzm.jpg
A shady spot hides a uniquely stylized rendering of the Sacratissimum Cor Iseu (aka "Sacred Heart of Jesus") pose
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Heart

http://i.imgur.com/2kmjFIl.jpg
It was once common to have a head and foot stone, especially over the grave of children, with a garden running between. Most of these are now barren so it's always a treat to see new life sprouting from within.

http://i.imgur.com/uPPHx34.jpg
Two-year-old John R Hardenbergh was my May 3 "happy death day" sighting. The 1904 Corporate Directory linked below lists Thomas E Hardenbergh as the Secretary of the NJ Singer Manufacturing Company
https://books.google.com/books?id=IOU5AQAAMAAJ
https://www.loc.gov/item/nj0983/

http://i.imgur.com/09PMJQ5.jpg
Chatty and esoterically phrased writing on stones always catches my eye. Here's "Children Meet Me In Heaven" "Saved By Grace" and the particularly puzzling "Face To Face" for the Hunt family.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/89367144/john-wesley-hunt

http://i.imgur.com/cmC22VZ.jpg
A flower path up the stairs to Schults... and dig the funky typeface on the family name!

http://i.imgur.com/r7Z7Azs.jpg
The inset stone here does fade against the white background but it has been restored as of 2012 and still lovingly describes the outlines of Isabelle Georgia's beautiful cameo. The inscription below reads "Adored By All Who Knew Her"

http://i.imgur.com/bDqrb2M.jpg
Not pictured: Hufflepuff across the way.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/13-hours-22-bodies-long-lonesome-shift-crematory-worker-heat-n1186981

was walking up a hill at the front gate and saw the smoke coming up and recognized what I was seeing and there's a moment

some real pressure points from that link

Padilla began working at Green-Wood three years after the 9/11 attacks. He started as a part-time landscaper, but three years later, in 2007, a full-time job opened up. To land it, Padilla had to complete a 40-day trial that culminated in a unique test given to all prospective Green-Wood employees: dig a full-size grave by himself in under four hours.

“I dug the hole, and I cried the minute I was done, like a little baby,” said Padilla, who was then 27. “It was a major accomplishment for myself.”

“I love coming here every day, even with everything that’s happening,” Padilla said. “Have you seen this place?” he said when asked why. “How beautiful it is?”

Padilla said the crisis hit him especially hard one day last week when he noticed two sets of remains came in the same day, a man and woman with the same last name. Padilla said it appeared they were a husband and wife who both died from COVID-19, apparently within hours of each other.

Padilla drove toward the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and headed east, nodding his head to tracks from the late rapper Pop Smoke. He soon pulled up outside his home in Middle Village, Queens, where he lives with his girlfriend.

It was nearing 10 p.m. Padilla knew there were about two dozen sets of remains waiting for him when he showed up at work the next morning. Thursday was the first day of his work week. He had six more days ahead of him. But he wasn’t thinking about that now. He was exhausted and just wanted to take a shower. Padilla walked into his bedroom and kicked off his shoes, but he never made it to the shower. He lay down in his bed, still fully dressed, and drifted off into a deep sleep.

Speaking of Pop Smoke, I kept running into groups of kids in hoodies in the same section of the cemetery and couldn't figure out why... that's hardly a regular occurrence. A bit of research revealed he was buried in one of the new sections of the cemetery and they must be paying respects. I'll try to find and get a photo next time I'm in there.

I have a few hundred more pictures from the past two weeks but it takes time to upload and curate and read up on the histories... anybody care?

I like looking and reading the histories (if they're short). But it's on your time, so do what you will.

Experimental/Broadway composer/singer/songwriter Gelsey Bell just released a music-infused walking tour of Green-Wood; I'm a fan of her work and figure this is worth $7 for either a virtual exploration or an in-person one if you're nearby enough to do it there. I'll test drive afore too long.
https://gelseybell.bandcamp.com/album/cairns

took a walk out there to get my head together and found an all-time champion.

Ladies, gentlemen, intersex and non-binary: allow me to introduce you to... Mother Puttfarcken

http://i.imgur.com/X8XZByf.jpg

It wasn't particularly close given the sheer quality of "Mother Puttfarcken" but second place name of the walk went to the under-any-other-circumstances strong contender: Sister Eunice Dibble Rehorn
http://i.imgur.com/IEtZqYa.jpg

Bronze goes to Flossey M. Sullivan, "A bud on earth to bloom in Heaven."
http://i.imgur.com/TNVY6Fz.jpg

Epitaph weirdo of the day is this line for two-year old baby Clydie: "Who plucked that flower? THE MASTER!"
http://i.imgur.com/vPmMu2I.jpg

Second place:
http://i.imgur.com/OZ8vKns.jpg

Kinda love these two.
http://i.imgur.com/eWWblBA.jpg

I needed these, thank u forks

i'm glad! i wish you'd come out sometime.