Gardens of Stone --- A Cemetery Blog by Alexandra Kathryn Mosca

Way back when, the first significant monument I was introduced to at Green-Wood was the "bride." So significant was this that I noted it in my first book Grave Undertakings.  Naturally, I included this monument in my second book, Green-Wood Cemetery. Since that time, I've learned more about the sad backstory behind the striking statuary. The young woman was indeed a bride who died from a cerebral hemorrhage on her honeymoon, just days after her wedding. The statue was commissioned by her father, who wanted the memorial to be a carbon copy of how his daughter looked on her wedding day. The artisans worked from photographs from the famed Marcy studios. For two years, the statue was a work in progress; sketches were done before it was sent to Italy to be carved. Here is one of the early sketches.

The grave of Leonard Bernstein is one of the most visited in Green-Wood Cemetery.

  In mid June, I spent an enjoyable afternoon giving friends a long-awaited tour of Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery. With so much to see, I did my best to hit the high points: DeWitt Clinton, Leonard Bernstein, Elias Howe and his dog Fannie, Henry Steinway, Civil War Soldiers' Monument, VanNess-Parsons....and many more. We drove to some sites and walked to others (lots of Fitbit steps for me) stopping to get a closer look at random monuments, and to read a number of poignant inscriptions. Over the years, I've traversed Green-Wood's 478 acres countless times, researching my book about the cemetery, giving public and private tours, as well as serving in my capacity as a funeral director. Yet, each and every time, I make a new find or learn of one before my visit that I must see. The Badger monument was one such grave site.   On Christmas Eve, in 2011, hearts broke across the country as we watched the awful news about a  Connecticut house fire  which claimed the liv...

Green-Wood Cemetery's Stubenbord-Sutherland monument features a seated mourning figure holding a sprig of ivy. The granite monument is rose-colored and semi-circle in design.  The Sutherland family was active in Brooklyn politics, while the Stubenbords owned a popular Coney Island hotel. 

Producer and promoter, Sidney Simcha Bernstein, helped bring the Beatles to America. Sid Bernstein, Who Helped Import the Beatles, Dies at 95 .

 In 1861, Colonel Abraham S. Vosburgh died from noncombat causes. Following a well-attended military funeral, he was buried in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery. This is the base of his monument, which features an obelisk topped by an eagle. The monument was commissioned by Vosburgh's regiment and designed by noted sculptor Patrizio Piatti, who is also buried in Green-Wood. The scene in Washington, D.C. as Col. Vosburgh's casket was borne to the railroad station for its journey to New York.

I am always looking for a new angle from which to photograph Green-Wood's John Matthews (Soda Fountain King) monument. Here's my latest effort.

This Norman Revival hillside tomb, which contains the remains of the Lispenard Stewart family, was designed by James Fenwick in 1889. The Stewart family was socially prominent and when Mrs. Mary Stewart (nee Mary Rogers Rhinelander) died in 1893, a NY Times article noted that she was “one of the wealthiest women in New York . ”Her funeral was attended by the Astor, Vanderbilt and Pell families. Their son, Senator Lispenard Stewart, was included in an 1890 article about the most eligible bachelors in NY. In 1895, he was the escort of Gertrude Vanderbilt at her coming out party (which had an entirely different meaning in those days :)) and characterized as the “best dancer in Newport , Rhode Island .”

On Battle Hill, the cemetery's highest point, visitors can find a pleasant surprise. In 1920, Charles M. Higgins, an Irish immigrant and local history enthusiast, decided to honor the Revolutionary War Battle of Long Island, which had been neglected for far too long. He built an altar on Battle Hill and topped it with a statue of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom. To ensure that Minerva would not feel lonely at the top, Higgins placed her close to Lady Liberty's upraised torch, located 3.5 miles to the West. This creates a unique sight where Minerva's waving hand reciprocates Lady Liberty's torch.  Five years ago, in 2008, there were concerns that this remarkable view could be obstructed. It was then that a real estate developer and a historic preservationist clashed over constructing "The Minerva," a new condominium across the street. To prove that the line of sight would not be affected, a construction worker was raised 40 feet in the air in a cherry pick...

This arbor of trees --located near the Civil War Soldiers' Monument-- --where the delicate and ephemeral cherry blossoms make a brief appearance, is one of my favorite spring sites.

The bronze-reliefs on the tomb of steel magnate David Stewart were created by famed architect Stanford White and preeminent sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Together, the pair also created a number of other noted works: The Farragut Monument in Madison Square Garden (their first collaboration); the Peter Cooper Monument for Cooper Union; The Puritan in Springfield, Mass.and Chicago’s General John Logan Monument .

Replete with photos, this recent article highlights 10 popular US cemeteries. Cemeteries of the Rich, Famous and Notorious.

Green-Wood Cemetery will once again participate in openhousenewyork. As they did last year, the cemetery will be opening several noted mausoleums to the public. For more details, click on the link below. This Weekend at Green-Wood Cemetery

Grosvenor Atterbury is one of several prominent architects --along with James Fenwick and Richard Upjohn--buried in Green-Wood Cemetery. While during the course of his long career Atterbury was responsible for the design of many prominent structures, he is most remembered for designing the stately Tudor and Colonial style homes which comprise the exclusive enclave known as Forest Hills Gardens. Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (son of the co-designer of Central Park and Prospect Park) was the landscape architect on this 1908 project of one of America’s oldest planned communities. Residents have included Jimmy Breslin, Geraldine Ferraro, Branch Rickey (the baseball executive who signed Jackie Robinson) and CSI actor David Caruso. Atterbury died in 1956 at the age of 87 in Southampton Hospital. He is buried beneath a simple stone --which notes that he was an inventor architect--in a shady and secluded family plot. His father was a lawyer who became the general counsel for the Erie R...

Dr. Lottie Cort practiced medicine for 55 years, after graduating --in 1883--from Women’s Homeopathic Medical College in Pennsylvania. During her career she held a number of positions, including secretary of Memorial Hospital and president of the hospital’s dispensary-a position she held until 1912. An early advocate for women’s issues, Dr. Cort was a prominent suffragist and a founder of the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Equality League. She was also a member of the Chiropean, a club for women which served Brooklyn’s Eastern District. The Chiropean --whose name invited much curiosity--was founded in 1896 and its 250 original members included many prominent women, including the wife of Brooklyn Mayor Frederick Wurster. An early NY Times article stated their mission as:” …to give full scope and an enlarged field to the prerogatives of the twentieth century woman, and to make her in all respects not only the co-equal, but the admitted superior of the twentieth century man.” Dr. Cort died su...

The Charlotte Canda monument, commemorating a young woman who died in 1845 on her 17th birthday, stands as one of Green-Wood Cemetery's most ornate and unique memorials. Crafted in the style of a tabernacle, the Gothic-style monument features a life-sized marble figure of Canda wearing a flowing gown and standing atop a pedestal. Drafted by sketches made by Canda herself, the monument was initially intended as a memorial for Canda's late aunt. However, after Canda's tragic death, the design was personalized to reflect Charlotte's interests and personality. From its intricate details to its symbolic elements, reflecting the Victorian era's fascination with symbolism, it serves as a lasting testament to Charlotte's brief but impactful life. Buried nearby is Charles Albert Jarrett de la Marie, Canda's fiancé, who committed suicide a year after her death.  The monument has become an iconic symbol within Green-Wood Cemetery, attracting visitors who are dr...

Elias Howe, Jr. is often credited with inventing the sewing machine. Actually, he was granted a patent for the lockstitch (the basic stitch made by a sewing machine) in 1846. That patent expired in 1867 and—ironically-- so did Howe. Howe funeral service took place at the First Universalist Church in Cambridgeport, Mass. and the officiant was a Rev. Greenwood. He was then buried in Cambridge Cemetery. In 1890, the same year Howe’s wife, Rose, died, the Howe’s were buried together in Green-Wood. Their beloved dog, Fannie, is buried within the family plot, along with her own monument, on which a poem entitled “Only a Dog” is inscribed. The Howe gravesite is located at the prime intersection of Battle and Hemlock Avenues and is a most popular stop on my tour.

Yesterday, I attended a wonderful lecture about Louis Comfort Tiffany at the Cold Spring Harbor Library in Long Island. Although I researched Louis Comfort and his father, Charles Lewis, the famed jeweler, I learned a number of things about the family and took a new look at their modest gravestones in Green-Wood Cemetery. It seems that Louis C. Tiffany was quite the party animal, throwing lavish parties—sometimes for 1,000 people—-at Laurelton Hall, his 100-room estate set on 580 acres in Oyster Bay, LI. The invitations were proffered by scrolls, often written in hieroglyphics, and guests were—-more often than not—-requested to attend in costume. Louis Comfort Tiffany died in 1933, but Laurelton Hall lived on, serving as a haven for artists per Tiffany’s wishes. Sadly, in 1957, the mansion burned down in a mysterious fire, the origin of which has never been discovered. Much of the contents of Tiffany’s home were destroyed. One of these, (seen above) was Tiffany's prized work ...

Johnny Torrio, who was once considered to be America's top public enemy, died in 1957. However, his death went largely unnoticed by the media and the public. Torrio suffered a heart attack while sitting in a barber's chair on April 15th and later died in Brooklyn's now-defunct Cumberland Hospital.   It wasn't until three weeks after his death that a small news item was published in the New York Times, referring to Torrio as "the man who put Al Capone in business." Later that year, Albert Anastasia, a rival mobster, was also killed while getting a shave in a barber's chair.

William Niblo was a well-known 19th Century impresario and the proprietor of Niblo’s Garden, a vast entertainment complex. Located in lower Manhattan, Niblo’s Garden boasted a 3,000 seat theatre, restaurant, saloon, hotel, and an outdoor garden. In 1866, a production called The Black Crook debuted and, in time, this long running show came to be viewed by historians as Broadway’s first musical. When not overseeing theatrical productions by some of the era’s most popular performers, Niblo could often be found tending the garden in front of his mausoleum at Green-Wood Cemetery, where he would also sometimes picnic with friends. This Gothic Revival mausoleum was built for Niblo’s wife Martha, who died in 1851, and overlooks Crescent Water. Niblo once stocked the pond with goldfish which migrated to Green-Wood’s other six (at the time) ponds through their interconnections. Niblo died in 1878, at the age of 89, and in his will allotted $5,000 to the Green-Wood trustees for the upkeep of h...