green wood cemetery tours

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Visit Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn

This post explains how you can take a tour of Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, both guided as well as self-guided tours. Admission is free every day.

Introduction

• Who is Buried Here

Guided Tours

• Self-Guided Tour

Hours and Directions

• Things to Do in Brooklyn

Opened in 1838, over half a million people are buried in Green-wood Cemetery.

Among them are many notable Americans ( see below ) and over 5,000 fallen civil war soldiers.

The land that Green-wood is on was the site of the first Revolutionary War battle, the Battle of Long Island. A few heroes of the Revolutionary War are buried here.

There are also individuals buried here who you've never heard but whose life stories and tales of their demise make a tour of Green-wood really fascinating.

Green-wood is also one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the U.S. The views are wonderful and you can see all the way to Lower Manhattan.

There are grand public monuments, as well as stunning family shrines, private mausoleums, and even catacombs.

Some consider it to be one of the finest 19th-century and 20th-century "open-air galleries" of neo-renaissance, neoclassical, and Victorian-style statues.

Because of its historic significance as well as its beautiful monuments, headstones, and landscaping, a tour of Green-wood Cemetery will not disappoint.

Read more about its history below . To find out about taking a tour, see the tour section further down in this post.

Who Is Buried Here?

Many influential Americans whose contributions and innovations changed the world are buried in Green-wood Cemetery.

There are countless Civil War soldiers and some Generals.

There are also some Revolutionary War heroes and even a 'founding father', William Livingston (1723–1790), a signer of the U.S. Constitution and first Governor of New Jersey.

Here are some of the other notable individuals buried in Green-wood:

Political and Public Figures

• Rev. Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), Pastor of Plymouth Church in Brooklyn Heights and nationally-known abolitionist
• Peter Cooper (1791–1883), inventor, manufacturer, abolitionist, and founder of Cooper Union in the East Village
• DeWitt Clinton (1769–1828), seventh and ninth Governor of New York, and US Senator from New York

Famous Women

• Susan McKinney Steward (1847–1918 ), the third African-American woman to earn a medical degree, and the first in New York state
• Mary Jacobi (1842-1906), physician, teacher, scientist, writer, and suffragist
• Abigail Hopper Gibbons (1801-1893), abolitionist, schoolteacher, and social welfare activist
• Laura Keene (1826-1873), 19th-century actress who was on stage during Lincoln’s assassination
• Kate Claxton (1848-1924), performer on stage during the Brooklyn Theater fire of 1876
• Isabella Goodwin (1865-1943), first woman detective in the New York Police Department
• Elias Howe (1819–1867), sewing machine
• Samuel F. B. Morse (1791–1872), the telegraph and Morse code
• Walter Hunt (1785–1869), safety pin
• Charles Feltman (1841–1910) - said to be the first person to put a hot dog on a bun

Cultural Figures

• Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960–1988), artist and muralist, part of the SoHo art scene in the early 1980s
• Eastman Johnson (1824–1906), co-founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Frederick August Otto Schwarz (1836–1911), founder of famed toy store FAO Schwarz
• Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990), conductor of the NY Philharmonic, based in Carnegie Hall and then Lincoln Center
• Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933), known for his stained glass windows, such as the Tiffany Clock in Grand Central Terminal

Baseball Figures

• James Creighton, Jr. (1841–1862), the first pitcher to throw a fastball
• Charles Ebbets (1859–1925), owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team, built Ebbets Field
• Henry Chadwick (1824–1908), Baseball Hall of Fame member

Gangsters and Mobsters

• Albert Anastasia (1903–1957), mobster and contract killer for Murder, Inc.
• “Crazy” Joey Gallo (1929–1972), a member of the Columbo crime family, shot down in Little Italy
• William "Bill the Butcher" Poole (1821–1855), leader of the notorious Bowery Boys gang in Five Points

Newspaper Publishers

• Horace Greeley (1811–1872), founder of the New York Tribune
• James Gordon Bennett, Sr. (1795–1872), founder/publisher of the New York Herald
• Henry Jarvis Raymond (1820–1869), founder of the New York Times

Green-wood Cemetery offers a Historic Trolley for $30 per person. Tours are running as of Summer 2024 on Saturdays from 1 pm - 3 pm.

You are accompanied by an expert tour guide who will share the intriguing stories of the more notable permanent "residents".

Book your tour here. These tours routinely sell out so reserve tickets in advance.

Green-wood also has special events, such as occasional nighttime events, or tours of the Catacombs.

See the Green-wood Cemetery Events Calendar to find out what's scheduled while you are here.

Self-Guided Tours

Admission to Green-Wood is free at all times, and free maps are available at the entrance at 5th Avenue and 25th Street in Brooklyn.

You can download this free pdf version of a map of Green-Wood or download their free  Mobile App .

See the Green-wood Cemetery website for detailed directions .

Green-wood is open 7 days a week. Hours vary by season and by entrance. Here are the entry points and hours they are open:

Main Entrance (Fifth Avenue and 25th Street) 7 am to 7 pm

Sunset Park Entrance (Fourth Avenue and 35th Street) 8 am to 7 pm

Fort Hamilton Parkway Entrance (Fort Hamilton Parkway and Micieli Place) and Prospect Park West Entrance (Prospect Park West and 20th Street) will each be open from 11 am to 7 pm Monday through Friday (pedestrian gate only). On Saturday and Sunday, gates are open 8 am to 7 pm (pedestrian gate) with vehicle admittance from 8 am to 4pm.

History of Green-wood Cemetery

In America until the 1830s, burials were located in graveyards -- small plots of land usually belonging to the adjacent church or a town hall.

New York City’s Trinity Church and St. Paul’s Chapel in Lower Manhattan both have graveyards that date back to pre-Revolutionary times.

According to maps of early 1800s Manhattan, there were at least a dozen small graveyards below 12th Street, but these tended to be reserved for the deceased of wealthy or well-connected families.

Meanwhile, immigrants began arriving in New York City by the tens of thousands and as the city’s living population soared, so did the need for more space to bury its dead.

City planners began to address this issue and one major obstacle was the lack of space and the high real estate prices within New York City (which until 1898 was only the Island of Manhattan). City planners had to look for land located beyond the city limits.

At the same time, cities like Paris and Boston were experimenting with a new kind of cemetery, designed to be pastoral, serene and airy, unlike the cramped, dreary city graveyards.

The earliest grand and intentionally “rural” cemeteries were Pere Lachaise in Paris (1806) and Mount Auburn in Boston (1831).

In stepped Henry Pierrepont, a prominent and wealthy resident of the City (now borough) of Brooklyn, then one of the most important cities in the world.

Pierrepont felt strongly that the 300,000 residents of Brooklyn deserved a cemetery of grandeur, far removed from the hustle and bustle of city life, and that would offer both a serene setting for afternoon strolls for the living and eternal homes to Brooklyn’s dearly departed.

A board of trustees was formed and 478 acres of farmland in Brooklyn were purchased. With Pierrepont’s influence, engineer and designer Major David Bates Douglass was commissioned to develop Green-wood. The result was magnificent.

Located on the highest peaks in Brooklyn, Green-wood was more like a grand English park, with its rolling hills, natural ponds, and walking paths that wind through expanses of lush green lawns dotted with flowers and succulents, sculptures and architectural monuments

Green-wood's landscaping was so exceptional that it served as an inspiration to Calvert Vaux, the designer of Central Park and Prospect Park .

Ironically, what Green-wood didn’t inspire were customers.

Despite the splendor and space, it offered for burials, its potential clientele mainly lived in Manhattan and would have to be ferried over for burial.

In Green-wood’s early years there was a reluctance by New Yorkers to purchase plots in Distant Brooklyn.

Then, in 1844, the cemetery’s trustees devised a brilliant public relations stunt that gave the cemetery instant celebrity status.

They arranged to move the body of a multi-term New York mayor, U.S. Senator, and Governor, DeWitt Clinton, (who died in 1828) from his modest Albany grave to a new site at Green-Wood.

Soon the cemetery was selling huge plots of land for tombs, shrines, and even mausoleums and catacombs to families of the ‘rich and famous’ in anticipation of the inevitable.

Within 20 years of its opening, Green-wood was just as popular with the living as it was with the dead.

It attracted 500,000 visitors a year, rivaling only Niagara Falls for the greatest number of tourists.

When you visit Green-wood it is easy to understand why people flocked here to stroll and even picnic on the grass.

Green-wood is a feast for the eyes, with an abundance of finely-sculpted headstones that tell the stories of those who lie beneath them.

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Guide to Green-Wood Cemetery: Inside Brooklyn’s Macabre Park

By Christopher Frederic Lapinel

People these days don’t often visit cemeteries. Few go without a particular, somber purpose in mind. So, what might otherwise inspire the typical person to see tombstones? Admiring natural scenery, architecture, or art installations might not be the first answers springing to mind. Yet among the many jaw-dropping treasures Brooklyn holds, Green-Wood Cemetery stands front and center.

The strange and marvelous Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn currently attracts half a million people every year, matching its heyday in the late 19th century.

Inspired in part by the Pere Lachaise Cemetery of Paris, but more particularly by the Highgate Cemetery of London and the Mount Auburn Cemetery of Massachusetts, Green-Wood was founded in 1838 by Henry Evelyn Pierrepont and designed by David Bates Douglass.

Its maze-like collection of winding walkways sprawls across 478 acres. The magnificent Gothic revival gates house Argentinian monk parrots . Japanese cherry-blossom trees flourish near an ornamental pond. All of which help cast a spell over visitors.

During the Victorian and Edwardian eras, a family spreading a blanket for an afternoon picnic wasn’t an uncommon sight. After all, Green-Wood was technically Brooklyn’s first recreational park .

By 1860, Green-Wood Cemetery was the second most visited tourist attraction in the nation, right after Niagara Falls. It should come as no surprise then that the iconic Central Park and Prospect Park were later built to compete with the beauty of Green-Wood Cemetery.

“It is the ambition of New Yorker to live upon Fifth Avenue, to take his airing in the Central Park, and to sleep with his fathers in Green-Wood.” The New York Times, 1886

Of course, as a cemetery, Green-Wood also hosts the artfully arranged ranks of some 560,000 residents—and counting. Their markers are dappled by the sunlight that filters through the cool shadows cast by 8,000 trees and shrubs.

From exotic Camperdown elms to native Tulip trees, Green-Wood’s flora is extensively detailed on the following websites: Green-Wood Tree Finder and The New York Phenology Project .

Undoubtedly one of the best things to do in Brooklyn and one of the best unofficial parks in Brooklyn , Green-Wood Cemetery has many wonderful highlights, points of interest, and stories to uncover.

Points of Interest in Green-Wood Cemetery

Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn has always served as a tourist attraction but also as a national memorial. Being the second oldest rural cemetery, it has preserved U. S. history from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars up to this day. And every aspect of the site is lovingly studied and kept.

The following are the must-see sites of this National Historic Landmark:

The Brownstone Gate

If Green-Wood Cemetery were a crown, its entrance would be a jewel! Designed by Richard Upjohn in Gothic Revival Style, its double gates feature two pointed arches and three looming pinnacled towers. The brownstone gate, with its distinctive, delicate tracery, is unique to New York.

And if you look up, watch for one of our favorite hidden gems in Brooklyn , the monk parakeets as they nest here! And fun fact, these parakeets actually protect and preserve not only the grand entrance but the neighboring brownstones! These parakeets keep the pigeons away whose excrement actually highly acidic and overtime damages buildings.  

Minerva Statue

The bronze statue of Minerva depicts the Roman goddess of wisdom. She stands atop Battle Hill, commemorating the Battle of Long Island at the outset of the Revolutionary War, the first and largest battle that resulted in a loss to the British troops.

Minerva faces west toward her sister, the Statue of Liberty, whose epic torch of freedom is saluted by Minerva’s upheld hand ; this connection symbolizing the commemoration of this significant battle in American history.

The catacombs are underground walkways linking thirty underground vaults. They are lit by skylights having been initially constructed for people who feared being buried alive, which seldomly happened but in the early 19th century became such a widespread fear in addition to that fear being heightened by Edgar Allan Poe in his stories that led to an invention of ‘ safety coffins ‘ during this period.

The catacombs’ selling point was that if you were in fact still alive you could wake up and follow the natural light from the skylights not to mention a final resting space in the catacombs was also more affordable than a grand family mausoleum. 

The catacombs at Green-Wood Cemetery are not open regularly to the public but periodically open for guided tours or concerts and the Moonlight Tour hosted by Green-Wood.

Alternatively, you can visit the exterior of the subterranean crypt by standing on the hill where the skylights are! Look down and you can see where the light enters the underground catacombs.

Cemetery Chapel

The chapel is often referred to as the focal point of Green-Wood Cemetery. It was built by the Warren & Wetmore firm between 1911 and 1913, another fine example of Gothic architecture in the cemetery. Further evidence of their architectural prowess can be seen at Grand Central Terminal.

The chapel is non-denominational and features magnificent stained glass windows and where you can host events as a venue from weddings to concerts.

DeWitt Clinton Monument

At first, Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn was a breakout hit as a day-trip destination, not a cemetery. People weren’t ready to rest somewhere other than the church’s courtyards, but because of overcrowding and health concerns from urban cemeteries there was a huge push in the 19th century for ‘rural cemeteries’ built within 5 miles of the city so they were easy to visit but far enough away.

This became known as the Rural Cemetery Movement and the ambitions took time to catch on with the general populace.

Then in 1844, the remains of DeWitt Clinton, a father-like personality to New York City and the 6th Governor of New York after the Revolutionary War among also being a US Senator, Mayor of NYC, and the one responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal, was interred there. This proved a game-changer and was considered somewhat as a celebrity endorsement turning Green-Wood Cemetery into one of the most prestigious burial grounds.

This is what kicked off Green-Wood into becoming a very popular public greenspace and kicked off the projects and founding of Central Park in Manhattan followed by Prospect Park in Brooklyn .

Dewitt Clinton’s burial site is adorned with a large bronze sculpture and is one of the most notable points of interest regarding the history of Green-Wood Cemetery and the parks of NYC!

Civil War Soldier’s Monument on Battle Hill

The Civil War Soldiers Monument, which also hosts the Minerva statue, located on Battle Hill includes a memorial and a cluster of markers dedicated to the fallen soldiers of the Civil War erected in 1869 only 4 years after the end of the war towering at 35 feet high and is distinguished by its four soldier statues surrounding the base.

Not far away from this area of the cemetery is the Hill of Graves are where 5000 identified Union and Confederate soldiers are laid to rest from different battles including Shiloh and Gettysburg among others. Most of the stones have rounded domes, but those with pointed tops belong to Confederate soldiers buried in secret as being located in the north, were considered the enemy.

Another notable memorial is the Drummer Boy who was the first casualty from Brooklyn. Clarence, who was 12 at the time of his death, was a drummer boy in Brooklyn’s 13th Regiment and unfortunately, his loss was actually due to an accidental misfire of a weapon not even on the battlefield.

Tomb of Secrets

Have a deep, dark secret you’re aching to get out? What if we told you that you could get out your secret without anyone knowing it’s you? The Tomb of Secrets provides this in Green-Wood Cemetery.

This simple marble obelisk presents a storytelling project by Sophie Calle that began in 2017. It has a slot through which anyone can slip a handwritten secret.

Above the slot is inscribed the phrase: “Here Lie the Secrets of the Visitors of Green-wood Cemetery.” So, if you have a burden that you can’t speak aloud, write it down and shed it!

This is one of the few tombs that have no remains either as it’s an art installation that will be up for 25 years inspired by when Calle’s ex-partner broke up with her and left her with a huge secret that was alot to bear.

Why only 25 years? This installation is using a European tradition of leasing a gravestone for a set number of years, if your lease is up that spot gets new tenants. Who knows what secrets this tomb will hold for a quarter of a century!

Stewart Mausoleum

Those seeking the best architects in history eventually come across the innovative work of Stanford White. And the Stewart Mausoleum of Green-Wood Cemetery, though relatively plain overall, bears his distinctive mark.

The bronze reliefs depicting angels were sculpted by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, who often collaborated with White. The sumptuous design of the reliefs offset the simplicity of the stonework.

When this mausoleum was first unveiled it was quite the controversy at the time because the angels weren’t depicted as sad enough.

Last but not least, this family mausoleum is of the same family of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston that’s famous for the art heist of 1990 where 13 works of art were stolen. If you are fascinated by this, check out the Netflix documentary titled This is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist .

Van Ness Parsons Mausoleum

Green-Wood Cemetery is a veritable showroom of neo-Classical, Romanesque, and Gothic revival architecture. However, it also possesses some Egyptian accents, as you’ll find at the striking Egyptian pyramid at the Van Ness Parsons Mausoleum.

Fittingly, the man buried within the pyramid had been an amateur Egyptologist. The ornate sculptures adorning the façade boast a sphinx, Christian saints, and occult magical symbols.

During the 19th century was the Egyptomania craze which was essentially a renewed interest in ancient Egypt following Napoleon’s French campaign in the Ottoman territories of Egypt and Syria and influenced architecture from everything from gravestones to movie theaters.

Seeing Egyptian-style monuments and obelisks became common especially in cemeteries which were interesting in itself since Egyptian architecture has pagan origins.

To combat the backlash from religious communities Christian figures and symbols were added to the obelisks and Egyptian-style tombs in both the Americas and Europe, and the Van Ness Parsons mausoleum is an exact example of this.

Visiting graveyards in the US, it’s common to see obelisks used as these became popular not only during the Egyptomania phase but also because a few notable presidents used obelisk gravestones.

Fun fact: In the 2006 Martin Scorcese film, The Departed, there is a scene with Leonardo DiCaprio filmed next to one of Green-Wood Cemetery’s obelisk tombs. See more Brooklyn filming locations in our complete guide!

Park Slope Plane Crash Memorial

Two airliners collided over Staten Island in a gruesome accident of December 1960 . “All 128-holiday travelers on both planes were killed, along with six bystanders, when the United Airlines Flight 826 careened through the intersection of Seventh Avenue and Sterling Place ” in Park Slope after a failed attempt at an emergency landing at LaGuardia Airport making it the deadliest air accident of its time.

On the 50th anniversary, on December 16, 2010, Green-Wood Cemetery built a pillar as a memorial of those lost ones.

You can actually visit the crash site in Park Slope and still see damage from visible to this day at 126 Sterling Place. If you look up at the top of the brick building you will see a pattern of bricks that is visibly off color from the rest of the building where a 25-foot section of an airplane wing damaged the top of the building and was repaired.

At 123 Sterling Place, you can also see damaged brick sections on the building if you look closely which are where they made repairs after the accident.

The Trees of Green-Wood

Another one of the most notable facts about Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn is the trees! The cemetery itself is considered a Level III Arbotoreum due to its collection of century-old trees and 500 types of plants.

While being a final resting place for those who have passed, the cemetery also protects the living as the trees pump oxygen into the city and remove around 12,000 pounds of pollutants like carbon monoxide from the air annually.

Some of our favorite trees in the cemetery include the two rare Camperdown Elm trees found in the cemetery. These trees are especially important because they are direct descendants of the trees from the Earl of Camperdown in Scotland and oddly grow sideways.

The most famous Camperdown Elm tree in the city is actually found in Prospect Park behind the Boathouse that was falling in disrepair until a young poet wrote about it and basically grew public interest preserving the tree to this day. The Prospect Park Camperdown Elm is the oldest in Brooklyn and the second oldest is found here in the cemetery.

There are plenty of incredible trees to look out for but the other most breathtaking display of trees you can encounter in Green-Wood Cemetery is the tunnel of weeping elms that you can walk through where the branches feel like they could wrap around you as you pass through the natural tunnel they create.

Passing through is beautiful but there definitely is an eerie feeling as you pass through, almost as if the branches will come to life and wrap around you. You can find the tunnel of weeping trees next to Larch Street in the cemetery.

John Anderson Mausoleum

Another famous mausoleum is that of John Anderson, a successful tobacco manufacturer with a shop on Broadway and merchant that may have inspired the first true crime story and sparked a huge unsolved scandal of its time, the murder of Mary Rogers.

Anderson attracted famous clientele like Washington Irving whom both had estates and homes in Tarrytown north of the city in the Hudson Valley as well as other literary giants including Edgar Allan Poe. Part of the attraction to the shop was his ‘beautiful cigar girl’ who worked in the shop named Mary Rogers.

Mary became very popular as she was known as a beauty like no other and pretty much had a fan club clientele base. It is said that John Anderson set up a publicity stunt as she disappeared once which caused many of her most devoted clientele to swarm the shop. She returned and people were a little suspicious the next time she disappeared but never returned.

Her body was recovered along the shores of the Hudson River on the New Jersey side near Sybil’s Cave. Due to her connection to Anderson, he became the prime suspect in her disappearance and death although ultimately it’s still a mystery.

As Spiritualism became more popular in upstate New York in the 1840s, author Edgar Allan Poe became interested in this case and allegedly claimed that the ghost of Mary Rogers came to him in his dreams and gave him stockbroker information. While he was fascinated with her case, he was never able to solve the crime and it inspired his work The Mystery of Marie Rogêt , which is said to be the first murder mystery story based on a true crime.

Anderson was obviously a suspect and some suggested he could have been the one to do it out of a fit of jealous rage when his advances towards Mary were rejected. While he is buried here in Green-Wood, he actually spent his final days in Paris and claimed that on these last days he was tormented by Mary’s spirit.

Spritz Cookie Grave

If you love these traditional Scandinavian holiday cookies then you will want to seek out the Spritz Cookie Grave in Green-Wood Cemetery, the gravestone of Naomi Odessa Miller-Dawson who’s famous spritz cookie recipe is engraved on the top of her grave to look like an open recipe book.

Famous People Buried in Green-Wood Cemetery

Many of the city’s most celebrated (and notorious) personalities rest in Green-Wood Cemetery among the 560,000 permanent residents. Some of the names have faded from collective memory, if not from the markers above their graves; others are familiar, somehow keeping their former pop-culture status. Who knows what the future portends?

For example, the Prentiss brothers’ graves are found near the Green-Wood Chapel. During the U. S. Civil War, one brother had sided with the Confederacy, the other with the Union . The brothers unknowingly fell in the same battle, just feet apart from each other.

Walt Whitman , who had volunteered as a nurse treated them both as they died and later wrote about them.

Six Canadian soldiers from World War I are also buried there.

Though convicted criminals are explicitly forbidden in the rules of the grounds, William M. Tweed, the infamous political machine of the 1800s also known as Boss Tweed, the boss of Tammany Hall where he funneled $25 million to $200 million dollars of New York taxpayers dollars to his own pockets got himself interred there.

More sympathetically, Green-Wood broke another rule for a dog named Fannie , buried beside her beloved Elias Howe Jr., the sewing machine inventor. Pets, you see, are not allowed on the premises but if you had enough money you could essentially buy your way in as it is believed that there are around 7 dogs in the cemetery.

Fannie even had a full-on high society funeral with music, a glass coffin, and the upper-class friends with their dogs in attendance.

You’ll also find the sensational Neo-Expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat’s final resting place here after he tragically passed away at the age of 27.

Other legendary artists buried here include Louis Comfort Tiffany, of Tiffany stained glass, and musical genius Leonard Bernstein.

Another artist who has an interesting gravestone is that of William Holbrook Beard, an American painter known for his satirical works of art of animals enjoying human-like activities which include The Bulls and Bears in the Market depicting the stock market and is on display at the New York Stock Exchange as well as his famous The Bear Dance where there are bears dancing in a circle in the forest.

Beard actually had no gravestone when he passed in 1900. When a local historian discovered that this great artist didn’t have a proper gravestone he campaigned with a gallery owner to create a proper tomb for the well-known artist and in 2002 his gravestone was complete with a fitting bronze statue of a bear sitting on the top.

Henry Chadwick, the sportswriter and known as “the Father of Baseball”, and Horace Greeley, the founder of the New York Tribune, Henry Ward Beecher an abolitionist and Congregationalist who played a significant role in shaping modern mainstream Christianity, and Brooklyn rapper Pop Smoke to name a few.

Green-Wood Cemetery and Hollywood

As mentioned earlier, Green-Wood Cemetery was used as a filming location in Martin Scorcese’s 2006 film The Departed . That wasn’t the only Scorcese connection to Green-Wood, before the release of the Gangs of New York in 2002, Scorcese actually paid for a gravestone for Bill the Butcher as he was in an unmarked plot and foreshadowed an interest following his multiple Academy Award-winning film depicting the violent Catholic and Protestant feuds of the 19th century.

William Poole, or Bill the Butcher, was the leader of the Bowery Boys Gang and was portrayed by a fictionalized version by actor  Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York, was another criminal who somehow found his way into the cemetery despite the rule of no criminals allowed.

Besides the notable Scorcese films and ties to Green-Wood, there have been several other films that had scenes filmed in the cemetery including John Wick, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, The Girl on the Train, The Other Guys, Trainwreck, and Brooklyn Rules to name a few.

Tips for Visiting Green-Wood Cemetery

Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn is enormous and like a giant maze. We recommend grabbing a copy of a map at the guard booth or main entrance, alternatively, you can access a PDF version of the map online.

The general hours you can visit the cemetery are daily from 7 am to 7 pm with different hours at each of the different entrances. 

The Main Entrance, where the grand brownstone gates are located at 5th Avenue and 25th Street and are open 7 am to 7 pm for pedestrians and vehicles.

The Sunset Park Entrance at 4th Avenue and 35th Street is open daily from 8 am to 7 pm for pedestrians and 8 am to 4 pm for vehicles.

The Fort Hamilton Parkway Entrance can be found at Fort Hamilton Parkway and Micieli Place is open 11 am to 7 pm on weekdays for pedestrians only and 8 am to 4 pm to vehicles.

The Prospect Park West Entrance at Prospect Park West and 20th Street is also open from 11 am to 7 pm on weekdays for pedestrians only and 8 am to 4 pm for vehicles.

Something to keep in mind is that bicycles and scooters are not permitted and neither are pets. There are bicycle racks outside the cemetery for you to park your bike outside the gates.

There are three restrooms located at the Main Entrance, Sunset Park Entrance, and Prospect Park West Entrance.

Try a Tour or Event

There are always various events happening at Green-Wood Cemetery from musical concerts in the Catacombs to outdoor film screenings with Rooftop Films in the summer months. Be sure to check their event page for the next upcoming events.

Since the cemetery is so fascinating and so large, one of the best ways to enjoy Green-Wood is by joining one of their many tours available including trolley tours and walking tours.

The Trolley Tours are a great option with minimal walking and are ADA compliant and typically take place on the weekends.

If you’re up for more walking you can join one of their many group tours from the ‘greatest hits’ to moonlight tours that take you through the catacombs and graveyard after hours as well as request a private tour if you want something a little more intimate.

The Rural Cemetery Movement, which gave rise to cemeteries like Green-Wood, contributed to a drastic shift in the West’s perception of death. By pushing away from puritanical pessimism, toward an expansive spirituality, emphasizing life, this movement reimagined humanity’s relationship with the natural world.

Accordingly, Green-Wood Cemetery eschewed the grim skulls adorning church plots for effigies of seraphs and cherubs, not to mention botanical motifs like ivy, oak leaves, poppies, and acorns. Instead of an endpoint, death became a milestone along an infinite, cosmic journey.

And the staff at Green-Wood Cemetery does everything possible to preserve this Romantic vision while honoring the spirit of the present.

Read Next: Most Haunted Places in NYC

Cuban-German American writer and activist based in New York CIty.

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Fascinating piece. Coming to NYC for the first time Thanksgiving weekend. I have a visit on my list of things to do.

Oh enjoy! That’s a lovely time to visit! Highly recommend seeing if they have any of their tours too, its a great way to learn a bit more during your visit!

Grew up near the Cemetery and was always part of our landscape. My Parents are buried there as my Father passed in 1974 we have been visiting ever since. I take great comfort that they are there and pleased the grounds are well maintained. Although I now live about 2 hours away we still visit and join some of the events the Cemetery sponsors. I always learn something new when we attend a tour. God Bless all.

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Green-Wood Cemetery Walking Tour

Taught by James Hoffman

James Hoffman is a seasoned licensed New York City tour guide with over a decade of experience. He’s set up an array of sightseeing walks and bike tours that span from iconic landmarks like Grand Central Terminal to the historic Green-Wood Cemetery.

When he's not leading tours he runs open board game nights at  victorypints.com  and donates his time to the Guides Association of New York City (GANYC), working alongside fellow guides to promote live tour guides.

This class might be over, but get first dibs on new sessions and brand-new classes by signing up on our ultra-rad mailing list.

With great views, amazing architecture, and deep links to the 19th century, visiting Green-Wood Cemetery is an amazing way to step back into the past. As the final resting place for many New Yorkers this two-hour tour runs the gamut from the “Father of Baseball” to the first Brooklyn casualty of the Civil War to one of the world’s most famous composers and many more.

In addition to learning about some of the notable people interred there we’ll also visit the highest natural point of Brooklyn, learn how the cemetery became home to flocks of parrots , and talk about how the creation of the cemetery reflects the creation of metropolitan New York.  

This walk meets at the Green-Wood Cemetery Prospect Park West Entrance in Brooklyn and we will gather on the south-west corner of Prospect Park West and 20th Street. 

A portion of the proceeds from the tour support Green-Wood Cemetery .

Cancellation policy

Green-Wood Cemetery: Visit Brooklyn’s Unique Attraction

For many of us, cemeteries are associated with loss and grief or frightening scenes from a horror movie but Green-Wood Cemetery will prove there is so much more than that. It was even ranked the second-greatest tourist attraction in the country in the 19th century.

As one of the Top Ten most beautiful cemeteries in the USA , Green-Wood Cemetery offers stunning architecture and memorials surrounded by gorgeous nature scenery including unique wildlife encounters and celebrated trees. 

As New York State locals, we love to visit New York City frequently and make sure to stop over at Green-Wood cemetery for a peaceful stroll whenever we are in the borough. The massive grounds offer various nature walk paths to take by yourself and diverse tours to get to know more about the fascinating past of the cemetery. 

Get a glimpse of the rich history, the most famous points of interest, graveyards, memorials, and all the tips and tricks to make the most of your Greenwood Cemetery visit right here.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, we get a small commission at no extra cost to you. It helps us create free content for you to enjoy. Learn more about our disclaimer here . Thanks for your support!

How to Get to Green-Wood Cemetery

With Green-Wood Cemetery’s massive size of 478 acres and multiple entrances, it is actually a fairly easy NYC attraction to get to. The Cemetery is surrounded by popular Brooklyn neighborhoods of Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, South Slope, and Kensington. It is also within walking distance of other Brooklyn attractions, like Prospect Park and Barclays Center. 

The Green-Wood cemetery has 4 entrances, but most Visitors will want to start from the Main Entrance since it is where most tours and guides start. It is also the most impressive entrance to the grounds. 

Here are some different ways to get to Green Wood Cemetery New York:

• By Subway: To get to the Main Entrance, take the R train to 25th Street. Then walk east uphill 1 block to the entrance. 
• By Car: To get to the Main Entrance with the noticeable large gothic gate, enter the address, 25th Street and Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY into the GPS. If you prefer to come in through another entrance, use the addresses below. Parking is available throughout the Cemetery for free. 

Entrances & Hours 

Green-Wood Cemetery has 4 park entrances which visitors can enter from different sides of the cemetery: 

• Main Entrance – located on Fifth Avenue and 25th Street
• Sunset Park Entrance – located on Fourth Avenue and 35th Street
• Fort Hamilton Parkway Entrance – located on Fort Hamilton Parkway and Micieli Place
• Prospect Park West Entrance – located on Prospect Park West and 20th Street 

There are very slight differences in opening hours and closing times for each of the 4 entrances. So make sure you are aware of which entrance you are entering and exiting from. 

The Main Entrance Greenwood Cemetery Brooklyn is open daily from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM for both pedestrian and vehicle access. 

The Sunset Park Entrance Green Wood Cemetery Brooklyn is also open daily from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, but only admits vehicles until 4:00 PM. 

Green-Wood’s Fort Hamilton Parkway Entrance and Prospect Park West Entrance are open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM from Monday through Friday for pedestrians only. On Saturdays and Sundays, these 2 gates allow access from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM for pedestrians and 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM for vehicles. 

Note: As a reminder, Green-Wood Cemetery NY asks to exit the grounds at least 10 minutes before the stated closing time at each entrance. The gates are closed and locked promptly.

Background on Green-Wood Cemetery New York

Green-Wood Cemetery is much more than just the average Brooklyn cemetery. It is a park, outdoor museum, architectural masterpiece, and historical landmark connecting the life of the past to the life of the present through the art, history, and charm of New York City.  

Built-in 1838, Greenwood Cemetery was one of the first rural cemeteries in America. By the 1860s, Greenwood Cemetery NY became widely recognized and hundreds of thousands of visitors started visiting the grounds. It even grew into the second-greatest tourist attraction in the country after Niagara Falls. 

With its increasing popularity, the cemetery became a huge inspiration for the creation of big-time NYC public parks, such as Central Park and Prospect Park. 

In 2006, Green-Wood Cemetery was recognized as a National Historical Landmark for its history, arts, architecture, and landscape. 

Today, the Brooklyn Cemetery continues to bring thousands of visitors to admire the beauty of the past and present at Green-Wood. Here, over half a million people lay to rest as permanent residents including several prominent people of the time, war generals and soldiers, politicians, artists, entertainers, inventors, and more. 

Tours of Green-Wood Cemetery New York

Green-Wood Cemetery offers dozens of different tours throughout the seasons. You can learn more about the cemetery’s fascinating history, do environmental research, or view various art projects on the grounds. The following 3 tours are the most popular ones. To snag tickets make sure to book them in advance before they sell out.

Top Tip: Check out a full list of all the daily events and programs on the Greenwood Cemetery Brooklyn website .

• GREEN-WOOD AFTER HOURS

Especially popular during the scary fall months, the Green-Wood After Hours tour lets you explore the grounds after the gates are closed. You will stroll through the cemetery and visit specific graves plus the Catacombs which are only open to the public during this tour.

• DISCOVER GREEN-WOOD TROLLEY TOURS

This is a great way to explore the whole grounds and learn more about the cemetery’s captivating history without using your own vehicle. Hop on a Green-Wood Cemetery trolley equipped with your personalized tour guide to explore the beautiful landscape, graves, and historic stories of the area. 

• TAKE A SELF-GUIDED TOUR

If you are a budget-friendly traveler like us, this tour is yours since it is absolutely free. Download the pdf version of the Green-Wood Cemetery map and walk around to the marked locations. You can also pick up the same map in a hard copy at any of the cemetery entrances to plan your ultimate route.

Note that this is an amazing tour when you have your own vehicle. You can still do it on foot but since the grounds are massive, you will want to restrict your explorations to just a certain part of the cemetery.

Points of Interest at Green-Wood Cemetery  New York

• Gothic Revival Entry Gate – The most famous landmark of the Brooklyn cemetery is located at the Main Entrance. 
• Minerva Statue and the Altar to Liberty – This statue commemorates the Battle of Brooklyn, which was the first American battle of the Revolutionary War after the Declaration of Independence. Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, is located on Green-Wood Cemetery’s Battle Hill, a key spot for the war. The Minerva Statue stands towards the Harbor facing the Statue Of Liberty. 
• Historic Cemetery Chapel – Located just around the corner from Green-Wood Cemetery’s main entrance, you will find the Cemetery chapel. It is an iconic piece for the cemetery which was designed by Warren & Wetmore in 1911. The Neo-Gothic design features 41 carved windows with figurative stained glass. Make sure to peak inside during your visit.
• Catacombs – The Cemetery Catacombs consist of 30 vaults that offered people to be buried above ground without the expensive cost of a mausoleum. The catacombs are only open to the public during the Green-Wood After Hours tour.
• Tomb of Secrets – There are no bodies buried under the Tomb of Secrets at Green-Wood Cemetery. The tombstones are a place where visitors can share their deepest, darkest secrets. It is located on Bay Grove Hill where Bayside Avenue meets Bay Grove Path.
• DeWitt Clinton Monument – Find out more about DeWitt Clinton below in the Notable People Buried at Green-Wood Cemetery section. 
• Civil War Solider’s Monument on Battle Hill – This monument is dedicated by NYC to the thousands of soldiers who fought, died, and enlisted in the Civil War. The monument sits on Battle Hill in Green-Wood Cemetery. 
• Our Drummer Boy – The monument was erected to remember Clarence MacKenzie, who was Brooklyn’s first casualty of the American Civil War. 
• Steinway Mausoleum – The memorial for the Steinway family, the piano-making family and founders of Steinway & Sons, is the largest mausoleum in Green-Wood Cemetery. 
• Freedom Lots – These are unmarked graves in Green-Wood Cemetery of unidentified black soldiers who fought in the Civil War.
• Celebrated Trees at Green-Wood Cemetery – The trees at Green-Wood are an iconic feature of the cemetery. More than 7,000 trees make up the Living Collection. Twenty trees are labeled on the Green-Wood Cemetery map to check out with a description to learn more about them. 
• Stroll the Nature Walk – Walk Green-Wood Cemetery Nature Walk to learn about the natural heritage through the interpretive markers which are located at specific features in the cemetery. 

Notable People Buried at Green-Wood Cemetery 

DeWitt Clinton (1769-1828) – DeWitt Clinton was a big-time politician as a Senator, Mayor, and 7th governor of New York. He also had a huge influence on the construction of the Erie Canal. 

William “Boss” Tweed (1823-1878) – Tweed was an American politician best known for being a prominent leader of New York City’s Tammany Hall which was a powerful Democratic party political organization.

Charles Ebbets (1859-1925) – Ebbets was an American sports executive who was the co-owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1897 to 1902 before becoming the majority owner until his death. 

Henry Chadwick (1824–1908) – Chadwick was a big-time writer for baseball which helped ignite the interest in the new sport. He was even inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938. 

Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933) – Tiffany was an American artist and designer who was best known for his work with stained glass. He was the first design director for his family business, Tiffany & Co., which was founded by his father. 

William Livingston (1723-1790) – As an American politician he served as the first governor of New Jersey during the Revolutionary War. He was a signer of the Continental Association and the United States Constitution, making him one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and the state of New Jersey. 

Roosevelt Family – Family of President Theodore Roosevelt 

• Alice Roosevelt (1884-1980) – Eldest child of Theodore Roosevelt and Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt. She was also their only child together. 
• Martha Bulloch Roosevelt (1835-1884) – Mother of President Theodore Roosevelt and the paternal grandmother of Eleanor Roosevelt. 
• Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. (1831-1878) – Father of President Theodore Roosevelt and the paternal grandfather of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
• Robert Roosevelt (1829-1906) – Uncle of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Steinway Family – Family of the creators of the piano company, Steinway & Sons. 

• Henry Steinway (1797-1871) – German-American piano maker who made pianos in Germany and the United States. He is the founder of Steinway & Sons. 
• William Steinway (1835-1896) – Son of Henry Steinway

Samuel F. B. Morse (1791–1872) – Morse was an American inventor getting famous for the creation of the telegraph and Morse Code, along with his friend Alfred Vail. 

Laura Keene (1826-1873) – She is best known as an actress who starred in ‘Our American Cousin’ at Ford’s Theater and was on stage the night President Lincoln was assassinated.

Sarah Kairns (1737-1854) – Kairns is the oldest person to be buried at Green-Wood Cemetery at 117 years old and the mother of 22 children. 

War Generals and Soldiers – Throughout Green-Wood Cemetery you will find graves of tons of war generals and soldiers from the Civil War and even the Revolutionary War. 

Greenwood Cemetery Brooklyn NY Map

Best Time to Visit Green-Wood Cemetery

Our two favorite times to visit Green-Wood Cemetery are in the fall and spring. It is one of the best places in NYC to admire the cherry blossom trees and see the fall foliage. 

The cherry blossoms are typically in bloom in mid-April, whereas you can usually catch the New York fall foliage in the city from October through early November.

Tips for Visiting the Brooklyn Cemetery

• HAVE A MAP OF GREEN-WOOD CEMETERY

Green-Wood Cemetery is massive, which can make it difficult to navigate around. We highly suggest having a paper map, a picture of a map, or a downloaded map on your phone while visiting Green-Wood Cemetery. 

The official Green-Wood Cemetery map is labeled with points of interest, notable graves, memorials, and trees, as well as walking paths and nature walks on the grounds. This makes it incredibly easy to not miss anything you’re interested in on your visit. 

• CHECK OUT THE MULTIPLE ENTRANCES TO GREEN-WOOD CEMETERY

Don’t forget to take note of which entrances you are entering and exiting from when visiting Green-Wood Cemetery. The entrances are located on different ends and sides of the cemetery. 

You can choose from these entrances:

• Main Entrance
• Sunset Park Entrance
• Fort Hamilton Parkway Entrance
• Prospect Park West Entrance
• BIKES ARE NOT PERMITTED ON THE GROUNDS

If you plan on riding your bike, scooter, or anything else besides your 2 feet, you will need to lock it up outside the cemetery gates before entering. There are racks outside all entrances that are available to visitors. 

• LEAVE YOUR PETS AT HOME

For this visit, you will have to leave your pets at home. Sorry dogs, you will have to sit this one out. Pets are not permitted inside Green-Wood Cemetery.

• FIND RESTROOMS AT ENTRANCES

Worrying about where to find a restroom can be quite nerve-racking for some. But you won’t have to worry on your trip to Green-Wood Cemetery. There are bathroom facilities at all 4 entrances. 

• PARK VEHICLES ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD

One of the best perks of Green-Wood Cemetery is that parking is available on the grounds at no cost. However, please respect the grounds by parking on the right side of the road and off the grass. This makes it easier and safer for the flow of cars and pedestrians to get around the cemetery with ease. 

• RESPECT THE CEMETERY

This should go without saying, respect the resting place of thousands of people. Please refrain from touching, sitting, or walking on gravestones, mausoleums, and monuments. You don’t want to damage the surfaces of the precious architectural gems. Do your best to leave no trace.

• BE CONSIDERATE OF THE CEMETERY PLANTS AND TREES

The plants and trees throughout the cemetery are celebrated pieces and notable parts of Green-Wood. Please refrain from hanging, climbing, pulling, hitting, and removing leaves, bark, or blossoms from any trees and plants on the grounds. While strolling around, stay on the roads and pathways as best you can. 

Cool History & Facts about Green-Wood Cemetery

• Used to be NYC’s biggest tourist attraction

Before today’s NYC famous tourist attractions were even thought of, Green-Wood Cemetery held the spot for NYC’s biggest tourist attraction. When Green wood Cemetery opened in 1838, it was one of the first landscaped public spaces in all of New York City. The cemetery quickly became popular with more than half a million visitors a year. 

By 1860, it was not only the city’s biggest tourist attraction, but it was also New York State’s second-largest attraction after Niagara Falls. At that time it was very common to see tourists and locals having picnics and strolling around, while other people visited the graves of their loved ones. This popularity and interest had a significant impact on the creation of Manhattan’s Central Park.

• Green-Wood Cemetery is home to the highest natural point in Brooklyn

Battle Hill, located in Green-Wood Cemetery is home to the highest natural point in Brooklyn at 216 feet. It is called Battle Hill because it is referring to the Battle of Brooklyn. It was the first major battle fought after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This area holds significant importance in defending New York in the Revolutionary War. 

• The Goddess of Wisdom & Statue of Liberty

In 1920, a bronze statue of Minerva, the Goddess of Wisdom and strategic warfare, was erected on Battle Hill in Green-Wood Cemetery. The statue sits at the top of Battle Hill to commemorate a significant battle in the Revolutionary War. Minerva has been purposefully positioned to face the Statue of Liberty in the New York Harbor and salutes Lady Liberty. 

• Green-Wood Cemetery and Wars

Green-Wood Cemetery holds significant importance in the history of the Civil War, Revolutionary War, and World Wars. There are thousands of war participants buried within the gates at Green-Wood which include soldiers, generals, privates, nurses, other members of services, and a young drummer boy. 

The Cemetery even initiated a Civil War Project to help identify unknown veterans of war. 

• Green-Wood Cemetery Living Residents

After taking the initial awe of the grand gothic entry gate, take a lookup. Here, you will find some of Green-Wood Cemetery’s living residents, the Argentina Monk Parrots. Their large nests rest on the gate’s peaks and ledges. These birds have been living at the cemetery since the 1970s and it is unknown how it came to be their home. 

Besides the Argentina Monk Parrots, you can also find mice, voles, rabbits, squirrels, and woodchucks on the Green-Wood Cemetery grounds.

• The Architecture of the Cemetery

Green-Wood Cemetery is well known for its beautiful architecture throughout the grounds. Besides the famous entry gate, there are also various mausoleums and monuments which display unique architectural features from gothic style to classical and more. Another grand show of architecture in Green-Wood is the historic gothic-style Chapel which was designed by Warren & Wetmore.

More Interesting Facts about Green-Wood Cemetery

• It was built during the Victorian era. 
• The cemetery used to be known as a Christian burial place for white Anglo-Saxon Protestants of higher social standing, however, this has changed over the years. 
• In 2013, a construction worker was working on an expansion project when he discovered a metal box buried in a wall. It ended up being a time capsule from 1954 with 19th-century published books of the Green-Wood Cemetery.

Other Brooklyn Things to Do Nearby

Baked in Brooklyn – Baked in Brooklyn is a bakery and store which specializes in fresh pitas, baguettes, boules, and more. The store is conveniently located across the street from the Main Entrance of Green-Wood Cemetery. Make sure to stop by and try our favorite snack from Baked in Brooklyn, the sticks. 

Prospect Park – Prospect Park is like the Central Park of Brooklyn. The park contains 526 acres of land comprising a zoo, loads of athletic fields, recreational facilities, Audubon Center, an ice rink, a carousel, and more. 

It is a popular spot for tourists and locals alike to hang out.

Brooklyn Botanical Garden – Brooklyn Botanical Garden is an urban garden that helps visitors connect with the fascinating world of plants. A walk through the gardens gives people the opportunity to understand the unique environment of a variety of plants. 

One of the major events in the gardens is the blooming of the Cherry Blossom trees which happens every year in the spring. Brooklyn Botanic Garden is also home to a Japanese garden with a Shinto Shrine. 

Tickets are required for entry which can be purchased in advance.

Barclays Center – The Barclays Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Brooklyn which is home to the Brooklyn Nets men’s basketball team and the New York Liberty women’s basketball team. 

The Barclays Center can hold more than 17,000 people for basketball events, 15,000+ for hockey games, and 19,000+ for concerts. Be sure to check out what events are being held while you are in town. It is an experience you won’t forget.

Industry City – Brooklyn’s Industry City is a unique area that runs along the scenic waterfront of Sunset Park. It has 35 acres of repurposed industrial space which includes 16 buildings encompassing eateries, events, green spaces, retail spaces, and art. 

What is your highlight of Green-Wood Cemetery? Which other cemeteries can you recommend visiting?

Let us know in the comments below!

Our Other Resources for New York City

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The Green-Wood Cemetery announces its fall 2023 programming

From themed trolley tours to a Basquiat tribute.

We know —you wouldn't expect so much liveliness from a graveyard. But the  Green-Wood Cemetery  is prepped to prove you wrong with its seasonal slate of fall 2023 programming of walking and trolly tours, musical performances, community gatherings and more. 

Running from September through December, the cemetery's autumnal events will kick off with " From Canvas to Stage: A Tribute to Basquiat"  produced by WordSmith and Danny Simmons, a celebration of the iconic artist Jean-Michel Basquiat—who is laid to rest in the cemetery—via live performances and artworks from musicians, poets and contemporary artists on Thursday, September 7.

RECOMMENDED: Pay tribute to Jean-Michel Basquiat in a new event at his burial location in Brooklyn

Other artistic highlights include the Concerts in the Catacombs series on Wednesday, October 4 and Thursday, October 5, with vocalist-composer Anaïs Maviel; a large-scale altar installation honoring Dia de los Muertos from Brooklyn-based artist Cinthya Santos-Briones (on view from October 15 through November 5); and the return of Nightfall—”t he crowning event of Green-Wood’s fall season"—a 21-and-over evening of music and moving image on October 20 that will take inspiration from the danse macabre, or the dance of death. Set across Green-Wood’s historic landscape, enjoy entertainment provided by the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, storytelling and show-and-tell by Morbid Anatomy, and more. 

If you'd rather explore the cemetery's ground during the daytime, the fall season will feature themed trolley and walking tours (including "Crime and Catastrophe" on September 23, highlighting real-life tales of pirates, gangsters and more, and "Gay Gothic: Love, Loss and the Hereafter' on October 7, exploring the queer sub-history of Green-Wood), as well as Open Doors,  a self-guided exploration of the cemetery's 19th-century mausoleums on September 24. 

“This upcoming season, Green-Wood will once again present a range of opportunities for visitors of all ages to learn, to discover, and to enjoy. We’re bringing back all our perennial favorites—Nightfall, Open Doors, and Spirited Strolls—but also introducing some new experiences, from captivating tours to compelling conversations in death education,” said  Harry Weil, Vice President of Education and Programming, The Green-Wood Cemetery . 

Check out the full lineup of fall programming, and register for events, at the Green-Wood Cemetery website . 

• Christina Izzo

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Customs House Museum & Cultural Center

The Customs House Museum & Cultural Center is where history, art and culture inspire a diverse community.

Historic Greenwood Cemetery Tours are Back!

By Meghan E. Gattignolo  

September is here, and with the change in month comes the promise of cool air, falling leaves, cozy sweaters and… cemetery tours!   

Yes, the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center’s popular Historic Greenwood Cemetery Walking Tours are back this year starting September 23. Every other Saturday until the end of October, you have a chance to learn about the fascinating characters and imposing dignitaries that populate Clarksville’s oldest active cemetery while you stroll among the elaborate grave monuments that make Greenwood so special. 

Greenwood Cemetery opened during one of Clarksville’s more prosperous eras. Following the Civil War, Clarksville enjoyed a boisterous economy with the tobacco trade. Multiple wealthy families lived in Clarksville and sought out a bright new place to lay their loved ones to rest.  Older cemeteries and churchyards in the middle of town were landlocked and couldn’t be expanded. Greenwood sold its first plots in 1873 and quickly became the place to be buried. A large number of historic names who lifted Clarksville into the modern era can be found in Greenwood. The cemetery is also a well-preserved example of the mortuary symbolism that was popular in the 19th century. Here’s a small sampling of what you can learn during a tour through Greenwood Cemetery. 

The oldest resident of Greenwood wasn’t even buried there.  

Politician Cave Johnson died in 1866 – years before Greenwood Cemetery opened – but you will find his grave in the cemetery’s oldest section. Did Cave’s family wait seven years to bury him? No. Cave’s son, Polk Grundy Johnson, was one of the first Clarksville residents to purchase a plot in Greenwood when it became available and reinterred his father in the shiny new cemetery. Cave Johnson was originally buried in a church graveyard on Franklin Street. At the time, Franklin Street was rough and not a peaceful place for families to visit the graves of their loved ones. Greenwood Cemetery was set far enough outside of town for visitors to enjoy the peace and quiet, and became the preferred place to be buried.   

One of the monuments gained national attention.  

Nannie Tyler was four years old when she died in 1885 of diphtheria, a horrible infection that causes sore throat and obstructs the airway. Her grieving parents, Judge Charles and Molly Tyler, were well-to-do enough to order a beautiful marble statue from Italy in the likeness of their child. The statue, based on a photograph taken of Nannie, cost today’s equivalent of about $10,000 dollars and serves as the monument above Nannie’s grave. The grave also once featured a glass box containing Nannie’s toys before it was vandalized.  

In 1996 someone stole Nannie’s statue, but thanks to a kindly Boston antique dealer, it wasn’t gone for long. The return of the statue made national news. Many Clarksville residents still enjoy visiting Nannie and leaving her gifts of small toys, necklaces or flowers.   

The cemetery was a popular park.  

While in 2023 we have the freedom to text our friends to meet up at specific places or go to the mall to see other people, in the late 19th century, being social was a little different. Places to just hang out and meet up with people were few and big cemeteries like Greenwood doubled as parks where people knew they would see their friends on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. An electric trolley that served downtown Clarksville provided a line that ran to Greenwood Avenue to provide reliable transportation to Greenwood Cemetery. Hanging out in a cemetery might seem creepy today, but when you stand near one area of the cemetery that’s devoid of graves and lined by trees and benches, it’s easier to imagine a time when people enjoyed the natural beauty of the grounds and anticipated seeing people they cared about. 

A famous actor is buried in Greenwood.  

Frank Sutton rocketed to fame playing Sgt. Carter on the popular 1960s Andy Griffith Show spin-off, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Frank was born on Second Street in Clarksville, in the historic Doghill neighborhood located behind the Museum to parents who worked at The Leaf-Chronicle . He moved around a lot in his childhood and attended high school in Nashville, but his first job was at a radio station in Clarksville. His gravestone is probably the most visited site in Greenwood after Nannie Tyler’s. Sutton’s connection to Clarksville is also commemorated on Franklin Street as a bronze statue.  

This season, not only will Lead Visitor Services Associate Kim Raines take you through Greenwood Cemetery, but she’s also offering to show you around Riverview Cemetery, Clarksville’s oldest public cemetery. Watch for an upcoming blog post to showcase what history Riverview has to offer. Space for both tours is limited, so reserve your spot before they fill up! 

Meghan E. Gattignolo  is a freelance writer and longtime Clarksville, TN resident. She loves to obsess about historical subjects and annoy her family daily with unsolicited random facts. Meghan holds a History B.A. from Austin Peay State University and lives in town with her husband and two daughters. 

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Experimental concert series ‘phantom waves’ coming to green-wood cemetery.

The Green-Wood Cemetery , one of the first rural burial grounds in the country, will present a new concert series “Phantom Waves,” inspired by the acoustics in the cemetery’s catacombs and historic chapel.

Curated by singer-songwriter and Broadway star Gelsey Bell , the series will be headlined by experimental artists pushing the boundaries of music with unique approaches to composition, vocals and instrumentals all while performing in the cemetery’s catacombs.

“Curating this series has been an absolute honor and joy,” Bell said in a statement. “In a completely acoustic environment, the spaces at Green-Wood contain unique sonic and historical reverberation unlike anything else in New York City. All of the experimental artists in the series are invited into these spaces not just for their incredible creativity and virtuosic ability, but also for their profound attention in the creative process to the sonic, emotional, and spiritual characteristics of each space they inhabit.”

Artists featured in the concert series include trumpeter and Iraqi Maqam player Amir ElSaffar , Bell and saxophone player Erin Rogers , and composer and vocalist Odeya Nini . Bell will return with artists Sunder Ganglani,  Aviva Jaye , and  Paul Pinto , with vibraphonist  Levy Lorenzo , for a closing performance of musician and composer Darius Jones’ “Samesoul Maker.”

The concert series starts with ElSaffar’s performances on April 24 and 25 and with concert dates planned two days each month through July. Heads of the historic Brooklyn burial ground promise additional concerts and performances later this year.

“We are thrilled to be launching a new series of concerts celebrating the historic structures in the Cemetery,” said Harry Weil, vice president of education and public programs at Green-Wood. “While not initially designed as music stages, they’ll now host a roster of artists whose performances embody experimentation and site specificity, curated by the very talented Gelsey Bell. You won’t be able to experience these performers, and these works, anywhere else like you will at Green-Wood.”

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Greenwood Cemetery is the final resting place of over 40,000 residents of Central Florida, each with their own story to tell and memory to be preserved. As a city cemetery, Greenwood is a unique historical site where the entire spectrum of Orlando is represented in its vast, green landscape. A silent city, populated by the past, Greenwood Cemetery has been, and forever will be, a haven for local history.  

Greenwood Cemetery has three segregated sections; K, T, and 3. Sections K and T are the oldest and are located in what was originally the back of the cemetery. Burials of African American residents were restricted to these sections until 1967 when the City of Orlando overturned the ordinance that mandated segregation in the cemetery. 

For thousands of years, communities have struggled with how to care for the less fortunate. Orlando is no exception. Since Greenwood Cemetery’s inception, the City of Orlando has provided burials for those without the means in Section Q. Sometimes known as “pauper burials,” a “potter’s field,” or even “strangers row,” the individuals buried in this section were, and are still, members of Orlando’s history who deserve remembrance.  

In 1910, Englishman Charles Lord brought four swans to Lake Lucerne, including the famed Billy the Swan. After Billy caused a scuffle, a pair of the swans were moved to Lake Eola and became beloved members of the local community. The past and present are still united today; Orlandoans and visitors alike can find five species of swans at Lake Eola. 

Pioneer resident Joseph Bumby traveled across an ocean before settling his family in Central Florida. He and his offspring left an indelible mark on the city; from the first public transportation to providing the literal building blocks of Orlando. The story of the Bumby family is a tale that encompasses the experience of many English immigrants to Central Florida during the late nineteenth century. 

The Confederate Soldiers Monument which now stands at Greenwood Cemetery in Section J was originally erected in front of the Orange County Courthouse in 1911 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. It was moved in 1917 to Lake Eola and remained there for a century until it was moved to Greenwood Cemetery as a part of a national campaign to remove or relocate statues honoring the Confederacy from public parks.  

William Henry Jewell was a Northerner who served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and his life quite literally embodied the nineteenth-century slogan “brother against brother.” Jewell served as Orlando’s nineteenth mayor and his beautification efforts helped to create “The City Beautiful.” 

William Reynolds was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War who was a prisoner of war at the infamous Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia. Reynolds and 108 other Union soldiers escaped in February of 1864. Reynolds later moved to Orlando, Florida where he died and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery. 

The funds to purchase the Sperry Fountain and the surrounding land were a donation to the City of Orlando by Ezra Frank Sperry in 1913 as part of a campaign to create a city park and beautify Lake Eola. Mr. Sperry was elected Mayor of Orlando the following year. The fountain, known by some as Lake Eola’s “other fountain,” was replaced by a replica in 2014 and the original moved to Greenwood Cemetery.  

Gertrude Sweet Newell, sister of Charles Sweet (mayor of Orlando and surveyor of Orlando’s street network), was an accomplished pianist who played in The Orlando Band with her husband Henry Newell. Gertrude was known as the most beautiful woman in Orange County, with Orlando’s widest street at the time named for her (Gertrude Street). Today’s Gertrude’s Walk in downtown Orlando is reminiscent of the former glory of Gertrude Street and the fascinating woman it is named after. 

Women in Orlando’s history have made an indelible mark on the city’s past, present, and future. One such woman was Jessie Branch, an early resident who created an enduring part of “The City Beautiful” when she coined the now famous motto in 1908.

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Established in 1880, Greenwood Cemetery offers scenic views and historical importance. *This walking tour is currently in development in cooperation with Greenwood Cemetery and the University of Central Florida.*

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Apply to Green-Wood Cemetery's New History Fellowship

G reen-Wood Cemetery is launching a new history fellowship to provide support for one current graduate student or early-career scholar to conduct independent research in any area of study that makes use of Green-Wood's historical resources.

The selected researcher will be awarded a $5,000 honorarium and have access to the cemetery’s primary source assets, including tens of thousands of gravestones and mausoleums, and millions of archival documents dating back nearly two centuries, according to a news release.

They’ll also work closely with the cemetery’s professional staff, including its current environmental research fellows and artist in residence. 

Applications for the 2024-2025 fellowship, which will run from September 2024 through May 2025, are now open. Those welcome to apply include current graduate students (MA or PhD) or earlier-career academics, historians, or other professionals no more than five years into their career who are living or studying in New York City.

The fellowship is open to any area of specialization, though fields of research may include the history of American cemeteries or funeral customs, public health, demographics, landscape design, and the visual culture of death and memorialization.

Throughout the nine-month fellowship, the awardee is expected to draw on the institution’s archives, which includes burial files, business records and architectural drawings; its historical collections of over 10,000 artifacts including art, photographs and ephemera; and its historic landscape and burial monuments.

After selecting, investigating, and reporting on their topic, the history fellow will develop and facilitate public programs, tours, workshops or classes to share their findings.

“We’re thrilled to be opening up this new opportunity for researchers to access our trove of historical records,” said Harry J. Weil, vice president of education and public programs at Green-Wood. “We hope through this fellowship, and the public history programs that come out of it, we’ll be able to engage more of our neighbors and visitors with new areas of our complex and fascinating history—and learn a bit more about this incredible place in the process.”

Applications are due by May 15, 2024, and include a research statement and public program proposal. For full details, visit  www.green-wood.com/history-fellowship . The inaugural research fellow will be announced in June.

Any questions about the application process should be directed to:  [email protected] .

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The Moscow Metro Tour is included in most guided tours’ itineraries. Opened in 1935, under Stalin’s regime, the metro was not only meant to solve transport problems, but also was hailed as “a people’s palace”. Every station you will see during your Moscow metro tour looks like a palace room. There are bright paintings, mosaics, stained glass, bronze statues… Our Moscow metro tour includes the most impressive stations best architects and designers worked at - Ploshchad Revolutsii, Mayakovskaya, Komsomolskaya, Kievskaya, Novoslobodskaya and some others.

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The guide will not only help you navigate the metro, but will also provide you with fascinating background tales for the images you see and a history of each station.

And there some stories to be told during the Moscow metro tour! The deepest station - Park Pobedy - is 84 metres under the ground with the world longest escalator of 140 meters. Parts of the so-called Metro-2, a secret strategic system of underground tunnels, was used for its construction.

During the Second World War the metro itself became a strategic asset: it was turned into the city's biggest bomb-shelter and one of the stations even became a library. 217 children were born here in 1941-1942! The metro is the most effective means of transport in the capital.

There are almost 200 stations 196 at the moment and trains run every 90 seconds! The guide of your Moscow metro tour can explain to you how to buy tickets and find your way if you plan to get around by yourself.