WILLIAM S. HART LANTERN SLIDE, 1920

William Surrey Hart (1865-1946), or “Two-Gun Bill,” was a Silent Film actor often considered as the first great Western Movie Star. Known for his unique screen presence, Hart developed a signature persona: the honest, taciturn Cowboy. He insisted on bringing authenticity to his roles, believing that earlier filmmakers had glamourized the West. This lantern slide advertises the 1920 film The Toll Gate, credited as the first of William S. Hart’s own productions. It depicts Hart in his signature two-gun cowboy role.

CHAPEL UNDER CONSTRUCTION, PHOTOGRAPH, 1911

Green-Wood’s beautiful limestone chapel was designed in the Gothic-Revival style by the architectural firm of Warren and Wetmore, who also designed Grand Central Terminal. The image above is one of a series of photographs taken of Green-Wood’s historic chapel during construction. Dated July 6, 1911, it shows the foundation completed and the side walls erected, but the decorative spires of the top four corners are unfinished and workers have not yet begun building the central dome. The chapel would not be completed in its entirety until later that year.

CANDA MONUMENT, STEREOVIEW CARD, Late 19th Century

This white marble memorial is dedicated to Charlotte Canda (1828-1845), a young Victorian socialite who died tragically on the evening of her 17th birthday. Amazingly, Canda had been designing a monument for her recently deceased aunt. After her untimely death, her father adapted the design for Charlotte’s monument, and personalized it by adding her initials, a portrait statue, and various symbols of her interests during life. This stereoview card shows the main section of Charlotte’s grand monument.

Our Town

Green-Wood presents OUR TOWN Thornton Wilder’s 1938 classic, directed by James Presson. Enjoy a classic piece of American theater amidst the timeless beauty of Green-Wood Cemetery. Our Town tells the story of Emily Webb and George Gibbs of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, a small New England town at the turn of the twentieth century. But … Read more

ADAMS CHEWING GUM PACKET, c. 1880s

Long before pocket-size packs and foil wrappers, chewing gum was marketed in far more ornate packages. Entrepreneur Thomas Adams (1818-1905) and his gum company Adams & Sons were great innovators of the business. Adams was the first to make gum using chicle from South America, and the product, Chiclets, is still popular today. Adams & Sons also pioneered machine production of gum, sold the first flavored gum, and were the first to install chewing gum vending machines in the New York City subways.

The Arch

  Winter 2014 [pdf height=”1210px”]http://www.green-wood.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/the_arch_magazine_2014_winter.pdf#zoom=55[/pdf]     Winter/Spring 2013 Inside this issue: Green-Wood’s 175th anniversary, Sandy hammers Green-Wood, Angel of Music sculpture, 2012 benefit, and more. Click here to download a PDF of the issue.   Spring/Summer 2012 Inside this issue: The Weir Greenhouse purchase, Historic Fund art collection growth, Monitor launch 150th anniversary, and … Read more

April 15: Titanic Sinks

April 15: In 1912, on this date, the RMS Titanic, a magnificent passenger liner that was thought to be unsinkable, sank; just over 1500 people, including passengers William Augustus Spencer and Wycoff Vanderhoef, lost their lives.

April 14: Laura Keene

April 14: On this date in 1865, actress Laura Keene was on stage at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., when President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.