We have a new Historic Fund volunteer–Patty. She was interested in doing something, and, it turned out, she is quite the genealogical researcher. Once I learned that, I suggested that she might do follow-up research on the biographies of some of our Civil War veterans, looking for census entries, obituaries, and more, to improve their … Read more
Fifteen years ago, at the end of a Green-Wood tour that I was leading, a gentleman approached me, pulled out a photograph of a drawing, and asked me if there was a monument at Green-Wood that looked like that. I immediately recognized it as the Pierrepont Family Memorial. It turned out that the man with … Read more
Walter Dorwin Teague (1883-1960) was one of the giants of 20th century industrial design. Over a long career, he designed several popular art deco cameras for Eastman Kodak, art deco radios, lamps, and even World’s Fair pavilions. In 1927, Teague opened one of the first industrial design firms in the nation. During the 1930s, his … Read more
Two of Green-Wood’s permanent residents, Louis Comfort Tiffany and John La Farge, were pioneers of American stained glass in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tiffany and his studio were prolific–they so dominated stained glass lamp manufacturing that virtually any stained glass lamp, whether by Tiffany or someone else, is now referred to as … Read more
One hundred years ago, in July of 1911, reform Mayor William J. Gaynor ended tolls on New York City’s East River bridges. As the mayor said back then, “the tolls are oppressive to many people, and inconvenient and irksome to everyone.” As Sam Roberts notes in his recent New York Times report, Gaynor thought tolls were … Read more
Back in March, I reported on Green-Wood’s efforts to save “Civic Virtue,” the Frederick MacMonnies sculpture that was deteriorating in Queens. We offered to restore “Civic Virtue” and give it a good home at Green-Wood; NYC authorities declined the invitation. If you would like to read that post, click here. We were anxious to bring … Read more
The New-York Historical Society and The Green-Wood Cemetery are two of New York’s oldest institutions. The former was founded in 1804; Green-Wood dates from 1838. In fact, you can tell, just from their spelling, that both go back quite a ways: there was a great passion in the 19th century for hyphens (guidebooks of that … Read more
There is nothing new under the sun. In 1992 (can it really be that long ago?), a big scandal broke. Woody Allen, comedian, writer, Knicks fan and moviemaker, who had been in a relationship with Mia Farrow for twelve years, broke up with her over his relationship with her daughter, Soon-Yi Previn. Allen was 56, … Read more
On June 10, 1861, more than a month before what many would say was the first battle of the Civil War (First Bull Run, on July 21, 1861), 3,500 Union troops moved against 1,200 Confederates near Hampton, Virginia. In what would come to be known as the Battle of Great Bethel (also referred to as … Read more
As you may know, we’ve been collecting items pertaining to Green-Wood and its permanent residents for years now. What to do with all those great things? And where to create a visitors’ center for Historic Green-Wood? Well, as Christopher Gray reports in The New York Times today (and, rumor has it, scheduled to appear in … Read more