Winter starts tomorrow. But perhaps our Bearded Irises haven’t gotten the memo. An iris variety called “Feed Back,” they are out there, to the right of Green-Wood’s main entrance gate as you enter, still blooming away. These are rebloomers–their show in the spring is a bit less than most irises–but they rebloom in the fall–and … Read more
Since Hurricane Sandy hit, Green-Wood’s grounds crew has been working overtime to fix the place up: first the roads were cleared, then it was time to cut up the destroyed trees and repair the broken monuments. But there is a tremendous amount of work still to be done; the clean-up is not expected to be … Read more
As I reported in “Sandy Hammers Green-Wood,”our recent hurricane visitor was not kind to Green-Wood’s grounds. Approximately 300 mature trees–oaks, maples, beeches, and more, were toppled or snapped off. And, those tons of wood landed on more than 200 monuments, shattering angels and gravestones. But it was not all a loss. In fact, it was … Read more
On October 13 we unveiled “The Angel of Music,” a bronze sculpture, at the grave of Louis Moreau Gottschalk (, America’s first international musical superstar. The blog post about that event, “Welcome, Angel of Music,” is here. Last week, on NPR’s “On Point,” Tom Ashbrook devoted his show to Gottschalk. His guests were Richard Rosenberg, … Read more
Just a few days after Hurricane Sandy hit Brooklyn, we blogged about the extensive damage to trees, memorials, and fences at Green-Wood Cemetery: “Sandy Hammers Green-Wood.” In today’s New York Times, reporter David W. Dunlap updates the sad story of destruction: “In a Historic Resting Place, a Different Sort of Loss: Hurricane Sandy Damaged Many … Read more
Brooklyn was the incubator of baseball in the National Pastime’s infancy–the 1840s, 50s, and 60s. And, the first national baseball hero and legend, James Creighton, is interred at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery–where almost 200 baseball pioneers are permanent residents (you may find Glenn Collins’s wonderful article about Green-Wood and baseball, which was published in The New … Read more
October is a great time of year for projects on Green-Wood’s grounds. I recently checked in with Art Presson, Green-Wood’s superintendent of the grounds, who described some of the recent work: In October, when the mowing requirements lighten up and before the leaves cover the grounds, we have a brief window of opportunity when we … Read more
This Saturday and Sunday, volunteers, in character and costume, will fan out across Green-Wood’s grounds to present a production like no other: “Open ‘Houses.” Last year, for the first time, the Green-Wood Historic Fund opened up many of its mausoleums to the public for the first time. For the blog post on that weekend, click … Read more
Last week, The Green-Wood Historic Fund held its fifth annual benefit. And it was quite a celebration of what certainly was the Historic Fund’s greatest year: a new app of Green-Wood was released, a record number of trolley tours and new highs in attendance at a broad range of events were achieved, a great “Open … Read more