The design of this spectacular 1861 Gothic Revival gate to Green-Wood Cemetery is generally attributed to Richard M. Upjohn, as opposed to his more famous father, Richard Upjohn. The two entrance arches with their soaring pinnacled gables and the adjoining pavillions are intricately carved frrom New Jersey Belleville brownstone. Above the arches are four sculpted panels of Nova Scotia sandstone, by John Moffit, with Biblical themes evoking themes related to death and ressurection.
The Greenw-Wood Cemetery Gate was designated a landmark by the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1996.
Green-Wood Cemetery National Register #97000228
Tags: NYC New York City Green-wood Cemetery Green-wood Sunset Park gates Burial ground entrance brownstone belleville brownstone gothic revival plaque Richard Upjohn Richard M Upjohn Garden cemetery Historical marker NYCLPC Green-Wood Cemetery gate gate R.M. Upjohn John Moffit cemetery cementerio Friedhof cimetière cimiteri cemitério cemeteries cementerios Friedhoefe cimetières cimiteris cemitérios landmark New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission National Register of Historic Places kings county NRHP U.S. National Register of Historic Places National Historic Landmark NHL U.S. National Historic Landmark Brooklyn
The design of this spectacular 1861 Gothic Revival gate to Green-Wood Cemetery is generally attributed to Richard M. Upjohn, as opposed to his more famous father, Richard Upjohn. The two entrance arches with their soaring pinnacled gables and the adjoining pavillions are intricately carved frrom New Jersey Belleville brownstone. Above the arches are four sculpted panels of Nova Scotia sandstone, by John Moffit, with Biblical themes evoking themes related to death and ressurection.
The Greenw-Wood Cemetery Gate was designated a landmark by the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1996.
Green-Wood Cemetery National Register #97000228
Tags: NYC New York City Green-wood Cemetery gates gothic Green-wood Sunset Park cemetery Burial ground brownstone Belleville browstone gothic revival richard m. upjohn richard upjohn entrance Garden cemetery NYCLPC Green-Wood Cemetery gate gate R.M. Upjohn John Moffit cementerio Friedhof cimetière cimiteri cemitério cemeteries cementerios Friedhoefe cimetières cimiteris cemitérios landmark New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission National Register of Historic Places kings county NRHP U.S. National Register of Historic Places National Historic Landmark NHL U.S. National Historic Landmark Brooklyn
The grave of Joseph Albert Perry (1807-1881) is the first one you see upon entering Green-Wood cemetery. Perry can be credited with laying the foundation for Green-Wood's success. Related to founder Henry Pierrepont through marriage, Perry managed the cemetery for more than four decades, beginning in 1842. While maintaining the vision of Pierrepont and Douglass' garden cemetery, Perry oversaw the expansion from the original 175 acres to more than 450. He was also instrumental in having the body of DeWitt Clinton moved from Albany.
Green-Wood Cemetery National Register #97000228
Tags: NYC New York City Green-wood Cemetery Joseph Alfred Perry Green-wood Sunset Park cemetery grave tomb Burial ground Garden cemetery landmark National Register of Historic Places kings county NRHP U.S. National Register of Historic Places National Historic Landmark NHL U.S. National Historic Landmark Brooklyn
On the far side of Bay View Avenue and Battle Avenue's interesection, is a tall obelisk commemorating the Brooklyn Theatre Fire of 1876. This large monument was erected by the City of Brooklyn to memorialize the 278 people who lost their lives during the fire on December 5, 1976 Buried here are 103 of the victims.
Theater was a main source of entertainment for 19th-century America. One of the more prominent theaters, the Brookly, located at Johnson and Washington streets, held more than a thousand patrons on a Tuesday evening to watch Kate Claxton (also interned in Green-Wood) appear in "Two Orphans."
As the play was ending, someone told Claxton that a kerosene lamp had ignited a small fire amid backstage. Since the actors were unsure what to do, Claxton whispered, "Go on, they will put it out, if we say anything there will be a panic, go on." The fire could not be extinguished, and it started to burn out of control. As the audience learned of the fire, Claxton reassured the crowd, "We are between you and the flames. Nonetheless patrons fled in panic, clogging the few narrow exits. Within half an hour the roof had collapsed and 278 lives were lost.
Claxton was found the next morning, dazed and burned, wandering near Manhattan City Hall. She claimed to not remember crossing the river, and this was years before the Brooklyn Bridge was completed. She was therafter known as "Kate Claxton of the Big Brooklyn Fire."
The City of Brooklyn arranged for a mass grave in Green-Wood for those families who couldn't afford a burial and for the unidentified bocies. Cemetery workers dug a 7-foot-deep crescent shaped common grave and 103 donated coffins were arranged with heads facing the center.
Green-Wood Cemetery National Register #97000228
Tags: NYC New York City Bay View Avenue Battle Avenue obelisk Green-wood Cemetery Brooklyn Theatre Fire Memorial Brooklyn Theater Fire Memorial Green-wood Sunset Park cemetery grave tomb Burial ground Garden cemetery Brooklyn theater fire Brooklyn theatre fire Cleopatra's Needle cementerio Friedhof cimetière cimiteri cemitério cemeteries cementerios Friedhoefe cimetières cimiteris cemitérios landmark National Register of Historic Places kings county NRHP U.S. National Register of Historic Places National Historic Landmark NHL U.S. National Historic Landmark Brooklyn
While not in memory of a Brooklynite, this pyramid by Christian Egyptologist Albert Parsons, is one of the most extravagant in Green-Wood. The symbol above the entry--the sign of Osiris--is a common one in the cemetery. However, the rest is not. The entry is flanked by Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus and a stone sphinx; and the door is covered in a set of zodiac symbols.
Green-Wood Cemetery National Register #97000228
Tags: NYC New York City Green-wood Cemetery pyramid Green-wood Sunset Park cemetery grave tomb Burial ground Mary Joseph baby Jesus sphinx Garden cemetery landmark National Register of Historic Places kings county NRHP U.S. National Register of Historic Places National Historic Landmark NHL U.S. National Historic Landmark Brooklyn