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Nolilissa, my condolences as well.
In Victorian times, life was short anyway. People had a lot of kids because they knew many of them would not make it to adulthood, this went for rich and poor alike. If you made it to 60, you were fortunate, there were many fewer truly old people. Plus, birth and death were all around. You gave birth at home, you died at home, and were laid out in the living room. So a peaceful, beautifully landscaped cemetary was not seen as gruesome or morbid. If heaven is a garden where departed loved ones could be met, places like Green-Wood and Woodlawn were as close as could be approximated. Read some mid 19th century poetry. Tombs, death and departed loves were the topics of all the major poets and writers, from Poe to Tennyson, Byron, etc. It’s rather fascinating.
I’ve never been to Green-Wood, but it’s been on my list for a long time. Anytime any wants to do a field trip….I used to live near Woodlawn Cemetary in the Bronx. It is also full of fascinating monuments and mauseleums with beautiful stained glass and carvings, drooping angels and huge monuments to the rich and famous. It’s also very peaceful, and a great walking tour of art and history.
Rob, please go, and report back (but don’t go on your skateboard)
http://www.green-wood.com/
http://www.pbase.com/marchael/greenwood
-The photo labelled ‘Standing Guard’ is one of my favorite mausoleum there…oh, those dogs!
http://www.bslaweb.org/webart/AwardWinners2006/Green-WoodCemetery.gif
– Tell me you don’t want to sit there?? Where this photo is being taken from are mausoleums tucked into the hillside….beautiful. Benches right there…so yes, bring a lunch.
Condolences, Noki.
I had always suspected there was a mutant cemetary plot bubble.
sam, understood. I hope you can make it.
^^^ okay, that was bad….so sorry
FYI – Greenwood is one of the more expensive cemeteries in NYC for plots.
When I heard the price, I nearly died.
Noki;
Sorry to hear about your loss.
Re: Greenwood. As the Brooklyn Historical Society points out in their great book of photos “Old Brooklyn”: in Victorian times, cemeteries were considered to be like a park, and were often a place where people would stroll on a Sunday. Greenwood was built with this function in mind. In the BHS’ book, they have photos of folks strolling around in Greenwood.
Widen your horizons, sam.