Established in 1838, the Green-Wood Cemetery has long been considered one of the world's most beautiful cemeteries and is the final resting place of nearly 600,000 persons, including some of history's most memorable figures. With 478 acres filled with thousands of trees, flowering shrubs and four lakes, The Green-Wood Cemetery offers not only eternal tranquility but also a wonderful setting for the living. Indeed it was at one time a leading tourist attraction in the USA, and in the 1850’s was attracting 500,000 visitors per year. Green-Wood Cemetery has a great deal to offer. It is a remarkable arboretum, wildlife sanctuary, sculpture garden, a place of architecture, landscape design, and history and is well worth a visit whether you live in New York City or just visiting.
The Green-Wood Cemetery is conveniently located and easily accessible by major highways and public transportation.
Here are a few of the most famous people found in Green-Wood's own Hall of Fame.
Julius Walker Adams, Civil War colonel, engineer who designed preliminary plans for the Brooklyn Bridge
Albert Anastasia, mobster
Jean Michel Basquiat, graffiti artist, Andy Warhol protege
Henry Ward Beecher, abolitionist, religious leader, subject of scandal
Leonard Bernstein, music giant: composer, conductor, and teacher
Harvey Burdell, murder victim
George Catlin, painter of Indians
Henry Chadwick, "Father of Baseball"
Kate Claxton, actress on stage during the Brooklyn Theater fire
De Witt Clinton, force behind the Erie Canal, political leader
Abraham Duryee, Civil War general
Charles Ebbets, Brooklyn Dodgers' owner
Molly Fancher, psychic
Joey Gallo, mobster nicknamed "Crazy Joe"
Henry George, political and economic reformer
Louis Moreau Gottschalk, America's first great composer
Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune
Henry Halleck, General in command of all Union forces during the Civil War
William Surrey Hart, cowboy actor
Laura Keene, actress on stage at Ford's Theatre when President Lincoln was shot
Ward McAllister, New York's social arbiter
Susan Smith McKinney-Steward, first black woman doctor in New York State
Lola Montez, independent woman famed for her affairs and her Spider Dance
Frank Morgan, actor, best known for his role as the Wizard in "The Wizard of Oz"
Napoleon Sarony, photographer to the stars
George Tilyou, proprietor of Coney Island's Steeplechase Park
Juan Trippe, founder of Pan American Air Airways
"Boss" Tweed, political boss of New York City
Lester Walleck, actor