Cherry Blossoms at Green-Wood!

I finally made the walk over to the historical Green-Wood Cemetery. Danny is in a prime location in Brooklyn. We’re near Industry City, the NYC Marathon, Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, Barclays Center, and the cemetery. I’m usually wary about being in cemeteries because I don’t want to be disrespectful, but Greenwood is treated as an open museum and holds many events throughout the year. The cemetery is a National Historic Landmark, having been founded in 1838. It made me feel more comfortable about visiting to see the cherry blossoms during the beautiful Easter weekend.

Green-Wood is still an active cemetery though, so activities like picnicking and exercising are not permitted. I appreciate that the cemetery seeks to memorialize those buried here and normalize death by bringing light to the art, history, and scenic beauty of this land. I didn’t know this, but Green-Wood was an internationally recognized tourist attraction back in the late 1800s, inspiring the creation of both Prospect Park and Central Park. Also, the Battle of Long Island was fought there during the Revolutionary War. I’d love to visit again. There are many interesting people that have been buried there, with grand monuments and mausoleums erected in their names. I can’t help but wonder who these people were, what their stories were, and how they came to have such beautiful resting places. Also, Danny, aka Mr. National Geographic, was very fond of the koi fish and turtles we found in the ponds on the grounds of the cemetery. I know he’ll want to return for more photos.