126-406: Green-Wood Cemetery is a 478-acre (193 ha) cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn , New York City . The cemetery is located between South Slope / Greenwood Heights , Park Slope , Windsor Terrace , Borough Park , Kensington , and Sunset Park , and lies several blocks southwest of Prospect Park . Its boundaries include, among other streets, 20th Street to the northeast, Fifth Avenue to
252-660: A New York City landmark in 1966, and the Weir Greenhouse , used as a visitor's center, was designated as such in 1982. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 and was granted National Historic Landmark status in 2006 by the U.S. Department of the Interior . The Fort Hamilton Parkway Gate and the cemetery's chapel were designated as official New York City landmarks in 2016. Notes Sources Further reading Brooklyn Brooklyn
378-489: A Pakistani enclave. Brooklyn's most populous racial group, white, declined from 97.2% in 1930 to 46.9% by 1990. The borough attracts people previously living in other cities in the United States. Of these, most come from Chicago , Detroit , San Francisco , Washington, D.C. , Baltimore , Philadelphia , Boston , Cincinnati , and Seattle . Given New York City's role as a crossroads for immigration from around
504-551: A humid subtropical climate ( Cfa ), with partial shielding from the Appalachian Mountains and moderating influences from the Atlantic Ocean . Brooklyn receives plentiful precipitation all year round, with nearly 50 in (1,300 mm) yearly. The area averages 234 days with at least some sunshine annually, and averages 57% of possible sunshine annually, accumulating 2,535 hours of sunshine per annum. Brooklyn lies in
630-474: A "Chapel Hill" was set aside within the cemetery. Though Richard Upjohn submitted plans for such a chapel in 1855, Green-Wood initially voted against such a chapel. A new location was selected near Arbor Water in the first decade of the 20th century, and plans were solicited from three firms in 1909. After Warren and Wetmore were selected, work started in 1911, and the chapel was officially opened in June 1913. The chapel
756-527: A 14-block area in 1890. On the southwestern waterfront of Kings County, railroads and industrialization spread to Sunset Park (then coterminous with the city's sprawling, sparsely populated Eighth Ward) and adjacent Bay Ridge (hitherto a resort-like subsection of the Town of New Utrecht ). Within a decade, the city had annexed the Town of New Lots in 1886; the Towns of Flatbush , Gravesend and New Utrecht in 1894; and
882-426: A brownstone building. It is a 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 -story structure with an entrance located inside a center bay on the west side of the building. The visitor's lounge contains two side bays, each with a porch , as well as restrooms for men and women. The hip roof is made of gray slate with metal ornamentation along the ridge at the top. The roof slopes down toward the perimeter walls of the building, though each of
1008-1043: A cemetery in a naturalistic park-like landscape in the English manner was first established. It has been called "Brooklyn's first public park by default long before Prospect Park was created." The architecture critic Paul Goldberger was quoted in The New York Times in 1977, saying, "it is the ambition of the New Yorker to live upon the Fifth Avenue, to take his airings in the [Central] Park , and to sleep with his fathers in Green-wood". Green-Wood Cemetery contains 600,000 graves and 7,000 trees spread out over 478 acres (193 ha). The landscape includes rolling hills and dales, several ponds, and an on-site chapel. In 2017, it received 280,000 visitors. Though at one point there were numerous gravediggers at Green-Wood, as of 2006 there were just
1134-466: A common grave at Green-Wood Cemetery. An obelisk near the main entrance marks the burial site. Green-Wood has remained non-sectarian, but was generally considered a Christian burial place for white Anglo-Saxon Protestants of good repute. One early regulation was that no one executed for a crime, or even dying in jail, could be buried there. However, the family of infamous political leader "Boss" Tweed managed to circumvent this rule even though he died in
1260-527: A decrease in housing affordability. Some new developments are required to include affordable housing units. Since the 2010s, parts of Brooklyn have evolved into a hub of entrepreneurship, high-technology startup firms , postmodern art , and design. The name Brooklyn is derived from the original Dutch town of Breukelen . The oldest mention of the settlement in the Netherlands is in a charter of 953 by Holy Roman Emperor Otto I as Broecklede . This form
1386-453: A few gravediggers due to a decrease in the number of burials, as well as the limited amount of space for new burials. Because of this shortage of space, several family members may be buried atop each other in some plots. Several wooden shelters were also built, including one in a Gothic Revival style, one resembling an Italian villa, and another resembling a Swiss chalet . These shelters, designed by Richard Upjohn , had largely deteriorated by
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#17328446447331512-453: A hill near the west end of present-day Atlantic Avenue , was reported to have emotionally exclaimed: "What brave men I must this day lose!". The fortified American positions at Brooklyn Heights consequently became untenable and were evacuated a few days later, leaving the British in control of New York Harbor . While Washington's defeat on the battlefield cast early doubts on his ability as
1638-726: A longstanding cultural lineage include Canarsie , Sea Gate , and Crown Heights , home to the Chabad world headquarters. Neighborhoods with largely defunct yet historically notable Jewish populations include central Flatbush, East Flatbush, Brownsville, East New York, Bensonhurst and Sheepshead Bay (particularly its Madison subsection). Many hospitals in Brooklyn were started by Jewish charities, including Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park and Brookdale Hospital in East Flatbush. According to
1764-556: A major role in supplying troops and materiel for the American Civil War . The best-known regiment to be sent off to war from the city was the 14th Brooklyn "Red Legged Devils" . They fought from 1861 to 1864, wore red the entire war, and were the only regiment named after a city. President Abraham Lincoln called them into service, making them part of a handful of three-year enlisted soldiers in April 1861. Unlike other regiments during
1890-775: A metal fence in 1860). Douglass mostly kept the cemetery's natural landscaping intact, working on the project until he resigned in 1841. Douglass modeled his two subsequently designed garden cemeteries upon Green-Wood: Albany Rural Cemetery (1845–1846), located in Menands, New York , and Mount Hermon Cemetery (1848), in Quebec City . Initially some 4.5 miles (7.2 km) of roads were paved inside Green-Wood to showcase its natural scenery. The earliest map dating from 1846 indicates that there were originally three ponds in Green-Wood: Sylvan Water, Green-Isle Water, and Arbor Water, all on
2016-746: A monument of gynecologist J. Marion Sims by Ferdinand Freiherr von Miller , is also installed in Green-Wood; the statue was formerly in Bryant Park and Central Park but was removed from the latter in 2017. Some elaborate monuments honor notable figures, such as William Niblo 's Grand Gothic mausoleum, the Steinway & Sons family's Classical mausoleum, Abiel Abbot Low 's tomb, and the Lispenard family's Norman-style mausoleum. Numerous other monuments to notable figures exist but are extremely simple in design, such as
2142-470: A monument to him was erected in 1853. By the early 1860s it was drawing annual crowds second in size only to Niagara Falls . Numerous guides to the cemetery were published for these visitors, including an illustrated guidebook and a directory in the late 1840s, as well as a cemetery history and a handbook in the late 1860s. By the 1860s, Prospect Park was being constructed and public streetcar and elevated lines were established across Brooklyn . In particular,
2268-429: A permanent stone fence were built through the late 1870s. The cemetery was enlarged again in 1884 to 474 acres (192 ha) via the acquisition of land on the northern border. To prevent the view being marred by the construction of tenements, Green-Wood also purchased lots on the southwest corner. By the 1890s, a reservoir was added atop Mt. Washington, the highest point in the cemetery, while two ponds had been removed. At
2394-529: A separate mayor, elected a Borough President . In 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was completed, transportation to Manhattan was no longer by water only, and the City of Brooklyn's ties to the City of New York were strengthened. The question became whether Brooklyn was prepared to engage in the still-grander process of consolidation then developing throughout the region, whether to join with the county of Richmond and
2520-503: A variation of the place name " Canarsie ". Bands were associated with place names, but the colonists thought their names represented different tribes. The Breuckelen settlement was named after Breukelen in the Netherlands ; it was part of New Netherland . The Dutch West India Company lost little time in chartering the six original parishes (listed here by their later English town names): The colony's capital of New Amsterdam , across
2646-577: A variety of Jewish businesses. Adjacent to Borough Park, the Kensington area housed a significant population of Conservative Jews (under the aegis of such nationally prominent midcentury rabbis as Jacob Bosniak and Abraham Heller) when it was still considered to be a subsection of Flatbush; many of their defunct facilities have been repurposed to serve extensions of the Borough Park Hasidic community. Other notable religious Jewish neighborhoods with
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#17328446447332772-441: A water meter magnate and close friend of President Grover Cleveland ), with nearby Crown Heights gradually fulfilling an analogous role for the city's Jewish population as development continued through the early 20th century. Northeast of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick (by now a working class, predominantly German district) established a considerable brewery industry; the so-called "Brewer's Row" encompassed 14 breweries operating in
2898-447: Is a borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the State of New York . Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County , one of twelve original counties established under British rule in 1683 in the then Province of New York . As of the 2020 United States census , the population stood at 2,736,074, making it the most populous of
3024-405: Is located at Fort Hamilton Parkway and Macieli Place. Similar to the 25th Street gate, it is made of a double gateway made of brownstone . It is also flanked by two structures, a visitor's lounge and the gatekeeper's residence. The gate was built in 1876 and completed the next year; it was designated as an official New York City landmark in 2016. To the east of the entrance is the visitor's lounge,
3150-460: Is made of limestone , and consists of multiple towers, including a central octagonal tower and four octagonal turrets , one at each corner. The three-story chapel contains a ground level, clerestory level, and the second story in the central tower. It was patterned after the Tom Tower at Christ Church, Oxford . Plans for the Green-Wood chapel date to shortly after the chapel's establishment, when
3276-812: Is made up of the words broeck , meaning bog or marshland , and lede , meaning small (dug) water stream, specifically in peat areas. Breuckelen on the American continent was established in 1646, and the name first appeared in print in 1663. Over the past two millennia, the name of the ancient town in Holland has been Bracola , Broccke , Brocckede , Broiclede , Brocklandia , Broekclen , Broikelen , Breuckelen, and finally Breukelen . The New Amsterdam settlement of Breuckelen also went through many spelling variations, including Breucklyn , Breuckland , Brucklyn , Broucklyn , Brookland , Brockland , Brocklin , and Brookline/Brook-line . There have been so many variations of
3402-452: Is the state of New York's fourth-smallest county by land area and third smallest by total area. Brooklyn was founded by the Dutch in the 17th century and grew into a busy port city on New York Harbor by the 19th century. On January 1, 1898, after a long political campaign and public-relations battle during the 1890s and despite opposition from Brooklyn residents, Brooklyn
3528-470: Is to one side of the gate, while the chapel and reception room are on the opposite side. A descendant colony of monk parakeets that are believed to have escaped their containers while in transit now nests in the spires of the gate, as well as other areas in Brooklyn. The New York Community Trust placed a Designated Landmarks of New York plaque on the gate in 1958, and the gate was designated an official New York City landmark in 1966. The Fort Hamilton gate
3654-500: Is water (27%); the borough is the second-largest by land area among the New York City's boroughs. However, Kings County, coterminous with Brooklyn, is New York State's fourth-smallest county by land area and third-smallest by total area. Brooklyn lies at the southwestern end of Long Island, and the borough's western border constitutes the island's western tip. Brooklyn's water borders are extensive and varied, including Jamaica Bay ;
3780-471: The 36th Street station of the New York City Subway , serving the D , N , and R trains. These gates were developed from the 1840s to the 1860s. A fifth gate at Ninth Avenue and 37th Street no longer exists. The main entrance to the cemetery, a double-gate located at 25th Street and Fifth Avenue near its northwestern corner, was built in 1861–65, though
3906-590: The Atlantic Ocean ; The Narrows , separating Brooklyn from the borough of Staten Island in New York City and crossed by the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge ; Upper New York Bay , separating Brooklyn from Jersey City and Bayonne in the U.S. state of New Jersey ; and the East River , separating Brooklyn from the borough of Manhattan in New York City and traversed by the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel ,
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4032-711: The Battle of Long Island on August 27, 1776. A Revolutionary War monument by Frederick Ruckstull , Altar to Liberty: Minerva , was erected there in 1920. From this height, the bronze Minerva statue gazes towards the Statue of Liberty across New York Harbor. Green-Wood was less inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, which at the time retained the primarily axial formality of Alexandre Théodore Brongniart 's original design, than by Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts , where
4158-601: The Brighton Beach Line in 1878 heralded the end of this isolation. Sports in Brooklyn became a business. The Brooklyn Bridegrooms played professional baseball at Washington Park in the convenient suburb of Park Slope and elsewhere. Early in the next century, under their new name of Brooklyn Dodgers, they brought baseball to Ebbets Field , beyond Prospect Park. Racetracks, amusement parks , and beach resorts opened in Brighton Beach , Coney Island , and elsewhere in
4284-590: The Brooklyn Bridge , the Manhattan Bridge , the Williamsburg Bridge , and numerous routes of the New York City Subway . To the east of Brooklyn lies the borough of Queens, which contains John F. Kennedy International Airport in that borough's Jamaica neighborhood, approximately two miles from the border of Brooklyn's East New York neighborhood. Under the Köppen climate classification , Brooklyn experiences
4410-471: The Brooklyn Fire Department (BFD) also gave way to the new Metropolitan Fire District. Throughout this period the peripheral towns of Kings County, far from Manhattan and even from urban Brooklyn, maintained their rustic independence. The only municipal change seen was the secession of the eastern section of the Town of Flatbush as the Town of New Lots in 1852. The building of rail links such as
4536-497: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission , three from World War I and three from World War II. There are other notable burials like the economist Henry George ; Charles Ebbets ; artist Jean-Michel Basquiat , conductor Leonard Bernstein ; rapper Bashar Barakah "Pop Smoke" Jackson ; physician J. Marion Sims ; poets Phoebe Cary and Alice Cary ; and actor Frank Morgan . The gates of the cemetery were designated
4662-461: The Ludlow Street Jail . The cemetery's chapel was completed in 1913 by Warren and Wetmore, on the site of Arbor Water. By 1916, the cemetery had 325,000 burials. Modifications to Green-Wood's landscape continued through the 20th century. In 1915, the entrance at 20th Street was realigned to connect with 9th Avenue/Prospect Park West (the entrance there being completed in 1926), and another pond
4788-536: The Middle Colonies of nascent British America . On November 1, 1683, Kings County was partitioned from the West Riding of York Shire, containing the six old Dutch towns on southwestern Long Island, as one of the "original twelve counties" . This tract of land was recognized as a political entity for the first time, and the municipal groundwork was laid for a later expansive idea of a Brooklyn identity. Lacking
4914-619: The New Netherland colony in 1664, a prelude to the Second Anglo-Dutch War . New Netherland was taken in a naval action, and the English renamed the new capture for their naval commander, James, Duke of York , brother of the then monarch King Charles II and future king himself as King James II . Brooklyn became a part of the West Riding of York Shire in the Province of New York , one of
5040-608: The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission at various times. Green-Wood's site is characterized by varied topography created by glacial moraines , particularly the Harbor Hill Moraine . Battle Hill , also known as Gowan's Heights, the highest point in Brooklyn , is on cemetery grounds, rising approximately 216 feet (66 m) above sea level. It was the site of an important action during
5166-447: The USDA plant hardiness zone 7b . Brooklyn's neighborhoods are dynamic in ethnic composition. For example, the early to mid-20th century, Brownsville had a majority of Jewish residents; since the 1970s it has been majority African American. Midwood during the early 20th century was filled with ethnic Irish , then filled with Jewish residents for nearly 50 years, and is slowly becoming
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5292-501: The automobile and commuter rail -driven vogue for more remote prewar suburban communities, such as Garden City, New York and Montclair, New Jersey . The rapidly growing population needed more water, so the City built centralized waterworks, including the Ridgewood Reservoir . The municipal Police Department, however, was abolished in 1854 in favor of a Metropolitan force covering also New York and Westchester Counties. In 1865
5418-461: The patroon and tenant farmer system established along the Hudson River Valley , this agricultural county unusually came to have one of the highest percentages of slaves among the population in the "Original Thirteen Colonies" along the Atlantic Ocean eastern coast of North America . On August 27, 1776, the Battle of Long Island (also known as the 'Battle of Brooklyn') was fought,
5544-687: The " Little Fuzhou ( 小福州 )" of Brooklyn. Many Chinese restaurants can be found throughout Sunset Park, and the area hosts a popular Chinese New Year celebration. Since the 2000s going forward, the growing concentration of the Cantonese speaking population in Brooklyn have dramatically shifted to Bensonhurst/Gravesend and Homecrest creating newer Chinatowns of Brooklyn and these newer Brooklyn Chinatowns are known as "Brooklyn's Little Hong Kong/Guangdong" due to their Chinese populations being overwhelmingly Cantonese populated. David Bates Douglass David Bates Douglass (March 21, 1790 – October 21, 1849)
5670-526: The "Soldiers' Lot" for free veterans' burials; this lot included less than 1 acre (0.40 ha) of land. In 1868–1876, after the war ended, the 35-foot-tall (11 m) Civil War Soldiers' Monument was erected at the highest point in Green-Wood. Other monuments of note include the Pilots' Monument and the Sea Captain's Monument, each dedicated to a notable person in these respective professions. J. Marion Sims ,
5796-597: The 'h' from its name. By 1841, with the appearance of The Brooklyn Eagle, and Kings County Democrat published by Alfred G. Stevens, the growing city across the East River from Manhattan was producing its own prominent newspaper. It later became the most popular and highest circulation afternoon paper in America. The publisher changed to L. Van Anden on April 19, 1842, and the paper was renamed The Brooklyn Daily Eagle and Kings County Democrat on June 1, 1846. On May 14, 1849,
5922-415: The 1830 test of the device was a major success: The machinery was set in motion under the direction of Major Douglass, the enterprising Engineer. The boat, with two hundred persons on board, rose majestically out of the water; in one minute it was upon the summit, which it passed apparently with all the ease that a ship would cross a wave of the sea. As the forward wheels of the car commenced their descent,
6048-521: The 1850s, various fauna were being introduced to the cemetery. As early as the 1840s, the cemetery had 30,000 visitors per season during the spring and fall; the visitors took horse-drawn carriages or ferries to the cemetery. To accommodate those who came to the cemetery, a ferry service to the cemetery was established in 1846. The burial ground was expanded multiple times. Originally 175 acres were enclosed, stretching between 21st and 37th Streets from 5th to 9th Avenue. The first additional acquisition in 1847
6174-556: The 1870s, including Border Water, Dell Water, Crescent Water, Dale Water, and Meadow Water. At first, 14-by-27-foot (4.3 by 8.2 m) lots were being sold for $ 100 apiece, and it soon became a frequent place for burials, with 7,000 annual burials and 100,000 graves by the 1860s. Green-Wood became more popular after former governor DeWitt Clinton was disinterred from a cemetery in Albany , the New York state capital, and moved to Green-Wood, where
6300-790: The 1883 poem, " The New Colossus " by Emma Lazarus , which appears on a plaque inside the Statue of Liberty . The poem calls New York Harbor "the air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame". As a twin city to New York, it played a role in national affairs that was later overshadowed by decades of subordination by its old partner and rival. During this period, the affluent, contiguous districts of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill (then characterized collectively as The Hill) were home to such notable figures as Astral Oil Works founder Charles Pratt and his children, including local civic leader Charles Millard Pratt ; Theosophical Society co-founder William Quan Judge ; and Pfizer co-founders Charles Pfizer and Charles F. Erhart . Brooklyn Heights remained one of
6426-526: The 1970s, vandalism was common at Green-Wood Cemetery. The cemetery was also affected by labor strikes among the gravediggers in 1966, 1973, and 1982. The cemetery also continued to add new structures: the Garden Mausoleum and Community Mausoleum were finished in the late 1980s, and the Hillside Mausoleum was expanded. In addition, in 1994, the north gate was restored and new offices were built. This
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#17328446447336552-531: The 19th century and two-thirds of the 20th century. The first center of urbanization sprang up in the Town of Brooklyn, directly across from Lower Manhattan , which saw the incorporation of the Village of Brooklyn in 1816. Reliable steam ferry service across the East River to Fulton Landing converted Brooklyn Heights into a commuter town for Wall Street . Ferry Road to Jamaica Pass became Fulton Street to East New York . Town and Village were combined to form
6678-617: The 19th century and was consolidated in 1898 with New York City (then confined to Manhattan and the Bronx ), the remaining rural areas of Kings County, and the largely rural areas of Queens and Staten Island , to form the modern City of New York. The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle Long Island's western edge, which was then largely inhabited by the Lenape , an Algonquian-speaking American Indian tribe often referred to in European documents by
6804-640: The 19th century. The waterfront from Gowanus to Greenpoint was developed with piers and factories. Industrial access to the waterfront was improved by the Gowanus Canal and the canalized Newtown Creek . USS Monitor was the most famous product of the large and growing shipbuilding industry of Williamsburg. After the Civil War , trolley lines and other transport brought urban sprawl beyond Prospect Park (completed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in 1873 and widely heralded as an improvement upon
6930-573: The American Civil War, the 14th wore a uniform inspired by the French Chasseurs , a light infantry used for quick assaults. As a seaport and a manufacturing center, Brooklyn was well prepared to contribute to the Union's strengths in shipping and manufacturing. The two combined in shipbuilding; the ironclad Monitor was built in Brooklyn. Brooklyn is referred to as the twin city of New York in
7056-549: The American Jewish Population Project in 2020, Brooklyn was home to over 480,000 Jews. In 2023, the UJA-Federation of New York estimated that Brooklyn is home to 462,000 Jews, a large decrease compared to the 561,000 estimated in 2011. The predominantly Jewish, Crown Heights (and later East Flatbush)-based Madison Democratic Club served as the borough's primary "clubhouse" political venue for decades until
7182-605: The Cincinnati , signage in the Battle Hill area of the cemetery was updated to reflect new research on Battle Hill's importance in the Battle of Brooklyn. Green-Wood Cemetery's interments include a considerable number of notable people, including painter George Catlin , designer Louis Comfort Tiffany , painter Asher B. Durand , printmakers Nathaniel Currier and James Ives , and architects James Renwick Jr. and Richard Upjohn are among
7308-407: The Dutch town of Breukelen in the Netherlands, Brooklyn shares a border with the borough of Queens . It has several bridge and tunnel connections to the borough of Manhattan, across the East River , and is connected to Staten Island by way of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge . With a land area of 69.38 square miles (179.7 km ) and a water area of 27.48 square miles (71.2 km ), Kings County
7434-463: The East River, obtained its charter in 1653. The neighborhood of Marine Park was home to North America's first tide mill . It was built by the Dutch, and the foundation can be seen today. But the area was not formally settled as a town. Many incidents and documents relating to this period are in Gabriel Furman 's 1824 compilation. Present-day Brooklyn left Dutch hands after the English captured
7560-454: The Heights, the less exclusive South Brooklyn was home to longtime civic leader James S. T. Stranahan , who became known (often derisively) as the " Baron Haussmann of Brooklyn" for championing Prospect Park and other public works. Economic growth continued, propelled by immigration and industrialization , and Brooklyn established itself as the third-most populous American city for much of
7686-586: The Morris Canal's technology as inspiration for its inclined planes; for that reason, the inclined planes on that canal strongly resemble those on the Morris canal. One of the Douglass's most significant lasting legacies is Green-Wood Cemetery in New York. It established a style of peaceful, natural setting known as a rural cemetery that was copied several times by Douglass himself as well as his admirers. Douglass
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#17328446447337812-763: The New York metropolitan area's most august patrician redoubts into the early 20th century under the aegis of such figures as abolitionist clergyman Henry Ward Beecher , Congregationalist theologians Lyman Abbott and Newell Dwight Hillis (who followed Beecher as the second and third pastors of Plymouth Church , respectively), financier John Jay Pierrepont (a grandson of founding Heights resident Hezekiah Pierrepont ), banker/art collector David Leavitt , educator/politician Seth Low , merchant/banker Horace Brigham Claflin , attorney William Cary Sanger (who served for two years as United States Assistant Secretary of War under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt ) and publisher Alfred Smith Barnes . Contiguous to
7938-486: The Town of Flatlands in 1896. Brooklyn had reached its natural municipal boundaries at the ends of Kings County. Low's time in office from 1882 to 1885 was marked by a number of reforms: Brooklyn elected a mayor from 1834 until 1898, after which it was consolidated into the City of Greater New York , whose own second mayor (1902–1903), Seth Low, had been Mayor of Brooklyn from 1882 to 1885. Since 1898, Brooklyn has, in place of
8064-546: The area, and afterward the British generally enjoyed a dominant Loyalist sentiment from the residents in Kings County who did not evacuate, though the region was also the center of the fledgling—and largely successful— Patriot intelligence network , headed by Washington himself. The British set up a system of prison ships off the coast of Brooklyn in Wallabout Bay . More American patriots died there than in combat on all
8190-523: The area. It is called "Brooklyn's Chinatown" and originally it was a small Chinese enclave with Cantonese speakers being the main Chinese population during the late 1980s and 1990s, but since the 2000s, the Chinese population in the area dramatically shifted to majority Fuzhounese Americans , which contributed immensely to expanding this Chinatown, and bestowing the nicknames " Fuzhou Town ( 福州埠 ), Brooklyn" or
8316-458: The artists interred in the cemetery. In addition, public leaders William M. Tweed , Henry Ward Beecher , Horace Greeley , William Oland Bourne , and DeWitt Clinton ; businessmen Edward R. Squibb , William Colgate , Frederick August Otto Schwarz , and Charles Pfizer ; and railroad promoter Thomas C. Durant are buried in the cemetery. Among the burials at the cemetery are six British Commonwealth service personnel whose graves are registered by
8442-795: The ascendancy of Meade Esposito 's rival, Canarsie-based Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club in the 1960s and 1970s, playing an integral role in the rise of such figures as Speaker of the New York State Assembly Irwin Steingut ; his son, fellow Speaker Stanley Steingut ; New York City Mayor Abraham Beame ; real estate developer Fred Trump ; Democratic district leader Beadie Markowitz; and political fixer Abraham "Bunny" Lindenbaum. Many non-Orthodox Jews (ranging from observant members of various denominations to atheists of Jewish cultural heritage) are concentrated in Ditmas Park and Park Slope , with smaller observant and culturally Jewish populations in Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Brighton Beach, and Coney Island. Over 200,000 Chinese Americans live throughout
8568-558: The battlefield engagements of the American Revolutionary War combined. One result of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 was the evacuation of the British from New York City , which was celebrated by New Yorkers into the 20th century. The first half of the 19th century saw the beginning of the development of urban areas on the economically strategic East River shore of Kings County, facing the adolescent City of New York confined to Manhattan Island. The New York Navy Yard operated in Wallabout Bay (border between Fort Greene and Williamsburg) during
8694-453: The boat seemed gently to bow to the spectators and the town below, then glided quickly down the wooden way. In six minutes and thirty seconds it descended from the summit and re-entered the canal, thus passing a plane one thousand and forty feet long, with a descent of seventy feet, in six and one half minutes. These inclined planes became an internationally renowned tourist attraction. The Elbląg Canal , one of Seven Wonders of Poland , used
8820-482: The borough seal and flag , is Eendraght Maeckt Maght , which translates from early modern Dutch as ' Unity makes strength '. Educational institutions in Brooklyn include the City University of New York 's Brooklyn College , Medgar Evers College , and College of Technology . In the first decades of the 21st century, Brooklyn has experienced a renaissance as a destination for hipsters , with concomitant gentrification , dramatic house-price increases, and
8946-423: The cemetery a necropolis , as he thought the landscaped site should also attract the living. On April 11, 1839, a modification to that act was enacted, changing the corporation to a nonprofit organization . Construction started in May 1839 and the first interment was performed on September 5, 1840. At that point, the cemetery commissioners decided to enclose the site with a long picket fence (later replaced with
9072-429: The cemetery was purchased in 1863, allowing the commissioners to straighten out that border. This era was also associated with the construction of other structures. A receiving tomb was installed in 1853, and around the same time, the ponds were cleaned and landscaped. In addition, several gates to the cemetery were added. The main gate at 5th Avenue and 25th Street was built in 1861–65, followed by other entrances near
9198-429: The cemetery's natural landscaping intact. Much of Douglass's plan is still in place with its original plantings and curving-road systems. The original street names and original cast-iron perimeter fence have been retained, but many of the roads have been paved. The cemetery has been expanded several times. Most of these regions have been landscaped to resemble the original plot, except the area near Fort Hamilton Avenue to
9324-413: The cemetery's service yard; at 9th Avenue and 20th Street; and at 9th Avenue and 37th Street (later removed). In addition, a gatekeeper's house was installed at the original southern entrance in 1848, the "Thirty Vaults" catacombs in 1854, and a well house in 1855. Furthermore, the paths were paved in the 1860s to allow for easier transport within the cemetery. Several additional ponds were carved out through
9450-517: The commander, the tactical withdrawal of all his troops and supplies across the East River in a single night is now seen by historians as one of his most brilliant triumphs. The British controlled the surrounding region for the duration of the war, as New York City was soon occupied and became their military and political base of operations in North America for the remainder of the conflict. The Patriot residents largely fled or were cleared from
9576-417: The day shift and another 12 on the night shift. Every time a rash of burglaries broke out, officials blamed burglars from New York City. Finally, in 1855, a modern police force was created, employing 150 men. Voters complained of inadequate protection and excessive costs. In 1857, the state legislature merged the Brooklyn force with that of New York City. Fervent in the Union cause, the city of Brooklyn played
9702-535: The earlier Central Park ) into the center of the county, as evinced by gradual settlement in the comparatively rustic villages of Windsor Terrace and Kensington in the Town of Flatbush. By century's end, Dean Alvord 's Prospect Park South development (adjacent to the village of Flatbush) would serve as the template for contemporaneous " Victorian Flatbush " micro-neighborhoods and the post-consolidation emergence of outlying districts, such as Midwood and Marine Park . Along with Oak Park, Illinois , it also presaged
9828-589: The entrance itself opened in 1862. It is composed of Belleville, New Jersey brownstone. The sculptured groups on Nova Scotia limestone panels depicting biblical scenes of death and resurrection from the New Testament including Lazarus , The Widow's Son , and Jesus' Resurrection over the gateways are the work of sculptor John M. Moffitt. In between the two gateways is a clock tower in the Flamboyant style. The tower measures 106 feet (32 m) tall. A cemetery office
9954-582: The expedition included Henry Rowe Schoolcraft , Charles C. Trowbridge and James Duane Doty . By most accounts, the expedition successfully completed and even exceeded its mission, particularly in regard to unexpected ethnological observations. Cass had also previously stated that an objective was to ascertain the feasibility of relocating the Iroquois Confederacy from New York, and many Oneida , Brothertown and Stockbridge Indians were removed from New York to Wisconsin (then Michigan Territory ) in
10080-606: The families of New York soldiers who died in war. In 1868, work started on the installation of the Civil War Soldiers' Monument at the highest point in Green-Wood to commemorate hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who fought in the war. The monument was not dedicated until 1876. On December 5, 1876, the Brooklyn Theater Fire claimed the lives of at least 278 individuals, with some accounts reporting over 300 dead. Out of that total, 103 unidentified victims were interred in
10206-557: The first major engagement fought in the American Revolutionary War after independence was declared , and the largest of the entire conflict. British troops forced Continental Army troops under George Washington off the heights near the modern sites of Green-Wood Cemetery , Prospect Park , and Grand Army Plaza . Washington , viewing particularly fierce fighting at the Gowanus Creek and Old Stone House from atop
10332-534: The first monuments was a statue of DeWitt Clinton , built in 1853. There is also a memorial erected by James Brown, president of both Brown Brothers bank and the Collins Line , to the six members of his family lost in the SS ; Arctic disaster of 1854. This incorporates a sculpture of the ship, half-submerged by the waves, as well as a Civil War Memorial. During the American Civil War , Green-Wood Cemetery created
10458-412: The first, kernel incarnation of the City of Brooklyn in 1834. In a parallel development, the Town of Bushwick, farther up the river, saw the incorporation of the Village of Williamsburgh in 1827, which separated as the Town of Williamsburgh in 1840 and formed the short-lived City of Williamsburgh in 1851. Industrial deconcentration in the mid-century was bringing shipbuilding and other manufacturing to
10584-431: The five boroughs of New York City, the most populous county in the state. Brooklyn, at 37,339.9 inhabitants per square mile (14,417.0/km ), is the second most densely populated county in the U.S. after Manhattan (New York County), as of 2022. Had Brooklyn remained an independent city, it would now be the fourth most populous American city after the rest of New York City, Los Angeles , and Chicago . Named after
10710-438: The four sides of the roof is punctuated by dormers with small windows. The corner porches feature stone banisters, and contain four yellow sandstone bas-reliefs sculpted by Moffitt. The west side of the entrance, also a brownstone structure, contains the gatekeeper's residence, a 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 -story structure that is similar in design to the visitor's lounge. Only the center section is 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 stories, while
10836-445: The late 20th century except for a ladies' shelter. In 2008, Green-Wood started to acquire a collection of art pertaining to those buried in the cemetery. Green-Wood Cemetery contains numerous landscape features, which in turn are named after terms that evoke a naturalistic scene. These names include Camellia Path, Halcyon Lake, Oaken Bluff, Sylvan Cliff, and Vista Hill. David Bates Douglass , Green-Wood's landscape architect, mostly kept
10962-540: The local industry. He graduated from Yale College in 1813. Shortly after graduation, he entered service in the War of 1812 and received a commission as Second Lieutenant in command of a corps of miners and sappers. He distinguished himself in the war, participating in the Battle of Lundy's Lane , and receiving a citation and field promotion to First Lieutenant for gallantry at the Siege of Fort Erie . From 1815 until 1831, Douglass
11088-399: The loss of Brooklyn's separate identity as a city was met with consternation by some residents at the time. Many newspapers of the day called the merger the "Great Mistake of 1898", and the phrase still elicits Brooklyn pride among old-time Brooklynites. Brooklyn is 97 square miles (250 km ) in area, of which 71 square miles (180 km ) is land (73%), and 26 square miles (67 km )
11214-484: The main gate at 25th Street to the northwest, which is closest to South Slope / Greenwood Heights , and Fort Hamilton Parkway to the south, which is in Kensington . Two additional gates exist. One of these, at 20th Street and Ninth Avenue, provides access from the northeast and is in Windsor Terrace . The other, at 34th Street and Fourth Avenue, provides access from the southwest and is located next to Sunset Park and
11340-410: The name that its origin has been debated; some have claimed breuckelen means "broken land". The current name, however, is the one that best reflects its meaning. The history of European settlement in Brooklyn spans more than 350 years. The settlement began in the 17th century as the small Dutch-founded town of "Breuckelen" on the East River shore of Long Island , grew to be a sizeable city in
11466-462: The name was shortened to The Brooklyn Daily Eagle ; on September 5, 1938, it was further shortened to Brooklyn Eagle . The establishment of the paper in the 1840s helped develop a separate identity for Brooklynites over the next century. The borough's soon-to-be-famous National League baseball team, the Brooklyn Dodgers , also assisted with this. Both major institutions were lost in the 1950s:
11592-454: The nation. Brooklyn contains dozens of distinct neighborhoods representing many of the major culturally identified groups found within New York City. Among the most prominent are listed below: Over 600,000 Jews , particularly Orthodox and Hasidic Jews , have become concentrated in such historically Jewish areas as Borough Park , Williamsburg , and Midwood , where there are many yeshivas , synagogues , and kosher restaurants, as well as
11718-783: The north, which is flatter because it was acquired last. There are several notable monuments and mausoleums in the cemetery, designed in several styles including the Classical , Egyptian , Gothic , and Romanesque . Some of monuments and mausoleums were designed by popular architects of the time, including Minard Lafever , Richard Upjohn, and Warren and Wetmore . In addition, many tombs contain ornate sculptural decoration. The National Register of Historic Places designation subdivides these monuments into four primary categories: those honoring events or professions; those with architectural significance; those whose graves contain people of historical significance; and "monuments of sculptural interest". Among
11844-433: The northern part of the county. Each of the two cities and six towns in Kings County remained independent municipalities and purposely created non-aligning street grids with different naming systems. However, the East River shore was growing too fast for the three-year-old infant City of Williamsburg; it, along with its Town of Bushwick hinterland, was subsumed within a greater City of Brooklyn in 1855, subsequently dropping
11970-401: The northwest, 36th and 37th Streets to the southwest, Fort Hamilton Parkway to the south, and McDonald Avenue to the east. Green-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838 as a rural cemetery , in a time of rapid urbanization when churchyards in New York City were becoming overcrowded. Described as "Brooklyn's first public park by default long before Prospect Park was created", Green-Wood Cemetery
12096-585: The opening of the Fifth Avenue Elevated station at 25th Street , near the main entrance, proved to be a benefit to lot owners in Green-Wood Cemetery. As a result, in 1876, Green-Wood built the Fort Hamilton gate to accommodate the anticipated extra crowds. By the end of the 19th century, several florists, greenhouses, and monument sellers had opened shops near each of the gates. One such structure
12222-487: The paper closed in 1955 after unsuccessful attempts at a sale following a reporters' strike, and the baseball team decamped for Los Angeles in a realignment of Major League Baseball in 1957. Agitation against Southern slavery was stronger in Brooklyn than in New York, and under Republican leadership, the city was fervent in the Union cause in the Civil War . After the war the Henry Ward Beecher Monument
12348-463: The second, third, and attic floors that face north and south. The roof of the central tower contains a stone chimney. The Green-Wood Cemetery chapel is located near the 25th Street gate. Built in 1911–1913 by Warren and Wetmore , the chapel is located on the site of one of Green-Wood's original ponds. Though it is generally designed in the late Gothic style, its massing is in the Beaux-Arts style. It
12474-638: The southern part of the county. Toward the end of the 19th century, the City of Brooklyn experienced its final, explosive growth spurt. Park Slope was rapidly urbanized, with its eastern summit soon emerging as the city's third "Gold Coast" district alongside Brooklyn Heights and The Hill; notable residents of the era included American Chicle Company co-founder Thomas Adams Jr. and New York Central Railroad executive Clinton L. Rossiter. East of The Hill, Bedford-Stuyvesant coalesced as an upper middle class enclave for lawyers, shopkeepers, and merchants of German and Irish descent (notably exemplified by John C. Kelley,
12600-525: The southern parts of Brooklyn, primarily concentrated in Sunset Park , Bensonhurst , Gravesend , and Homecrest . Brooklyn is the borough that is home to the highest number of Chinatowns in New York City . The largest concentration is in Sunset Park along 8th Avenue, which has become known for its Chinese culture since the opening of the now-defunct Winley Supermarket in 1986 spurred widespread settlement in
12726-452: The succeeding years. Douglass was charged by Cass to lead the project to write, under joint authorship, the official account of the expedition. However, the death of his father-in-law and obligations to his new position as Chair of the Department of Mathematics (including teaching himself French in order to read the most current texts available on calculus) led to personal delays, and in what
12852-512: The tombs of Samuel Morse , William M. Tweed , Lola Montez , Henry Ward Beecher , and Currier and Ives . On the other hand, several monuments commemorate less well-known figures, including a Gothic memorial for 17-year-old Charlotte Canda, and a High Victorian pier designed by William or Edward Potter for their relatives. The gates were designed by Richard Upjohn in Gothic Revival style. There are four gates in total. Two are city landmarks:
12978-410: The turn of the century, an old engine house, stables, and several enclosures were being removed, while waiting rooms and restrooms were added at the southern entrance. During this period, thousands of trees were planted, and roads continued to be graded. Most famous New Yorkers who died during the second half of the 19th century were buried at Green-Wood. Starting in 1862, free interments were offered to
13104-417: The two pavilions to the west and east are 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 stories. The residence's main entrance is through the eastern pavilion, while there is another pavilion on the western facade. Both pavilions have hip roofs of gray slate, and the second floor contains dormers with windows that project from the hip roof. The central "tower" section contains entrances to both the north and south, as well as windows on
13230-444: The war effort. The old main entrance was demolished in 1951, and four years later, the first new crematorium in New York City in a half-century was built at Green-Wood, with a columbarium . By the end of the 1950s, another reservoir had been filled for new lots. More than 1,000 enclosures were removed from 1950 to 1961, the same year that work on a new crematorium began. The columbarium was expanded from 1975 to 1977. However, through
13356-554: The western portion of Queens County , and the county of New York , which by then already included the Bronx , to form the five boroughs of a united City of New York. Andrew Haswell Green and other progressives said yes, and eventually, they prevailed against the Daily Eagle and other conservative forces. In 1894, residents of Brooklyn and the other counties voted by a slight majority to merge, effective in 1898. Kings County retained its status as one of New York State's counties, but
13482-482: The western side of the modern cemetery. There were initially very few burials per year; by 1843, there had been 352 burials total, though the number of burials doubled just in the next year. Throughout the 1840s, several churches were allocated plots in Green-Wood Cemetery. These included the Dutch Protestant Reformed , Episcopal , Presbyterian , Unitarian , and German Lutheran churches of Brooklyn. By
13608-421: The world, Brooklyn has evolved a globally cosmopolitan ambiance of its own, demonstrating a robust and growing demographic and cultural diversity with respect to metrics including nationality, religion, race, and domiciliary partnership . In 2010, 51.6% of the population was counted as members of religious congregations. In 2014, there were 914 religious organizations in Brooklyn, the 10th most of all counties in
13734-484: Was a civil and military engineer, who worked on a broad set of projects throughout his career. For fifteen years he was a professor at the United States Military Academy , and after his resignation from the army he worked as a consulting engineer while holding academic appointments at various colleges and universities. He was the third president of Kenyon College (1841-1845), and when he died in 1849 he
13860-659: Was a member of the Lewis Cass expedition to explore the south shore of Lake Superior . His orders read: You are assigned to accompany a party to be employed in exploring the Southern Coasts and Shores of Lake Superior in the course of the ensuing summer under the direction of Governor Cass of Michigan Territory.... You will join him at Detroit by the first of May at the farthest and when your services will be no longer required by him you will return to West Point, N.Y. and report by letter thence to this Department. Other members of
13986-526: Was a professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point. During this time, he also worked on a variety of other government-sponsored as well as private projects. He consulted on the western section of the Erie Canal, at the request of Governor DeWitt Clinton . In 1815, he married Ann Ellicott, the daughter of Andrew Ellicott , Professor of Mathematics at the academy. In 1820, he
14112-575: Was an acrimonious split from his colleague, Schoolcraft scooped him and published his own account. In 1831, Douglass submitted his resignation to the academy and it was accepted, as his outside projects were becoming more of a distraction. First and foremost was as a consulting engineer for the Morris Canal , in particular as the designer of the Montville inclined plane . As the Newark Eagle reported,
14238-440: Was built downtown to honor a famous local abolitionist . A great victory arch was built at what was then the south end of town to celebrate the armed forces; this place is now called Grand Army Plaza . The number of people living in Brooklyn grew rapidly early in the 19th century. There were 4,402 by 1810, 7,175 in 1820 and 15,396 by 1830. The city's population was 25,000 in 1834, but the police department comprised only 12 men on
14364-410: Was considering constructing such a cemetery on a hilly area to the east of Gowanus Bay . Acts of incorporation for "The Greenwood Cemetery" were passed on April 18, 1838, entitling the corporation to a capital of $ 300,000 and the right to 200 acres (81 ha) of land. David Bates Douglass , Green-Wood's landscape architect, started working on the layout in 1838. He opposed an early suggestion to call
14490-462: Was consolidated in and annexed (along with other areas) to form the current five-borough structure of New York City in accordance to the new municipal charter of " Greater New York ". The borough continues to maintain some distinct culture . Many Brooklyn neighborhoods are ethnic enclaves . With Jews forming around a quarter of its population, the borough has been described as "the most Jewish spot on Earth". Brooklyn's official motto, displayed on
14616-457: Was created following the rededication ceremony of the Civil War Soldiers' Monument. These early graves had either sunk into the soil, been damaged, or had their markers erased before the monument was restored between 2000 and 2002. Further, construction of the last phase of the Hillside Mausoleum began in 2001, and the same year 50 victims of the September 11 attacks were buried there. By 2009, there
14742-409: Was drained. The landscape was in decline by the late 1910s, but this was followed shortly after by dead-tree removals in the 1920s and a five-year road repaving project began in 1924. Road reconstructions continued through the mid-1930s and demolition of enclosures continued. Notably, the clock tower at the 34th Street entrance was demolished in 1941, and iron fences were removed during World War II for
14868-517: Was followed by the restoration of the chapel in the late 1990s, and it reopened in 2000 after having been closed for four decades. In 1999, The Green-Wood Historic Fund, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit institution, was created to continue preservation, beautification , educational programs and community outreach as the current "working cemetery " evolves into a Brooklyn cultural institution . The Historic Fund's Civil War Project, an effort to identify and remember Civil War veterans buried at Green-Wood,
14994-416: Was for 65 acres (26 ha) at the southwest corner of the cemetery, adjacent to the contemporary border of the city of Brooklyn. Another 85 acres (34 ha) to the east was acquired in 1852 through the annexation of land in the then-separate village of Flatbush . Finally, in 1858 another 23 acres (9.3 ha) was acquired at the southeastern corner of the cemetery grounds. A plot at the southeast corner of
15120-422: Was little space for new interments at Green-Wood Cemetery. In December 2010, a memorial was unveiled for the 134 victims of the 1960 New York mid-air collision ; the cemetery contains the common grave in which were placed the remains of unidentified victims . On October 13, 2012, another Angel of Music was installed to replace the one vandalized in 1959, this one made by sculptors Giancarlo Biagi and Jill Burkee,
15246-485: Was made a city landmark in 2016. Following the founding of Mount Auburn Cemetery in Massachusetts in 1831, the leaders of New York City and the then-independent city of Brooklyn began discussing locations for a cemetery of their own. At the time, over 10,000 people were being buried per year in the two cities. The cemetery was the idea of Henry Evelyn Pierrepont, a Brooklyn social leader. As early as 1832, Pierrepont
15372-547: Was so popular that it inspired a competition to design Central Park in Manhattan , as well as Prospect Park nearby. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 and was made a National Historic Landmark in 2006. In addition, the 25th Street gates, the Weir Greenhouse , and the Fort Hamilton Parkway Gate & Green-Wood Cemetery Chapel were separately designated as city landmarks by
15498-438: Was the Weir Greenhouse , located across from the 25th Street entrance; that building is now both a National Register of Historic Places listing and a city landmark. Improvements also continued throughout the late 19th century. In 1871, Border Water was partially eliminated to make extra burial space, and in 1874, the cemetery was slightly expanded to 440 acres (180 ha). Also, an underground drainage system, extra roads, and
15624-534: Was the chair of the Mathematics Department at Hobart College . Douglass was born to Nathaniel and Sarah Douglass in Pompton Township, New Jersey , an iron mining region. His mother's brother was the notable civil engineer, David Stanhope Bates . Although his early education was ordinary, being primarily taught by his mother, he developed a passion for technology under the influence of observation of
15750-522: Was the third president of Kenyon College , serving from 1841 to 1845. He wrote two monographs concerning the reasons for his departure. Other noteworthy projects that Douglass led or was a major contributor in included surveying the Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad route, the design of a major water delivery system for New York City, and the design of two garden cemeteries based on his design of Green-Wood: Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, New York (1845–1846), and Mount Hermon Cemetery (1848), located on
15876-468: Was unveiled to memorialize Louis Moreau Gottschalk . Two weeks later, Hurricane Sandy toppled or damaged at least 292 of the mature trees, 210 gravestones, and 2 mausoleums in the cemetery. The damage was estimated at $ 500,000. In December 2012 the statue The Triumph of Civic Virtue by Frederick MacMonnies was moved to Green-Wood. In August 2013, in partnership with the Connecticut Society of
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