Having heard the magnificent reputation of Green-wood Cemetery, I hopped on the R train once after work on a summer Friday.  I had recently started reading David McCullough’s The Great Bridge, in which he shared the quote of a famous architecture critic write in The New York Times:

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”.

The gothic style main entrance from the Park Slope neighborhood is reminiscent of many entrances I’ve seen over in the UK. These grounds are best traversed with a vehicle, particularly in the 103°F summer heat on this day, but alas I was on foot.

The cemetery’s 560,000 permanent residents are scattered across its 478 acres in a gorgeous, intricately designed landscaping, complete with man-made hills and ponds.

I admit, during this first 2-hour visit, I only covered about one quarter of the grounds (perhaps a future post will be dedicated to the remaining acreage) but was pleasantly surprised by the neighborhoods I saw. A view of the Manhattan skyline is visible from a few high places and the avenue and lane signs were of particular interest to me.

But by far, the most surprising occurrence during my visit was getting accidentally locked in the grounds and having to trek back to the main entrance before it got too dark and emerged from the grounds a hot, sweaty, foot-achy mess and, as any good Crown Heights resident would do, stopped for a beer and a slice at Roscoe’s to finish off my late afternoon adventure.