Green-Wood Cemetery (Images of America)

For generations, Green-Wood Cemetery has played an integral part in New York City's cultural history, serving as a gathering place and a cultural repository. Situated in the historic borough of Brooklyn, the thousands of graves and mausoleums within the cemetery's 478 acres are tangible links and reminders to key events and people who made New York City and America what it is today. The monuments read like a who's who of American greatness and include the names of Leonard Bernstein, F. A. O. Schwarz, Charles L. Tiffany, Samuel Morse, and DeWitt Clinton, among others. A national historic landmark since 2006, Green-Wood is considered one of the preeminent cemeteries in the country and is a living display of the evolving funeral traditions of the city and America as a whole. The cemetery was and remains one of the city's largest open green spaces and a century ago was a social venue for picnics, outings, and political events. Through vintage photographs, Green-Wood Cemetery chronicles the cemetery's rich history and documents how its tradition as a park and a popular tourist attraction continues, drawing 300,000 visitors annually.

Alexandra Kathryn Mosca is a writer and funeral director in New York City. She is a regular contributor to magazines such as American Cemetery and American Funeral Director.