Green-Wood Cemetery
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 the northwest, 36th and 37th Streets to the southwest, Fort Hamilton Parkway to the south, and McDonald Avenue to the east.
Green-Wood Cemetery | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
U.S. National Historic Landmark | |
New York City Landmark No. 0149, 1197, 1233
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The Gothic revival entrance to the cemetery at 25th Street, designed by Richard M. Upjohn | |
| Location | 500 25th Street, Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
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| Coordinates | 40°39′09″N 73°59′28″W |
| Area | 478 acres (193 ha) |
| Built | 1838 |
| Architect | Cemetery: David Bates Douglass Gates: Richard M. Upjohn Chapel: Warren & Wetmore Weir Greenhouse: G. Curtis Gillespie |
| NRHP reference No. | 97000228 |
| NYCL No. | 0149, 1197, 1233 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | March 8, 1997 |
| Designated NHL | September 20, 2006 |
| Designated NYCL | Gates: April 19, 1966 Weir Greenhouse: April 13, 1982 Fort Hamilton Parkway Gate & Green-Wood Cemetery Chapel: April 12, 2016 |
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 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 the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission at various times.