tours&events spring 2016 - green-woodof the brooklyn dodgers; the great hitter charlie smith;...

TOURS & EVENTS SPRING 2016

March 5Sat 1:00 – 3:00 pM

March 12Sat 3:00 – 5:00 pM

Washington’s immortals

Cremation: history and the modern ProCess

BaseBall greats of green‑Wood

april 2Sat 1:00 – 3:00 pM

March 6Sun 1:00 – 4:00 pM

our streets, our stories: Community sCanning event

In August 1776, the American Revolution was on the verge of a disastrous end. General Washington found his troops outmanned and outmaneuvered at the Battle of Brooklyn, fought on land now part of Green‑Wood. But thanks to a single heroic regiment, the “Immortal 400,” Washington was able to evacuate his men and they lived to fight another day.

Patrick O’Donnell, bestselling military historian, tells this story in his new book, Washington’s Immortals. Join O’Donnell to discuss the 1st Maryland Regiment, whose actions in many key battles changed the course of history. Using primary sources including letters, diaries, and pension applications, O’Donnell pieces together the stories of these brave men and, in the process, the larger story of the revolution. After the talk, a trolley tour will feature stops including the hallowed ground on which the Battle of Brooklyn was fought.

TalkFree

Trolley Tour$15 for members of Green‑Wood and BHS/$20 for non‑members.

Team up with Brooklyn Public Library to share your Brooklyn memories with the world! Objects from our past can help tell a greater story about our city, but many of these items may be sitting, forgotten, in apartments and basements all over the borough. Our Streets, Our Stories encourages Brooklynites to dig out these items! Bring your old photographs, fliers or documents — anything that tells the story of Brooklyn and its residents. How does it work? In Green‑Wood’s Historic Chapel, Library staff will scan your item while you wait. They’ll give it back to you right away, along with a flash drive containing a high resolution copy of your item. Each scanned item will be added to the library’s collection, and just like that your own past will become part of the larger history of the borough of Brooklyn. By contributing and sharing your materials, you are influencing how your neighborhood, and city, will be remembered!

You’ll also enjoy a small exhibition on Green‑Wood’s own collection of historic Brooklyn memories.

In the ChapelFree

What is cremation? How long have we been doing it, and how does it work? Is it the right choice for you or your family? Amy Cunningham leads this tour of cremation’s history and its impact on the present and future of funerals. You’ll learn about the earliest known cremation in Australia 32,000 years ago, the pagan cremations in ancient Rome, and how Judaism’s consistent objection to cremation led to 1,500 years of Christian burial. Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, Madame Helena Blavatsky, Jessica Mitford, Ann Landers and Reverend Billy Graham will all make appearances in this engaging, sometimes jolly talk. You’ll also learn how to choose an end‑of‑life mode of disposition that expresses your own beliefs and values. After the talk, you will tour Green‑Wood’s crematory with a member of the crematory staff, and enjoy the chance for discussions and questions at a short reception.

Amy Cunningham is a Brooklyn‑based funeral director and death educator with a passion for helping families arrange dignified, distinctive funeral and memorial services. A former journalist, Amy’s fresh perspective earned her the title of one of nine top funeral innovators.

TalkFree

Batter up! To ring in the 2016 season, we’ll welcome Tom Gilbert, member of the Society for Baseball Research (SABR – the folks who brought you “Moneyball”) and author of a new book on baseball’s formative years, for a tour of the fascinating ball‑playing pioneers interred at Green‑Wood.

With Tom and Green‑Wood Historian Jeff Richman, you’ll visit the monuments and markers of Henry Chadwick, the Father of Baseball, who invented the game’s scoring system; James Creighton, baseball’s first national star; Charles Ebbets, owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers; the great hitter Charlie Smith; and many others who played a role in making baseball America’s National Pastime.


In the Chapel

april 30 Sat 1:00 – 3:00 pM

april 9Sat 1:00 – 3:00 pM

april 24Sun 1:00 – 3:00 pM

designing for death: green‑Wood’s extraordinary mausoleums

all dogs go to heaven gangland neW york: the PlaCes and faCes of moB history

On April 10, 1886, Henry Bergh founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on the principle that animals, just like humans, are entitled to kind and humane treatment and should be protected under the law. Today, the ASPCA is the oldest animal welfare organization in the country and their legacy in animal rights and protection is unmatched.

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the ASPCA, we celebrate Green‑Wood’s furry permanent residents! While Green‑Wood is almost entirely a burial space for humans, the 478 acres hold their fair share of animal burials, too. Expert tour guide Ruth Edebohls leads this trolley tour to visit grave sites of dogs including Gypsy, Laddie, Little Dace, Trilby and Rex, a horse who fought in the Union Army, and others. Not only will you hear great tales of these beloved animals, but many of the monuments feature wonderful animal depictions carved in stone.


There are over 700 mausoleums dotting the Green‑Wood landscape, and although they are much smaller in scale than the great buildings of New York, they are not lacking for architectural significance and merit. Scores of prominent New Yorkers are buried in Green‑Wood and oftentimes, the same architects who were designing impressive homes in the city were also tapped to build within Green‑Wood’s 478 acres. Join expert tour guide Ruth Edebohls for a look at the fabulous architectural designs hidden within Green‑Wood’s rolling hills. You’ll visit structures by Ernest Flagg, Richard Upjohn and Son, Stanford White and more.


From the Bowery Boys and the Five Points Gang in the 19th century, to the rise of the Jewish “Kosher Nostra” and the ascendance of the Italian Mafia, mobsters have played a major role in the city’s history, lurking just around the corner or inside that nondescript building. A cadre of powerful and often dangerous men once held sway over myriad New York neighborhoods – their home turf – and some of those men now rest in Green‑Wood. Join author Anthony M. DeStefano as he traces organized criminal activity in the five boroughs from the 19th century to today. DeStefano will illuminate not only the exploits of New York gangsters, but also the real‑life, New York locations of some of the deadliest and most significant mob action.

TalkFree


In the Chapel

May 5 thu 6:30 – 8:30 pM

May 22 Sun 8:15 – 10:15 pM

food of the dead: a Culinary history of the funeral

moonlight Walking tour

May 30Mon 2:30 – 6:00 pM

At the end of an early American funeral, participants were given a cookie: spiced with caraway, and stamped with a special design, they were often kept for years as a memento of the departed. Although mourning traditions have changed over time, and vary from place to place, what they have in common is food and drink. Join historic gastronomist Sarah Lohman for this talk on the culinary traditions surrounding funerals throughout American history. You’ll learn about funerary customs through the years, plus taste beer from Midas’s tomb, funeral cakes, and Mormon funeral potatoes.

Talk$20 for members of Green‑Wood and BHS/$25 for non‑members.

Cash bar available at the event (free for Key Holder members).

Armed with a flashlight and the full moon’s brilliance, fearless trekkers will explore intriguing tombstones and the haunting catacombs with Green‑Wood historian Jeff Richman. Look out for the spirits of illustrious cemetery residents like Boss Tweed, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Leonard Bernstein and Jean‑Michel Basquiat. The skeptical can simply enjoy the frisson of nighttime skulking, accompanied by live accordion music. Please bring a flashlight to light your way.

Walking Tour $15 for members of Green‑Wood and BHS/$20 for non‑members.

memorial day Commemoration

2:30 pMannual MeMorial Day concertBring a blanket and enjoy this free NYC favorite. The ISO Symphonic Band, founded in 1995 to sponsor talented students throughout New York City and led by ISO’s inimitable founder and conductor Brian P. Worsdale, will feature the works of Green‑Wood permanent residents including Fred Ebb, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Leonard Bernstein, and many others.

Concert Free. Food and drink from local vendors available throughout the concert.

5:00 pMSpecial trolley tourA special trolley tour with Green‑Wood Historian Jeff Richman will follow the Memorial Day concert, featuring Green‑Wood highlights and veteran connections.


Green‑Wood thanks the Brooklyn Daily Eagle for its generous sponsorship of this event.

In the Chapel

free fridays! February 5th, March 4th, April 1st

Explore Brooklyn Historical Society with friends and family at these special late‑night gallery hours! On the first Friday of the month this winter and spring, enjoy a beer, live music, and open galleries at BHS!

Hidden Brooklyn: Green‑Wood’s Art Collection Thursday, March 24, 6:30 pm

Green‑Wood’s President, Richard Moylan, takes us behind‑the‑scenes to view the impressive art collection he has amassed, which features paintings by and portraits of Green‑Wood permanent residents.$15/$10 for BHS and GW Members. Tickets at hiddenbkgw.eventbrite.com

tree Pruning WorkshoPMondays March 7, 14, 21, 28. 3:00pm to 5:00pm

A thoughtful and well executed pruning will keep your plant looking great and growing strong. Learn how to do just that during this four‑part course that combines classroom study with hands–on practice. In‑depth workshops will examine topics including plant structure and physiology; correct pruning techniques and tools; and pruning timing. A variety of plant types will be covered, including shrubs, conifers, deciduous plants, and hedges. Come dressed for field work, and bring bypass pruners if you have them. Workshop taught by Bill Logan, a certified arborist, author, and award‑winning expert in tree assessment. He has taught at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Barbara, and is currently on staff at the New York Botanical Garden.

$250 for members of Green‑Wood and BHS/$300 for non‑members. No single‑class reservations available.

tree i.d. Walk Saturday, May 14th, 1:00pm to 3:00pm

Green‑Wood is home to over 7,000 trees, and boasts one of the largest collections of mature trees in the city. On this walk, join arborist Bill Logan and an expert Green‑Wood guide for a tour that teaches you how to identify trees based on their leaves, bark, roots, and form. Enjoy a spring day in nature and learn something, too!

$15 for members of Green‑Wood and BHS/$20 for non‑members.

Learn how to care for, identify, and better connect with plant life in Green‑Wood–

your neighborhood arboretum!

trees demystified

marCh Chester Higgins Jr. and Brooklyn’s African Diaspora Thursday, March 3, 6:30 pm

State Senator Velmanette Montgomery introduces acclaimed New York Times photographer Chester Higgins Jr., who has documented New York’s African Diaspora for over 40 years, with images that range from the Caribbean Festival to African American Hebrews in Bed‑Stuy. View these remarkable images as Higgins muses on his work with current City Council Member Laurie Cumbo, who founded MoCADA, Brooklyn’s first Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts.$10/$5 for BHS and GW Members. Tickets at chesterhiggins.eventbrite.com

The Price of Nice Nails: Nearly One Year Later Tuesday, March 22, 6:30 pm

In 2015, New York Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir wrote a series of articles that brought to light allegations of abuse and exploitative labor practices in the city’s nail salon industry, sending a shock wave that reached salon customers and immigrant advocates and caused city and state lawmakers to act. Join longtime labor reporter Steven Greenhouse in discussion with Maslin Nir as they explore her high‑impact articles and what has been happening in salons and with NYC’s immigrant workers over the past year.$5/Free for BHS and GW members. Tickets at priceofnails.eventbrite.com

disCover more Brooklyn history

Brookly N HistoriCAl soCiety 128 PIERREPONT STREET (CORNER OF PIERREPONT & CLINTON)

BROOKLYNHISTORY.ORG (718) 222-4111

tHis sPriNg At BrooklyN HistoriCAl soCiety

Founded in 1838 as one of America’s first rural cemeteries, Green‑Wood Cemetery soon developed an international reputation for its magnificent beauty and became the fashionable place to be buried. By 1860, Green‑Wood was attracting 500,000 visitors a year, rivaling Niagara Falls as the country’s greatest tourist attraction. Crowds flocked to Green‑Wood to enjoy family outings, carriage rides and sculpture viewing in the finest of first generation American landscapes. Green‑Wood’s popularity helped inspire the creation of public parks, including New York City’s Central and Prospect Parks. The Green‑Wood Historic Fund is a registered 501(c)3 not‑for‑profit membership organization that works to maintain Green‑Wood Cemetery’s monuments and buildings of historical, cultural, and architectural significance; to advance public knowledge and appreciation; and to preserve the natural habitat of one of New York City’s first green spaces.

Historic trolley tours

Every Wednesday, Second Sunday and Last Sunday of Each Month – 1:00 to 3:00 PMExperience the most magnificent and historic 478 acres in NYC.

March 2, 9, 13, 16, 23, 27, 30 April 6, 10, 13, 20, 24, 27 May 4, 8, 11, 18, 25, 29

$10 for members of Green‑Wood and BHS/$15 for non‑members. Reservations strongly encouraged.

tickets To make a reservation for any tour or program, call (718) 210‑3080 or visit www.green‑wood.com/toursevents.

Members of the Brooklyn Historical Society enjoy member prices for all tours and programs. Add “BHS” to your member ID (ex. 382BHS) during online checkout or call.

©2016 The Green‑Wood Historic Fund

COVER PHOTO: SWEET GUM PATH (MICHAEL GERBINO)

DESIGN: ARCHIGRAFIKA / ILLUSTRATIONS: HOLLY GERBINO / PHOTOGRAPHS: OUR STREETS, OUR STORIES: BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY, BROOKLYN COLLECTION / CREMATION: PBDW ARCHITECTS / ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN: TRISH MAYO / GANGLAND: ANTHONY DESTEFANO / FOOD OF THE DEAD: MARIA TAYLOR, GOVERNOR WARNER MANSION / MOONLIGHT WALKING TOUR: STEVEN ACRES, STEVENACR.ES

(718) 210-3080 • [email protected] • GREEN-WOOD.COM

research your FamilyAs one of New York’s oldest institutions, Green‑Wood is an indispensable resource for genealogists and family historians. Our records, estimated to hold information on millions of individuals alive today, are unique to Green‑Wood – that’s why it’s not just genealogy; it’s “Green‑ealogy.”

Start the research process today at green‑wood.com/genealogy.

BeCome a memBer

Green‑WooD.coM/MeMBerShip

tours&events spring 2016 - green-woodof the brooklyn dodgers; the great hitter charlie smith;...

Documents