FALL 2006 ›› GREEN-WOOD: NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK ›› ASPCA COMMEMORATES FOUNDER ›› SAVE OUR HISTORY ›› THE GREEN-WOOD HISTORIC FUND FALL ’06: WELCOME NOTES FROM THE GEM n September 27, 2006, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced that The Green-Wood OCemetery would be the first cemetery in New York State and only the fourth in the nation to be designated a National Historic Landmark. Thanks to all those who ›› 2006 has been a magnificent year for books about perma- supported us in this endeavor, especially Senators nent residents of Green-Wood and we have tried to capital- Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton; ize on all of them. Debby Applegate spoke to a full Historic Chapel crowd on her new book on Henry Ward Beecher and Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez; Mayor Michael R. we have lined up for later this year Robert C. Williams, who Bloomberg; President of the Borough of Brooklyn Marty will speak on his well-received book on Horace Greeley, and Markowitz; Landmarks Preservation Commissioner New York Times reporter James Barron, who will speak on Robert B. Tierney; Bernadette Castro, Commissioner of his book on the making of a Steinway Grand piano. Of course, all of these talks are followed by walks to the the NY State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic gravesites. The unheralded Green-Wood resident Charles Preservation; Kent Barwick, President of the Municipal Tyson Yerkes is the subject of a new book, Robber Baron by Art Society; Peg Breen, President of the New York John Franch, that received an excellent review in the Wall Landmarks Conservancy; Jay A. DiLorenzo, President of Street Journal. We are attempting to coax the shy Mr. the Preservation League of New York State; Susan Franch to New York right now. Henshaw Jones, President of the Museum of the City of ›› Openhousenewyork was again a tremendous success on New York; Deborah F. Schwartz, President of the October 7th, attracting over 1,000 to Green-Wood for a Brooklyn Historical Society; Simeon Bankoff, Executive magnificent performance of “Angels and Accordions” by Director of the Historic Districts Council and William C. Martha Bowers’ Dance Theatre Etcetera. On October 15th, we hosted our first “Walk Around the World” through the Clendaniel, President of Mount Auburn Cemetery. The Cemetery to raise funds for the treatment of autism. designation would also not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our consultants, ›› Our first major exhibit, “Blessed are the Merciful: Pressley Associates, particularly Lauren G. Meier, and Celebrating Henry Bergh and the ASPCA,” was well- received and extended several times, closing finally on Quennell Rothschild & Partners, particularly Beth August 27th, after entertaining over 3,500 visitors. Franz, and our historian Jeffrey I. Richman. ›› As evidenced by several stories in this issue, our connec- Our events and programs are not possible without your tion to Brooklyn’s school children continues strong. We financial support. Please consider a gift to The Green- plan on strengthening this relationship even further in the future. Wood Historic Fund. Preserve a monument, plant a tree or support our partnerships and programming. Every ›› We were all saddened to learn of the passing on tax-deductible dollar helps. September 19th of Evelyn Ortner, our good friend and preservation pioneer. The group founded by the Ortners, Preservation Volunteers, continues to provide support to Enjoy and thanks for your continued support. Green-Wood’s preservation efforts. Our deepest sympathies go out to Everett, her husband of 53 years. She will be Richard J. Moylan, President greatly missed. ›› who routinely tours the grounds of Green-Wood in the Global Electric Motorcar. 1›› GREEN-WOOD ›› U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne CEMETERY recently made it official when he announced Green-Wood’s designation as a National Historic Landmark. In doing so, he recognized DESIGNATED our significance in preserving and interpreting the heritage and history of early New York. NATIONAL HISTORIC Landmark designation is an honor bestowed on fewer than 2,500 sites nationwide. It is the high- LANDMARK est recognition accorded by our nation to his- toric properties that hold exceptional value in representing or illustrating an important theme, event or person in the history of the THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT HAS United States. FORMALLY DECLARED WHAT FRIENDS AND In its announcement the Department of the Interior noted that Green-Wood is “the largest SUPPORTERS OF GREEN-WOOD CEMETERY and among the most influential of the early HAVE LONG KNOWN REEN OOD IS A American rural cemeteries, carefully sited with : G -W dramatic views of the city and harbor below.” NATIONAL TREASURE. ›› “It is outstanding for its cohesive, picturesque character, integrated Gothic Revival architec- ture, and high integrity,” the Department said. The announcement pointed out that Green- Wood is the most extensive and intact land- scape created in alignment with the principles of Andrew Jackson Downing, the most promi- nent landscape architect of the American ante- bellum period. Green-Wood is the first still-operating cemetery in New York State to receive the federal land- mark designation. Founded in 1838, it has remained a popular tourist attraction since the 1850s, when it attracted 500,000 visitors per year. To qualify for historic landmark status, Green- Wood had to successfully complete a rigorous 18-month process that included submitting an application, preparing extensive supporting materials and testifying before the National Park Service. National Historic Landmarks can be actual sites where significant historical events occurred, places where prominent Americans worked or sites that represent the ideas that shaped our nation. ‹‹2 GREEN-WOOD VIEWS: A PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNAL ›› ›› [PHOTOS TOP & RIGHT: JEFF RICHMAN] ›› [PHOTO: AARON BRASHEAR] SUMMER & FALL IN GREEN-WOOD ›› [PHOTO: CHESTER BURGER] 3›› ›› [PHOTO: CHESTER BURGER] ›› [PHOTO: AARON BRASHEAR] ›› Are you an aspiring photographer or just someone who enjoys photographing Green-Wood? If so, we’d love to hear (and see) from you. E-mail digital images of your photos to [email protected] and they may appear in the next issue of The Arch. Make sure to include your name, home town and date of the photo. We’ll contact you if we have chosen your photo(s). Please only send one photo per e-mail.Image should be in JPEG format and a minimum of 5x7 inches at 300 DPI. Note: All photos submitted may be used by Green-Wood in promotional collateral without prior consent from the photographer unless otherwise noted. ›› [PHOTO: JEFF RICHMAN] ‹‹4 THE GREEN-WOOD HISTORIC FUND HELPS SAVE OUR HISTORY P.S. 230’S “GREENWOOD HEIGHTS, THEN AND NOW” PROJECT IS NOW COMPLETE THANKS TO THE HISTORY CHANNEL’S GRANT TO THE HISTORIC FUND. ›› ›› On December 4, 2005, The History Channel awarded The Green-Wood Historic Fund a $9,000 Save Our History grant to partner with Public School 230 for a “Greenwood Heights, Then and Now” project to preserve the rich history of Greenwood Heights. The Green-Wood Historic Fund was one of 26 history organizations that received The History Channel’s second annual Save Our History National Grants in 2005/2006. These grants help fund innovative, educa- tional projects designed to bring communities together, actively engage children in the preservation of their local history and communicate the importance of saving local history for future generations. ›› P.S. 230 fourth graders [top] and the completed map of Three fourth-grade classes, led by Donna Taylor, Nicole Greenwood Heights as it looked on August 27, 1776 [center]. Nelson and Diane Bobrow, gathered information from cen- ›› [left to right] Donna Taylor, Ileana Cuollo, Diane Bobrow, sus and local government data to help them construct a Nicole Nelson and Lowes Store Manager. topographical map of the neighborhood as it looked in 1776, the year the Battle of Brooklyn took place in what is now Green-Wood Cemetery. By focusing on the first battle in which we fought as a nation, the students learned to position their local history within the greater context of national history. Artistically assembled with the help of Ileana Cuollo, who helped the students with all art-related aspects of the proj- ect, the finished topographical map will be housed beneath Plexiglas and exhibited both at Green-Wood and the school. It will also be shared with classes citywide. 5›› ›› For the third year in a row, The Green-Wood “ANGELS AND Historic Fund hosted “Angels and Accordions,” a site-specific performance and walking tour ACCORDIONS” A designed by choreographer Martha Bowers of Brooklyn’s Dance/Theatre/Etcetera. This year’s program featured live accordion music com- TRIUMPH AGAIN posed by Guy Klucesvek and Bob Goldberg. The event was presented as a part of open- ON OCTOBER 7, THE HILLS OF GREEN-WOOD housenewyork (OHNY), a celebration of New CEMETERY ONCE AGAIN CAME ALIVE WITH York City’s best architecture and design. Green-Wood Cemetery has been one of OHNY’S DANCERS, SINGERS AND ACCORDIONISTS. ›› most popular sites since its inception and this year was no exception: more than 1000 visitors took advantage of the opportunity to see the cemetery in this different way—as a joyous background for music and dance. Cemetery Historian Jeff Richman led two tours of the cemetery, answering questions and shar- ing the cemetery’s history with its guests. It was particularly gratifying that most of the visitors were discovering the wonders of Green-Wood Cemetery for the first time. Positive feedback abounded—it was hard to tell whether the audience or the cast was happier with the performance. On each tour, the crowds enthusiastically greeted the news of Green- Wood’s recent designation as a National Historic Landmark with rousing applause. And the cemetery, thanks to the work of Super- intendent Art Presson and the men and women who work on the grounds, never looked better.