Special Event
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Preserving Brooklyn
Some of the very best work in historic preservation – the restoration of old structures and monuments that give a city its character and history – is being done right here in Brooklyn. Whether at Green-Wood, with its tens of thousands of gravestones, mausoleums, stained glass windows, and landmarked structures, or across the borough, these important projects are keeping Brooklyn in the forefront of the field. Come hear about best practices that ensure that our most beautiful structures do not vanish from the borough’s ever-changing landscape.
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Altered States: Mediums, Mambos, and Michael Jackson
In this illustrated presentation, award-winning photographer and author Shannon Taggart will share original photographs from her 17 year-long exploration of séances and the endeavor to blur the lines between life and death. She will discuss the curious ways that Spiritualist mediums, Vodou practitioners, and also the “King of Pop” Michael Jackson have used altered states of consciousness in their quests to access invisible realms. Her photographs have been exhibited and featured internationally in TIME, New York Times Magazine, Discover, and Newsweek. Taggart’s book, SÉANCE: Spiritualist Ritual and the Search for Ectoplasm, will be released in 2019.
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(Sold Out) Mushrooming 101
While the colorful trees and migrating birds of Green-Wood get lots of buzz (and Instagram posts), visitors might not know about the bounty of mushrooms sprouting throughout the cemetery’s 478 verdant acres. Ethan Crenson, a longtime member of the New York Mycological Society leads an exploration of Green-Wood’s fungi. Learn the basics of identifying mushroom species and the crucial differences between edible and poisonous varieties. This tour is a great opportunity for novice and expert mycologists alike to gain important insights for the next hike in the woods or trip to the farmers market.
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Even More Tiffany
Green-Wood is home to a spectacular collection of stained glass windows designed by prominent artists of nineteenth century, including Louis Comfort Tiffany and John La Farge. Join Lindsy Parrott (director and curator at the Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass), Julie Sloan (a leading expert on and conservator of American stained glass), Kent Watkins (biographer of Mary Tillinghast, a little-known, but immensely talented stained glass artist who is interred at Green-Wood), and Green-Wood Historian Jeff Richman for the second part of this incredibly popular tour. Your guides will share their expertise while guiding you across the Cemetery’s 478 acres in the comfort of the Green-Wood’s trolley, between stops at historic mausoleums.
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Preserving Identity
This trolley tour will focus on the monuments of immigrants and underrepresented groups, for whom written records, newspaper clippings, and obituaries are often nonexistent. And for whom, the gravestone and cemetery records – an oft overlooked resource – are the only way to preserve their legacy. While all New Yorkers play in important role in the lives of their families and their communities, some – especially in the nineteenth century – leave very few traces for posterity.
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Death Café
Green-Wood Cemetery 500 25th Street, Brooklyn, NY, United StatesThe Death Café is inspired by the centuries-old European salon (or café), an informal gathering to discuss philosophical, political or scientific ideas. In 2011, British entrepreneur Jon Underwood brought this concept to discussions of the most universal topic of all: death. Underwood’s intention was to provide an opportunity to “increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their lives.” Today, there are over 4,400 Death Cafes in 26 countries around the world.
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Scandals, Scalawags, and Murder Most Foul (Sold Out)
Green-Wood is the final resting place of many famous and heroic figures in American history, but some of its deceased denizens have a more blemished reputation. Veteran tour guide Ruth Edebohls leads a thrilling exploration featuring the lives of murderers and the murdered, sullied adulteress Elizabeth Tilton and famed courtesan Lola Montez, as well as gangsters (Albert Anastasia and Joe Gallo), conmen, and schemers who count among Green-Wood’s most notorious permanent residents.
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Dead Distillers Trolley Tour (Sold Out)
Green-Wood is teaming up with our friends at Kings County Distillery to delve into the storied past of distilling in Brooklyn. The afternoon kicks off with a trolley tour of the cemetery’s “permanent residents” with whiskey connections, including the one and only casualty of the Brooklyn Whiskey Wars of the late 1860s and early 1870s. Afterward, the trolley will head to Kings County Distillery in the Brooklyn Navy Yard where visitors will see first-hand how whiskey is made and enjoy a tasting of four delectable varieties.
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Death Café
Green-Wood Cemetery 500 25th Street, Brooklyn, NY, United StatesThe Death Café is inspired by the centuries-old European salon (or café), an informal gathering to discuss philosophical, political or scientific ideas. In 2011, British entrepreneur Jon Underwood brought this concept to discussions of the most universal topic of all: death. Underwood’s intention was to provide an opportunity to “increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their lives.” Today, there are over 4,400 Death Cafes in 26 countries around the world.
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Birding in Peace
Before our gates open to the general public, birding expert Rob Jett leads these peaceful Sunday morning walking tours to discover the birds that make Green-Wood their home – at least temporarily. By September, offspring of these nesting birds will be on their own. Returning warblers will be in their less flamboyant fall plumage. Large numbers of blackbirds, flycatchers, sparrows, vireos, and swallows will also be passing through. By October, waterfowl are returning, and we’ll look for raptors heading south. November will bring back our overwintering feathered denizens from the north.
Green-Wood’s public programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, as well as the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.