This popular event is back for 2017 and better than ever! Niblo’s Garden was once one of New York City’s largest and most elaborate theaters (at Prince and Broadway in SoHo) replete with sparkling lanterns, fountains, a festive open-air restaurant and bar, and featuring the top musicians, dancers, and entertainers of the time. Owner and impresario, William Niblo, an eccentric himself, was known to invite friends to the site of his elaborate mausoleum at Green-Wood, built for his dearly departed wife, turning the lakeside burial plot into a pleasure garden of its own. He was said to have visited the mausoleum on a daily basis, bringing friends, picnicking and even stocking the nearby pond with goldfish.

Green-Wood is an inspirational landscape any time of day, but it is especially wondrous after sunset. Sean Sime, who has over 20 years of professional experience in journalism, fashion, and documentary photography, will lead an exclusive after-hours workshop in twilight and nighttime photography to capture the atmospheric beauty of the cemetery.

A peaceful hush falls over Green-Wood’s each night. In near darkness, centuries-old monuments stand guard over those laid to permanently rest within. This year, Atlas Obscura and Green-Wood Cemetery are collaborating to present The Secret Mausoleum Club, as we open the cemetery’s historic gates and selected mausoleums for an extraordinary series of after-hours explorations through history.

The Ninth of Av (Tisha b'Av) is a solemn date on the Hebrew calendar, marking the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem and the loss of an ancient and sacred civilization. A stunning and historic site, Green-Wood's grounds will provide us a unique entry into the meaning of this holy day and the sacredness of life.

Learn to prune like a professional arborist during this intensive workshop spanning three separate sessions. Start with classroom instruction in the principles of proper pruning at the world-famous Brooklyn Botanic Garden (on two consecutive Thursday evenings). Then come to Green-Wood for hands-on practice with an assortment of small trees and shrubs. For the Green-Wood session, attendees are encouraged bring lunch and hand pruners if they have them.

The 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.

With $3,000 hidden on his body and the backing of the Emergency Rescue Committee, Varian Fry flew from New York to Marseilles in August, 1940, to begin one of the least known, but most heroic actions of the twentieth century. Carrying a list of 200 luminaries in the fields of art, science, literature and medicine, Fry began his dangerous rescue of some of the world’s most famous artists who were then trapped in Nazi-occupied France. By the time he returned to New York a little over a year later, Fry had saved 2,000 souls, some famous, some unknown.

In the 21st-century, musicians love the unmatched acoustic quality of this unique studio of stone. Join Atlas Obscura and Green-Wood for the premiere of a series of curated concerts featuring artists specially selected to perform in this coveted setting. Without question, this will be New York City’s most unique musical experience.

A peaceful hush falls over Green-Wood each night. In the darkness, centuries-old monuments stand guard over those laid to permanently rest within. This year, Atlas Obscura and Green-Wood Cemetery are collaborating to present The Secret Mausoleum Club, as we open the cemetery’s historic gates and selected mausoleums for an extraordinary series of after-hours explorations through history.

What is cremation? How long have we been doing it, and how does it work? Amy Cunningham, death educator, leads this presentation of cremation's history and its impact on present-day and future funerals. This engaging and sometimes even light-hearted exploration will also touch on how to choose an end-of-life mode of disposition that expresses your own beliefs and values. Afterward, you will have the opportunity to visit the crematory with Gema LaBoccetta, Green-Wood's Crematory Manager, then chat with Amy and other attendees at a short reception.

It's a shame no one wants to talk to them at parties, because obituary writers are a surprisingly funny bunch. Ten hours before newspapers hit neighborhood doorsteps—and these days, ten minutes before news hits the web—an obit writer is racing against deadline to sum up a long and newsworthy life in under 1000 words. The details of these lives are then deposited into the cultural memory amid the daily beat of war, politics, and football scores. 

It’s back! One of Green-Wood’s most popular events returns with an afternoon of exploring some of the cemetery’s most impressive and elaborate 19th-century mausoleums. Venture inside the elaborate bronze gates of these ancient stone structures to explore stunning examples of Green-Wood’s distinct architecture. At each location, docents will offer a glimpse into the lives of the personalities who now rest in these opulent edifices.

Green-Wood celebrates LGBT History month with a special trolley tour illuminating permanent residents who have made a lasting impact on American culture in the 19th and 20th centuries. You will visit the graves of important LGBT figures including “It’s Raining Men” co-writer, Paul Jabara; sculptor of Central Park’s Bethesda Fountain, Emma Stebbins; activists, Drs. Emery Hetrick and Damien Martin; and Broadway lyricist, Fred Ebb, among others. Tour goers will mark each grave with a rainbow flag.

Join us on a special October evening to welcome New York Times bestselling author Caitlin Doughty to celebrate the release of her new book From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death. In an illustrated talk, she will recount some of the traditions detailed in the book, which include the Indonesian practice of dressing and living with the dead, the Bolivian practice of natitas (cigarette-smoking, wish-granting human skulls); and the Japanese kotsuage, in which relatives use chopsticks to pluck their loved-ones’ bones from cremation ashes.

This day-long symposium is dedicated to the intersections of art and death to celebrate the publication of Death: A Graveside Companion, edited and curated by Morbid Anatomy creator, Joanna Ebenstein, and featuring largely unseen artworks from The Richard Harris death collection. Presenters will include cultural critic, Mark Dery; medical historian, Michael Sappol; Evan Michelson of Obscura Antiques and the TV series Oddities; hair artist and art historian, Karen Bachmann; filmmaker, Eva Aridjis; photographer, Shannon Taggart; Bruce Goldfarb of Baltimore's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner; medical illustrator, Marie Dauenheimer; Morbid Anatomy's Joanna Ebenstein and Laetitia Barbier; and more. Talks, screenings, and show-and-tells will span Edgar Allen Poe and the beautiful corpse, the allure of Victorian hair art, death in Mexico, The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, spiritualism, medical models, and the history of the guillotine.

Matthew Urbanski, a principal in the firm of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA), is the lead landscape architect of Brooklyn Bridge Park, among other distinguished projects worldwide. Urbanski brings his extensive design knowledge to re-think Green-Wood's entrance - the Come In project - an undertaking currently in the planning phase. Urbanski will discuss the concepts and challenges of working at Green-Wood and other historic sites, as well as a wide range of additional innovative work by MVVA. The Come In project is inspired by the restoration of Green-Wood's Weir Greenhouse and poses the question, "With the Weir Greenhouse directly across the street from Green-Wood's grand Gothic archway, how can the landscape serve to connect the two and add meaning to the entrance experience?"

Faye Harwell, founding partner of Rhodeside and Harwell in Arlington, Va., directed an impressive team of landscape designers, historians, arborists, architectural historians, and hydrologists in retracing the history and unique character of Green-Wood's landscape. By examining thousands of historic records and archival documents and by meticulously studying the landscape itself, Harwell and her team have created an 800-page, two-volume Cultural Landscape Report. The massive tome, which follows the guidelines set forth by the US Department of the Interior, is an invaluable resource for the cemetery. Get the Reader's Digest version in this lively one-hour presentation that will help you become an expert on Green-Wood too. The firm of Rhodeside and Harwell has worked with pre-eminent, historic landscapes around the world, including the Gettysburg Battlefield and the White House.

How do stewards of botanical gardens and arboreta manage the design projects within their grounds? What happens when landscape design conflicts with and curatorial goals, such as expanding diversity, and increasing specific species or classes of plants? What impact does climate change have on an institution's plant collection and the plants selected for new projects? Join us for a lively discussion of these questions and more with Todd Forrest of New York Botanical Garden, Melanie Sifton of Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and Green-Wood's Director of Horticulture, Joseph Charap. Our moderator, Art Presson, is Vice President of Design and Landscape here at Green-Wood.

For just under thirty years, renowned landscape designer Larry Weaner has urged America to rethink its love affair with the manicured lawn. Since establishing his firm in 1982, Weaner has pushed for "planned, natural landscapes" that eliminate the need for frequent mowing and other unsustainable practices, advocating native plants that have an ecological relationship to the indigenous landscape. Weaner is now one of the most sought-after and forward-thinking landscape designers in the world. At Green-Wood, he has just completed the first phase of redesigning the tiered slopes (dotted with nineteenth-century mausoleums) alongside the Historic Chapel. Through his thoughtful plant selection, he has introduced flora that might have grown here in the cemetery's earliest days (1830s), creating a habitat for pollinators and wildlife. In this program, Weaner will discuss how historic landscapes can become pioneers in the field of sustainable design.

There's no time like the holidays to impress your friends and family. A beautiful home-made wreath will win you enough kudos to last you the whole year. Join Brooklyn-based expert florist Mindy Cardozo for an evening workshop to learn how to make your own wreath. Whether you're super crafty or super klutzy, Mindy will guide you through the process using a variety of wintry plants and materials.

How do we explain death and dying to our children? How much should they know and when? How can a pet's death or a grandparent's declining health be explained in a way that's understandable? How can we engage their curiosity, talents, and emotions in funeral practices and traditions? Join funeral director and death educator Amy Cunningham and child and adolescent psychotherapist and registered play therapist Liana Smith-Murphy for an enlightening conversation on the best practices for discussing death with children.