With climate change at the forefront of the national conversation and April 2020 marking the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, it's high time to take a dive into Brooklyn's environmental history. This City Story explores the impact of industrialization along Brooklyn's waterways, sites of notorious pollution, sustainability challenges, the effects of increased temperatures on our coastlines, and the changing ecology of our urban landscape.

Monument of McDonald Clarke (1798-1842), "The Mad Poet of Broadway," ca. 1870. Often referred to simply as "The Poet's Mound," the monument to McDonald Clarke is one of the oldest at Green-Wood, dating to 1842. Created by sculptor Robert E. Launitz, it bears a relief portrait of Clarke, is inscribed with one of the poet's verses, and bears the epitaph, "Poor McDonald Clarke - Let silence gaze, but curse not his grave." (Lot 7011, Sec. 34)

Monuments to Sarah Van Brunt Cashman, William Augustus Conklin, and Martha and Mary Titus, ca. 1890. (Lots 799 and 800, Sec. 64)

Viaduct along 5th avenue near Green-Wood’s Western Entrance of at 34th Street and 4th Avenue, ca. 1860. The viaduct was designed by Richard Upjohn.

View of Sylvan Water, the largest glacial pond in The Green-Wood Cemetery, ca. 1860.

View of Battle Avenue, ca. 1860, from the main entrance of Green-Wood. This photo may have been taken when the main entrance arches of Green-Wood were still under construction. At this time, the area to the left of Battle Avenue contained worker housing, stables, and storage sheds, which can be seen at the far left in this photograph.

The Arctic Monument, in the Brown Family lot, circa 1875. The Arctic Monument, standing at the center of the Brown family lot, was commissioned by James Brown (1791-1877), head of the powerful Brown Brothers banking firm, to honor those lost in the sinking of the steamship Arctic. When the Arctic went down in 1854, James Brown lost a number of family members: his son William Benedict Brown, William’s wife Clara Moulton Brown, their infant daughter Grace, his daughter Maria, his daughter Grace, and her son Herbert. Their names are carved into the front of the monument. Sculpted by artist John Moffitt, the marble monument features at its center a likeness of the sinking Arctic. Though the ship’s mast and sails have been lost over time, the monument’s stone canopy has protected much of the ship’s detailing from the elements. Look up above the ship at the detailed carving by Moffitt. (Lot 2134, Sec. 22)

Monument of James Gordon Bennett (1795-1872), founder of the New York Herald, ca. 1880. The monument was sculpted for the Bennett family in Italy and transported to its current location, overlooking New York Harbor. According to a description in a nineteenth century New York guide, the monument is “a life-sized female figure, kneeling on a cushion in an attitude of prayer, commending her child, which is held in suspense by an angelic figure, to the Almighty Giver.” It has lost much of its detailing due to acid rain. (Lot 14234, Sec. 37/42)

Monument of the Tietjen family, ca. 1875. (Lot 9620, Sec. 15)

Mausoleum of Marc Chambettaz, 1904. Of the three angels that adorn the roof of the Chambettaz Mausoleum, only one remains to this day, though the bases upon which the others stood are still visible. (Lot 20844, Sec. 89)

View of Maple Ridge in Green-Wood, ca. 1860.

Monument of the Frost family, ca. 1870-1875. (Lot 8872, Sec.21)

Monument to Do-hum-me, "The Indian Princess," ca. 1875. In 1843, at the age of eighteen, Do-Hum-Me, came east with her father, a chief of the Sac tribe, who was representing his people at treaty negotiations with the United States government. Do-Hum-Me soon met Cow-Hick-Kee and they married. She became the toast of the town in New York City, performing at P.T. Barnum’s museum. It wasn't long, however, before she fell gravely ill and died - just five weeks after her wedding. Still in its early years, Green-Wood offered a lot for burial of the young woman, hoping to add an attraction to the struggling cemetery. Do-Hum-Me was buried on March 15, 1843, near Sylvan Water, wearing her wedding dress. Her monument was carved by sculptor Robert Launitz and paid for by Barnum. As skilled of an artist as he was, Launitz struggled with English spelling, inscribing the misspelling of "Cheif" to be seen by generations to follow. The epitaph to Do-Hum-Me reads, "Thou art Happy now for thou hast past; the cold dark journey of the grave; And in the land of light at last; has joined the good, the fair, the brave." (Lot 236, Sec. 41)

Monument to John Matthews (1808-1870), ca. 1875.

Receiving Tomb, from across Arbor Water, ca. 1880.

Green-Wood Cemetery Gates ca. 1865 One of the most splendid monuments of Brooklyn, this unique entrance to the cemetery combines offices, gates, a clock tower, and a spire in one imposing structure. It was designed by Richard Michell Upjohn, the son of the leading architect of the Gothic tradition in New York. The younger Upjohn also designed the Connecticut State Capitol at Hartford.

Growing plants in the Northeast year-round is no mean feat! Here is a look at greenhouses of all stripes throughout the city.

Monument of James Gordon Bennett, Sr., founder of the New York Herald, ca. 1875.

View of Fountain Hill in Green-Wood, ca. 1865. Fountain Hill was so named for the large fountain that stood at its crest. The fountain has since been removed.

At the center of the photograph is Betania Baptist Kirke (Church), a Scandinavian church which was not an uncommon sight in Sunset Park in the early and middle of the 20th century. Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians made up a large population of the neighborhood, with a section of 8th Avenue from Sunset Park to Bay Bridge called Lapskaus Boulevard, after the Nordic beef stew. The building, though somewhat drastically altered, does retain some of its original features, most notably the slanted peak of the roof seen behind the new second floor facade. The building is still used for religious purposes as Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal Alpha y Omega.

A series of Mausoleums along Lake Avenue, opposite Sylvan Water, ca. 1870. Mausoleums pictured include those of Mary Tileston and the Spofford family. (Lots 14451, 14452, Sec. 37)

Weir's Greenhouse ARCHITECT: G. Curtis Gillespie DATE: 1895 The Weir Greenhouse is among the rarest of nineteenth-century survivors; it is the only Victorian commercial greenhouse known to be extant in New York City. Although the forms and massing of the greenhouse are bold and impressive, the detailing is simple and straightforward. The greenhouse is a wood- frame structure enclosing glass panes, and has glass and galvanized-iron roof surfaces. The double-entry doors are flanked by wide window expanses with transoms. A frieze and cornice separate the transoms from a narrow clerestory. The sloping roof is capped by an octagonal cupola with a ball finial.

Detail of the Arctic Monument, circa 1875.

Monument to sea captain and shipbuilder Menemon Sanford (d. 1852), ca. 1875. A competitor of Cornelius Vanderbilt in the shipping business, his monument reflects his maritime connection, with a ship at sea tossed by waves, ropes, mast, capstan, sextant, telescope, and calipers, all of marble. (Lot 1146, Sec. 43)

View of Spruce Hill in The Green-Wood Cemetery, ca. 1865.

Monument to John Matthews (1808-1870), ca. 1870.

Bergen House, ca. 1880. Known as the DeHart or Bergen House, this structure once stood on a plot west of Third Avenue near 37th and 38th Streets. The home was supposedly constructed in the mid to late 1600s for Symon (Simon) Aertszen DeHart. A record of the visit of two Labadists (a 17th-century Protestant religious community) missionaries to the home in 1679-80 notes: "They spent one night at the house of Simon DeHart, where they supped on raw and roasted oysters, a roasted haunch of venison, a wild turkey, and a goose, and sat before a hickory fire blazing half-way up the chimney." Passed through generations of Simon's descendants during the 1700s, the home was sold away from the DeHart/Bergen clan around the end of the 18th or early 19th century. Captured here circa 1880, the home was demolished before the turn of the 20th century. (Sources differ on the exact location of the house. All agree it was near Third Avenue —which was on the waterfront at that point— but some say 33rd Street, others, 37th, and still others between 38th and 39th.)

Horse-drawn hearse in front of the Receiving Tomb, as seen across Arbor Tomb, ca. 1865.

View from Bay Grove Hill, looking toward Green-Wood's main entrance, ca. 1875. Several of the monuments along Arbor Avenue, running through the center of this photograph, are still standing today, including the urn-topped monument of Clarkson Crolius (1773-1843) visible on the left. The mausoleum in the foreground is gone; a garden is now there.

A series of mausoleums along Sylvan Avenue, ca. 1875. Mausoleums pictured include those of Mary L. Adriance, Thomas Terry, and George H. and C. Moller. (Lots 19362, 19687, 14697, Sec. 41)

Monument to Horace Greeley (1811-1872), founder and editor of the New York Tribune, ca. 1875. Greeley's monument was erected by America's printers. Topped with a bronze bust of him by Charles Calverley, the pedestal has a bronze bas-relief on one side which shows Greeley as a youth, with composing stick in hand, standing over his type case. Another panel depicts a plow, an apparent allusion to Greeley's famous recommendation to the unemployed during the panic of 1837, "Go West, young man, and grow with the country." Greeley wrote his own epitaph, "Fame is a vapor; popularity an accident; riches take wings; the only earthly certainty is oblivion; no man can foresee what a day will bring forth; while those who cheer today will often curse tomorrow; and yet I cherish the hope that the journal I projected and established will live and flourish long after I have mouldered into forgotten dust.. and that the stone which covers my ashes may bear to future eyes the still intelligible inscription, Founder of The New York Tribune." (Lot 2344, Sec. 35).

Monument to Dixon Hall Lewis (1802-1848), circa 1870.

View of Valley Water in The Green-Wood Cemetery, ca. 1880.

Monument to Dixon Hall Lewis (1802-1848), circa 1865. Born in Virginia and educated in Georgia, Dixon Hall Lewis served as a states’ rights United States Senator and Representative from Alabama from 1829 until his death. Lewis was a strong advocate for nullification and secession. The stone obelisk monument to Dixon Hall Lewis at Green-Wood describes him as "A Patriot and a Statesman noted for integrity, candor and truth." Why would a states’ rights politician from the South be interred in Brooklyn? Lewis visited Green-Wood and was so impressed that he decided this was the place for him to be interred. (Lot 9931, Sec. 89)

View of Valley Water in The Green-Wood Cemetery, ca. 1870.

The chapel was constructed in 1911 after designs by Warren and Wetmore, architects of Grand Central Terminal, and is a reduced replica of Christopher Wren’s Thomas Tower at Christ Church College in Oxford, England.

Monument to Clara Bartlet Gregory (1807-1845), wife of famed painter George Catlin (1796-1872), ca. 1865.

Monument to John Matthews (1808-1870), known as the "Soda Fountain King," ca. 1875. Dating to the early 1870's, the Matthews monument was created by prolific sculptor Karl Muller. Executed in terra-cotta and marble for the great sum of $30,000, it was named the "Mortuary Monument of the Year" in the year is was unveiled. The Mathews monument is adorned with the likenesses of members of the Matthews family, including John Matthews laying atop a sarcophagus at the center, and the faces of his daughters atop the four columns. The statue seated at the second level, which has greatly deteriorated over the years, typifies grief. Various flora and fauna can be found throughout the monument, as well as four gargoyles on the corners which spit water when it rains. The spectacular monument was once even more elaborate, featuring a central spire that loosened and has since been removed. (Lot 1345, Sec. 66)

Monument of the Gassner family, ca. 1860. (Lot 5518, Sec. 45)

The Receiving Tomb, designed by Richard Upjohn, ca. 1875.

Green-Wood, with more than 600 mausoleums and other buildings, offers a spectacular display of nineteenth-century architectural styles. On the streets of New York, tearing down buildings every generation and replacing them with "the latest" has become something of a habit. But at Green-Wood, once a building goes up, it almost always stays up. Want to see what NYC's buildings looked like more than a century ago? You've come to the right place! This tour, a walk of about a half-mile, offers you a stroll through a quiet landscape as well as fascinating information about each of the five intriguing stops along the way. In order to walk it, you will proceed up the incline of Battle Hill to near the highest point in Brooklyn. Your legs will thank you! And if you would like to explore more of Green-Wood, get our app at the App Store. Trees, monuments, great stories, and more!

Original structure that stood at the Western Entrance to Green-Wood, near 34th Street and 4th Avenue, ca. 1875.

View of Bay Side Dell from atop Bay Grove Hill, ca. 1875. Bay Side Dell, also known as Clinton Dell, is home to the monumental statue memorializing DeWitt Clinton (1769-1828). In this image, circa 1875, elaborate landscaping featuring planters and a variety of trees can be seen on the central grassy expanse of the dell. This lot would later become the final resting place of Nathaniel Currier (1813-1888) of Currier & Ives fame. (Clinton Dell, Sec. 108)

The Receiving Tomb, designed by Richard Upjohn, ca. 1875. Receiving tombs were a staple in nineteenth century cemeteries, serving as a holding space for caskets until they were ready for interment. They were especially important during the cold winter months, when the frozen ground made digging impossible.

View of mausoleums along Cliff Path, ca. 1860.

Arbor Water, as seen from Sycamore Avenue, ca. 1875. Arbor Water, a glacial pond formerly located near the main entrance of the cemetery, was removed in 1911 to make way for Green-Wood's Historic Chapel. The pond is seen here from the rise of Bay Grove Hill, behind the angel sculptures that once adorned the Chambettaz Mausoleum. The spires of the Receiving Tomb are visible to the left.

View along Lake Avenue, bordering Sylvan Water, ca. 1875.

View of Sylvan Water, looking down Ravine Path from Oaken Bluff, ca. 1890.

"Portion of Weir's Greenhouse at southwest corner of 25th Street and Fifth Avenue, 1960." Weir's Greenhouse is the only 19th century commercial greenhouse structure to survive in New York City. It was in 1895 by James Weir Jr., whose family was in the local horticultural business. The original greenhouse on this site was built in 1880 by a prominent architect named Mercein Thomas, who is better known for his Romanesque Revival Brooklyn homes. The current structure was an 1895 alteration of the original building, though it is believed that very little of the original structure was retained during the construction. This wood, glass, and iron structure served visitors to Green-Wood Cemetery for nearly a century, and likely survived, while other nearby greenhouses disappeared, because of its location directly across the street from the cemetery's main entrance. In February 2012 the cemetery acquired the greenhouse and with a grant from New York State’s Regional Economic Development Council, they plan to restore the structure and use it as a visitors center and exhibition gallery.

View along the shore of Sylvan Avenue, looking toward Sylvan Cliff, circa 1870.

Monuments to Cornelia Polhemus and Jane D. Creed, ca. 1880. (Lots 182 and 1543, Sec. 61)

Green-Wood Cemetery Gates, 25th Street, 1899. The Gothic Revival entrance gates and clocktower were designed by the firm ecclesiastical architect Richard Upjohn and son Richard M. Upjohn — both Brooklyn residents, later interred at Green-Wood — and completed in 1865. As described the Landmarks Preservation Commission's 1966 Designation Report, the Upjohn-designed entrance "represents an ingenious linking together and piling up of architectural elements to create an impressive main gateway to the cemetery." Green-Wood's gates are also home to an unexpected population of cemetery guests: a colony of monk parakeets, allegedly escapees from an illicit shipment to Idlewild Airport (JFK).

Monument of William and Betsey Dunley, ca. 1860. (Lot 3320, Sec. 109)

Rear entrance of the Receiving Tomb, ca. 1860.

While most of this series has focused on some of New York's interior spaces as we've been stuck in our apartments, we thought for this one we'd try something different. So we've turned our gaze to some of the best places for New Yorkers to escape to: the parks of New York! Specifically, how three of New York's most iconic parks connect.

Monument to John Matthews (1808-1870), ca. 1870.

Frost family plot, prior to the construction of monument, ca. 1870

Monument to John Matthews (1808-1870), ca. 1870.

Arbor Water, a glacial pond formerly located near the entrance of The Green-Wood Cemetery, ca. 1870. Arbor water was one of several glacial ponds on the land that would become Green-Wood. It was filled in in 1911 to make space for Green-Wood's Historic Chapel, designed by architects Warren & Wetmore and completed in 1912. As seen in this photo, rowboats were once available for cemetery visitors to take out on the water.

Arbor Water, with a view of the Receiving Tomb along Willow Avenue, ca. 1865.

Founded in 1838 and now a National Historic Landmark, Green-Wood was one of the first rural cemeteries in America. By the early 1860s, it had earned an international reputation for its magnificent beauty and became the prestigious place to be buried, attracting 500,000 visitors a year, second only to Niagara Falls as the nation’s greatest tourist attraction. Crowds flocked there 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. This tour takes you through some of the monuments of Green-Wood and its famous denizens.

View in Green-Wood, near the intersection of Sylvan and Lake Avenues, ca. 1860.

View along Landscape Avenue, near Valley Water, ca. 1865.

Monument to Doctor Charles Isaacs (1811-1860), ca. 1865. (Lot 13421, Sec. 61.)

View along Sycamore Avenue in The Green-Wood Cemetery, ca. 1880.

View of Sylvan Water, from the intersection of Lake and Sylvan Avenues, circa 1875.

Kelsey monument, ca. 1875.