History Of The Woodlawn Cemetery & Conservancy Bronx STATS 2020
Final resting place for the famous and powerful
Established in 1863, The
Woodlawn Cemetery is a
Bronx treasure. Situated on
400 acres, Woodlawn is a welcoming,
multi-cultural cemetery
with more than 310,000
individuals interred on its
grounds and attracts more
than 100,000 visitors from
around the world each year.
Woodlawn was established
by a group of prominent New
Yorkers who envisioned a
burial ground easily accessible
from Manhattan. Made
possible by the Rural Cemetery
Act passed in 1847, Woodlawn
and other “rural” cemeteries
were designed in the
landscape-lawn style popular
after the Civil War, which emphasized
the relationship between
landscape and classical
architecture and diverging
from the churchyard cemeteries
that preceded them. Woodlawn’s
curvilinear road system
provided views of large,
singular monuments on family
plots and circular lots. Propelled
by location, clientele,
and unprecedented wealth,
Woodlawn rapidly grew to become
and outdoor showplace
of distinctive masterworks
for prominent citizens to build
their fi nal resting places.
Recognized as one of America’s
most historically signifi -
cant properties, Woodlawn
was designated as a National
Historic Landmark in 2011.
Described by the National
Park Service as “a popular
fi nal resting place for the famous
and powerful,” the cemetery
is distinguished by memorials
that “represent the
A view of The Woodlawn Cemetery and Conservancy showing its rich historical and architectual beauty.
The Woodlawn Cemetery and Conservancy has an unrivaled collection of monuments, including
over 1,300 mausoleums.
6 BRONX STATS - NOVEMBER 20, 2020 BTR
The work of Mead and White, McKim and Louis Comfort Tiffany, as well as others, graces
Woodlawn’s grounds.
largest and fi nest collection of
funerary art in the country.”
The cemetery’s unrivaled
collection of monuments—
including over 1,300 mausoleums–
were designed by legendary
American architects,
landscape designers, and
sculptors. The work of Mc-
Kim, Mead & White, Carrere
& Hastings, Beatrix Farrand,
Louis Comfort Tiffany, and
Daniel Chester French graces
Woodlawn’s grounds.
In 2017, The Woodlawn
Cemetery was awarded the
Level II Arboretum Accreditation
by The ArbNet Arboretum
Accreditation Program
and The Morton Arboretum,
for achieving particular standards
of professional practices
deemed important for
arboreta and botanic gardens.
The Arboretum features more
than 375 distinct tree species
and cultivars including
fi ve specimens identifi ed in
the “Great Trees of New York
City” program. And 11 specimens
that are remarkable
simply because of their overwhelming
large size, measuring
over fi ve feet in diameter.
“Woodlawn is a unique
treasure because of our historical
signifi cance and parklike
setting,” said Mitch Rose,
President & CEO of Woodlawn.
“Many people consider Woodlawn
to be an outdoor museum
and visit our grounds to view
our beautiful architecture, pay
respects to loved ones, or visit
the fi nal resting place of notables
who have chosen Woodlawn.
And, still some, visit just
to stroll the ground and take in
the beauty of nature.”
With burial space at a premium
in New York, Woodlawn
continues to offer memorialization
options for families
whether they choose burial or
cremation. New developments
continue at Woodlawn with
burial and cremation memorialization
options including
community mausoleums,
cremation niches, and even
ground burial space.
“At Woodlawn, we are constantly
looking for new ways
to serve our families,” explained
Rose. “With the increase
in cremation, we have
greatly increased our cremation
memorialization options
including glass-front, highly
personalized niches for cremation
remains, our brand-new
Hillcrest Mausoleum complex
which features above-ground
burial and cremation options,
and unique personalized cremation
niches throughout the
Cemetery that also include
an expansion of our Brookside
Cremation Garden. Currently,
in pre-construction
phase is our Maple Mausoleum
complex which will be located
in one of our most stunning
sections of the cemetery.
It will consist of nine outdoor
buildings, each housing individual
crypts and niches for
cremation. We are currently
offering pre-construction savings
for this complex. We want
to provide a place for families
to return to pay their respects
to loved ones, regardless of
their fi nal disposition preferences.”