History Of The Woodlawn Cemetery & Conservancy Bronx STATS 2020
BTR BRONX STATS - NOVEMBER 20, 2020 7
The Woodlawn Cemetery and Conservancy grounds were awarded the
Level II Arboretum Accredition by the ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation
Program.
Celebrated owners are a
who’s who of early NYC
For more than 150 years,
Woodlawn has served families
from every walk of life,
religion and discipline, including
many illustrious and
notable persons. Celebrated
lot owners include artists and
writers, business and civic
leaders, entertainers, jazz
musicians, suffragists, and
more, including J.C. Penney,
R.H. Macy, Herman Melville,
Joseph Pulitzer, Fiorello La-
Guardia, Celia Cruz, Duke
Ellington, Irving Berlin, and
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, just
to name a few.
“One of our most visited
gravesites is that of the Queen
of Salsa Celia Cruz,” explained
Rose. “Thousands of visitors
come each year to pay their respects
and honor her life and
legacy. It’s not unusual to fi nd
her fans dancing on the sidewalk
in front of her mausoleum
or listening to her music
while they pay tribute.”
The Isidor and Ida Straus
mausoleum at Woodlawn memorializes
the couple who
were co-owners of the Macy’s
Department Stores and perished
in the sinking of the
Titanic. According to eyewitness
and Titanic survivor
Archibald Gracie IV, Ida refused
her spot in the lifeboat
that fateful night saying, “I
will not be separated from my
husband. As we have lived,
so will we die, together.” The
mausoleum is a lasting tribute
to their love and devotion.
Archibald Gracie IV,
who is also memorialized at
Woodlawn, spent his last few
months writing a book about
his Titanic experience, “The
Truth About the Titanic:
which was published posthumously
in 1913.
The Belmont Mausoleum is
an architectural marvel and
a centerpiece of Woodlawn.
Built by the architecture fi rm,
Hunt & Hunt, the ornate mausoleum
memorializes the life
of Alva Vanderbilt Belmont
and her second husband, Oliver
Hazard Perry Belmont.
A socialite and leader in the
women’s suffrage movement,
Alva commissioned the mausoleum
as a replica of the chapel
of Saint-Hubert at Amboise
in France, most known
as the fi nal resting place of
Leonardo da Vinci. The mausoleum
features many references
to Saint Hubert, the
patron saint of hunters, and
features the carving of a stag
above the front door and features
antlers all the way up to
the steeple.
Woodlawn offers groundbreaking
educational initiatives and outreach
While Woodlawn is fi rst
and foremost a cemetery, their
groundbreaking educational
initiatives and outreach programs
offered through the
Woodlawn Conservancy show
their commitment to the community.
The Bridge to Crafts Careers
programs at Woodlawn
offer workforce readiness
training to local young people
through the Preservation
Training Program and brandnew
Landscape Restoration
Program. Each year, young
people in the community are
selected to complete paid internships
at Woodlawn, learning
the masonry and landscaping
trades. Both programs
partner with The Door to offer
career-readiness training and
job counseling.
“It is our great pleasure to
give back to the community by
offering career-readiness programs,”
explained Rose. “We
are so pleased with the success
of our Preservation Training
Program and how it is equipping
young people in our community
in the fi eld of masonry
restoration. These interns are
making a huge difference at
Woodlawn by participating in
restoration efforts of our historical
monuments and mausoleums
and, in turn, we are
offering them valuable career
training which is life-changing.”
Each year, thousands participate
in adult educational
programs, tours and events
offered throughout the year
to highlight Woodlawn’s spectacular
collection of art and
architecture, illustrious notables,
as well as the breath-taking
beauty of the landscape.
People of all ages participate
in book talks, concerts, nature
walks and more.
One of the most popular
events at Woodlawn takes
place each October, the Illuminated
Mausoleums Tour.
Registered participants are
allowed to visit the Cemetery
at night and view some of
Woodlawn’s spectacular mausoleums
lit up to highlight the
magnifi cent architecture and
extravagant details.
Each year, school-aged children
participate in fi eld trips
to Woodlawn. Prepared fi eld
trip curriculum is provided
and focuses on Woodlawn’s
“Women of Greatness,” “Black
and Latino Men of Greatness,”
“Immigrants of Woodlawn,”
and the “Woodlawn Arboretum.”
Children hop aboard
the Woodlawn Conservancy
trolley to tour the Cemetery
and learn about Woodlawn’s
notables and the infl uence
they have had on history.
Each year thousands participate in adult education programs.