NEW YORK-
The residents of New York’s newest national landmark–and there are nearly 600,000 of them–never lived to learn of the honor.
Green-Wood Cemetery, the final resting place of composer Leonard Bernstein, mobster “Crazy Joey” Gallo and inventor Samuel Morse, was granted National Historic Landmark status this week by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The 478-acre Brooklyn cemetery, founded in 1838, was honored for its “cohesive, picturesque character, integrated Gothic Revival architecture and high integrity,” according to a statement from the department. The cemetery sits on the highest spot in Brooklyn, with dramatic views of Manhattan and New York Harbor.
Green-Wood quickly became a New York institution after its launch. “It is the ambition of the New Yorker to live upon Fifth Avenue, to take his airings in the (Central) Park, and to sleep with his fathers in Green-Wood,” The New York Times wrote in 1866.
New York state is already home to 257 National Historic Landmarks, from the Brooklyn Bridge to Grand Central Terminal. But Green-Wood will become the first still-operating cemetery in the state to receive the designation.
Fewer than 2,500 places are cited as National Historic Landmarks.
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