TOUR

The Municipal Art Society of New York
Springtime at the Cemetery: Mayflowers, Mavericks, Mavens, and Mayors

Spring's resurgence inspires this overview tour of one of the most charming parcels of Manhattan's urban streetscape. Established in 1842, Trinity Church Cemetery in Washington Heights--originally laid out by James Renwick Jr., and later re-landscaped by Calvert Vaux--is one of New York State's most important burying grounds, steeped in Revolutionary War, Civil War, civic- and social history. Join author and guide Eric K. Washington in this verdant memorial park which chronicles much of New York City's eventful past. Waypoints of interest include Richard Sands, the renowned "ceiling walker"; Dita H. Kinney, the first official in the U.S. Army Corps of Nurses; and heirloom floral markers that form part of the Heritage Rose District. A few colorful public officials also reside here, including Cadwallader D. Colden, Mayor of New York City (1818-1821), whose long lost grave resurfaced from the tour leader's own research. Explore the winsome garden paths of Manhattan's only still-admitting cemetery--listed on the National Register of Historic Places--through the eyes of Mother Nature herself.