What is Greenfield? Elite cemetery in New York? Why not find it on the map and there is no mention of it on American sites? Maybe it's just someone else’s joke? Let's try to figure it out.
Is Greenfield a Cemetery in New York?
Some time ago, a discussion started on the Web: what is Greenfield and how does this name refer to a packet of tea on our table? Among the answers there was often a literal translation of the name: “green field”. However, many claimed that this is the name of an old cemetery in New York.
There are four cemeteries in New York: Woodlon, Green Wood, Queens and Flushing. The name Green Wood (green forest) is most similar to Greenfield. Apparently, an error occurred due to confusion: a green forest and a green field. In addition, the cemetery really looks like a field. Maybe the reason is that not far from New York there is the small town of Greenfield.
Elite Cemetery in New York - Green Wood
At the height of Brooklyn lies the necropark Green Wood. This is the highest point in New York City. The observation deck located here faces the bay, and Manhattan is clearly visible from it.
Once this place did not belong to the city. In the middle of the XIX century there was a small county with scattered villages. But the city grew, and Brooklyn became an urban area.
In 1838, all 194 hectares on the hill are planned to be given for burial. Park Bug is entrusted to David Bates Douglas - a creative person, a talented landscape architect. From the very beginning, he knew that this park would serve not only to calm the dead, but more so for walks and picnics.
There are very expensive crypts here. Once, the New York Times ironically remarked that the townspeople’s dream was to live on 5th Avenue and lie after death in Green Wood.
How to find him
If you look for Greenfield (a cemetery in New York), you will inevitably fail. There is no cemetery with that name in this city, but there is in Uniondale - this is in South Africa. Also, a necropolis with the same name is in Livingston (USA, Montana) and in Oklahoma. And in New York there is Green Wood - a very prestigious burial place.
This is the first city park where you could go to relax. By 1850, this is a recognized landmark in New York. Richard Upjo created the Gothic Gate, which in itself is a valuable work of art.
Four ponds are picturesquely located on the territory. Along one of them is a series of family crypts looking at the water. In 1911, a chapel appeared. There is a fountain.
Perhaps if a tourist asks a passerby in New York: “Where is Greenfield (the cemetery)?”, They will point him with a hand towards Brooklyn, where Green Wood is located. Several thousand tourists visit it annually. Previously, there were much more, up to half a million. And this is not surprising, because the popular park was in second place among the attractions after Niagara Falls.
Famous people are buried here: S. Morse, who invented the alphabet of the same name, the founder of Pan American (a major airline) J. Trip, the Steinway brothers who produced the pianos, and the designer L. Tiffany.
Beautiful park
“Greenfield, an elite cemetery in New York, is terribly expensive,” - this is the end of the phrase from the “Quotes of the Runet” about Greenfield tea and the connection of the product with the cemetery. She was recognized as the best, became a joke and entailed many requests for a nonexistent burial place.
We must pay tribute to the joker, thanks to him many learned about the existence of the beautiful Green Wood Park. Now it is extremely rare to bury here. Mostly visitors are tourists or citizens who went on a picnic.
The graves are arranged randomly, which only enhances the impression of being in the park, and not in the cemetery. No fences, well-kept lawns. By the way, there are lawn mowers right there - the park is maintained in good condition.
Beautiful place
Involuntarily the thought comes that on 2 square kilometers there is still enough unoccupied place by the graves. So these well-groomed lawns can be called green fields - Greenfield.
An elite cemetery in New York (photos on the territory can only be done with the permission of the administration) attracts many tourists. However, a shooting fee is a common practice for famous attractions.
Despite the fact that the cost of a place in a cemetery is equal to the price of a small mansion, there are also the graves of our compatriots. They are distinguished by the presence of images of the deceased.
There is no crowding, birds sing, babbling fountains. Well-kept asphalt paths, statues everywhere. Trees form large arches - a real park. It is part of the US national treasure, and Brooklyn County is popularizing it.
Halloween is a celebration here. There are many eateries and cafes around. Ponds are located in such a way that at night the moonlight beautifully falls on the water surface. There are many photographers at this time. Trees of all shades - from yellow to crimson. Very impressive.
Resting-place
Green Wood, or, as it is mistakenly called, Greenfield, is an elite cemetery in New York, a great place for walking and relaxing with the whole family. Transport links used to be convenient, because Manhattan is about three miles away. There was a ferry, omnibuses, it was possible to use the services of cab drivers.
The hills overlook the legendary Statue of Liberty. Well, sitting on the grass, eat breakfast brought. The appetite did not deteriorate even from the sight of a rare funeral procession - this park is so spacious. Now even more so you will not see the funeral.
Curiously, before the graves were with fences - they were sent for re-melting during the war. The Necropark became so popular that other cemeteries, by analogy, became known as Greenwood. And where there was no forest - Greenfield.
Maybe that's why this story happened with the substitution of the concept. Green Wood turned into Greenfield, an elite cemetery in New York instead of a "green forest" became a "green field".