‘Memories and Monuments: Preservation in Practice at The Green-Wood Cemetery’.
Neela K. Wickremesinghe, Manager of Restoration and Preservation, The Green-Wood Cemetery.
Tuesday, March 27th AT THE GENERAL SOCIETY LIBRARY.
The lecture starts at 6:30 P.M. – RECEPTION TO FOLLOW.
Founded in 1838, Green-Wood, a National Historic Landmark, was one of the first rural cemeteries in America. Situated in Brooklyn, it consists of 478 spectacular acres of hills, valleys, glacial ponds and paths, throughout which exists one of the largest outdoor collections of nineteenth- and twentieth- century statues and mausoleums in the country.
After almost two centuries, Green-Wood is as striking as it was at its founding. But historic beauty is fragile. Time and weather have taken their toll on the marble sculptures, granite monuments, brownstone mausoleums, cast-iron signs and the landscape itself.
Neela K. Wickremesinghe, Green-Wood’s Manager of Restoration and Preservation will discuss some of the cemetery’s well-known monuments and the sculptors and artisans who created them. In addition, she will detail how her department conserves sculptures and monuments and the craftsmanship inherent in the restoration process.
An immensely popular place to visit, Green-Wood helped inspire the creation of public parks, including New York City’s Central and Prospect Parks. Its 570,000 permanent residents, include Dr. Susan Smith McKinney-Steward, Leonard Bernstein, Boss Tweed, Charles Ebbets, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Horace Greeley, Civil War generals, baseball legends, politicians, artists, entertainers, inventors and former General Society members including William Colgate, Peter Cooper, Nathaniel Currier, James Harper, Abram Stevens Hewitt, John McComb Jr, Duncan Phyfe, and Jacob Aaron Westervelt.
Neela K. Wickremesinghe joined the Green-Wood team in Fall 2016. Ms. Wickremesinghe holds a BA in Architecture and Urbanism from Smith College and a MS in Historic Preservation from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.
For more information on Green-Wood, please visit https://www.green-wood.com
20 WEST 44th Street (BETWEEN 5TH AND 6th AVENUES), New York City.
Advance registration is recommended. Admission: $15 General admission; $10 General Society members, Green-Wood Members, New York Landmark Conservancy Members & Senior Citizens; $5 Students. Please click here to register.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.