I must have walked past the entrance to Marble Cemeteryon Second Ave (btw. 2nd & 3rd Sts.) countless times before I firstnoticed its existence (and I'm guessing I'm not the only one).
Sandwichedbetween two buildings is this iron gate (technically 41 1/2 SecondAve), which is locked 99% of the year. Even if you notice the sign, youcan only barely make out the cemetery down the long alley.
MarbleCemetery is New York's oldest non-sectarian cemetery, founded in 1831(not to be confused with the other Marble Cemetery around the corner -I'll do a post on that one soon). Its first burial was for the child ofone Dr. Post who died in 1830, and its 2,000th and final was forCharlie VanZandt in 1937. Many were for children below the age of 6.
From April to October, the cemetery is usually openon Sundays for a few hours in the afternoon (access is available yearround to those that make an appointment - check out their websitefor more details). The final visiting day of 2009 was on October 25,and having been meaning to check it out for years, I finally went downto see it. I was pretty excited to see the front gate actuallyunlocked and wide open, and to be able to walk down the alley...
Unfortunately, the cemetery was closed for a film shoot (stupid New York film productions...).
Luckily, youdon't have to go too far into the cemetery to take it in. MarbleCemetery consists of 156 underground vaults set 10 feet underground,each the size of a small room. Why vaults and no coffin burials? At thetime of its incorporation, legislation had been passed in the city thatoutlawed earth graves due to fears of yellow fever outbreaks (the vaultsystem was thought to prevent this). Check out this floor plan and cross-section to see how the vaults are arranged.
Each vaulthas a removable stone slab set a few feet below the lawn coveringadjoining vault doors. Once uncovered, a key is needed to open a vaultdoor. The one below is for Vault 113 (pictures from the Marble Cemetery site/Ruth Ward).
There are noheadstones (the few in the first picture are movie props). Instead,marble tablets on the stone walls denote nearby burials. The southernwall of the cemetery is below.
Note the"Warning Falling Rocks" sign. Unfortunately, the walls have seriouslydeteriorated and are in need extensive repairs (the entire west wall isgone, and large portions are missing from the north). According to thewebsite, plans are in place to do this in stages, though I'm prettysure donations are much appreciated.
Below, thenorthern wall. The Tuckahoe marble used in the tablets (also found inBrooklyn Borough Hall, St. Patrick's, the US Capitol) is soft andweathers badly. Check out this list of plaque names for evidence of how many have become illegible.
In the south-west corner once stood the so-called Dead House,a small structure used for the temporary holding of remains. The DeadHouse was positioned over Marble Cemetery developer Perkins Nichols' ownvault, and his tablet was set into its facade. The Dead House was torndown in 1955 (photo from MarbleCemetery.org).
I loveManhattan cemeteries, in part because of how annoyed they must makedevelopers. I find the idea of multi-million dollar plots of land beingpermanently dedicated for the rotting remains of long dead New Yorkersto be completely mind-boggling in one sense and very satisfying inanother. Thankfully, they're all landmarked, and we can enjoy them asboth historical relics and outdoor public spaces for years to come.
www.scoutingny.com
PS - For those looking for a shooting location, Marble Cemetery is very open to productions. Contact them through their website.Also, for anyone looking for a New York alley and coming up short, theMarble Cemetery entrance could easily stand in if you can cheat out theiron gate.