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THE WOODLAWN CEMETERY was founded in 1863 when a group of New Yorkers decided to establish a burial ground easily accessed from Manhattan. Located along the train line from Grand Central Station, Woodlawn was advertised as being located "only thirty minutes from Manhattan", making it convenient for families to visit. In 1866 the New York Times wrote that Woodlawn was "sufficiently remote from the island of Manhattan to be beyond the reach of its noise, and the disturbance from the extension of the city."
Founding Trustees hired J.C. Sidney to design The Woodlawn Cemetery. Sidney designed Fairmount Park and South Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia. He laid out the cemetery as a "Rural Cemetery" which was the popular trend in burial ground design. The "Rural Cemetery Movement" began in Boston with the Establishment of Mount Auburn Cemetery in 1831; Green-Wood in Brooklyn (est. 1838), is New York's best known rural cemetery. These cemeteries were established outside the city and they were highly landscaped, filled with ornate marble sculpture serving the purpose of integrating nature with art. Five years after the founding of The Woodlawn Cemetery,
Trustees changed the design of the cemetery, adopting the "Landscape-Lawn
Plan." The Landscape-Lawn Plan promoted open spaces, prohibited
fencing around lots and encouraged families to have a centerpiece memorial
surrounded by matching footstones. Plantings were to be carefully designed
to complement the clean appearance of the cemetery. This new design
concept gave the cemetery a grand look while making it easier for the
workers to maintain the grounds. The new design promoted major central monuments and grand private mausoleums. Some of the nation's most accomplished architects, landscape designers and artists designed Woodlawn's memorials. Among those associated with the cemetery are: McKim Mead & White, John Russell Pope, James Gamble Rogers, Cass Gilbert, Carerre & Hastings, Sir Edwin Lutyens, Beatrix Jones Farrand, and John LaFarge. The Woodlawn Cemetery has provided burial space for more than 300,000 individuals. Established as a non-sectarian cemetery, people of all races, cultures and religions are at rest in the 400-acre historic site. For over 140 years, The Woodlawn Cemetery has served the greater metropolitan New York region and continues to serve families and individuals while protecting the beauty and design of the 1868 Landscape-Lawn Plan.
— MAIN MENU — The Woodlawn Cemetery Phone: (718) 920-0500 • Toll Free: (877) 496-6352 Open Every Day: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
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