Though many Halloween plans may have been cancelled or altered due to the coronavirus pandemic, those who decided to visit Green-Wood Cemetery in Kensington, Brooklyn certainly didn’t miss a thing.
While the historic graveyard is a draw for Halloween enthusiasts as it is, this year the active cemetery was an extra spooky place to visit because of its temporary Día de Los Muertos display in the Historic Chapel.
Día de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a traditional Mexican holiday celebrated from Oct. 31 through Nov. 2 to honor loved ones who have died. It is actively celebrated in Mexico, as well as in Hispanic households across America.
The display, open from Oct. 23 through Nov. 1, consisted of a mural created by artist Scherezade García and a traditional-style ofrenda, or altar with offerings.
García’s mural, called The Corona Altar, centered around a rust-colored painting of the Statue of Liberty with tears running down her face.
The name has a dual meaning. Firstly, it references the coronavirus pandemic that has ravaged the city of New York and killed over 246 thousand people in the United States alone. Second, corona is crown in Spanish, referencing the Statue of Liberty’s crown.
“Garcia’s interpretation of the Statue of Liberty is a homage to the millions of immigrant communities that have found a home in New York, especially those who celebrate Dia de los Muertos,” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported.
Visitors were welcome to leave offerings for their own late family members on the community ofrenda, such as photos, notes, flowers, or drinks. These are just some of the items that are traditionally placed on a Día de Los Muertos altar.
Usually, food and drink are a large part of Día de Los Muertos ofrendas and festivities. It is believed that by commemorating loved ones on the ofrenda, their spirit is able to visit and consume the energy of the food on the altar.
Green-Wood’s ofrenda also had a hundred or so white candles set up, with permanent markers and lighters set off to the side. People were encouraged to write the names of dead friends or family on the candles and then light them.
The result was a glow that lit the rest of the otherwise dark chapel.
The Historic Chapel was first built back in 1911 by the architecture firm Warren and Wetmore, also responsible for Grand Central Terminal, the Yale Club and the New York Yacht Club.
Nowadays, the chapel can be rented out for weddings and other events. This Halloween, however, it took on a more solemn attitude while hosting the Día de Los Muertos exhibit, at which the visitors remained silent as some tearfully commemorated their loved ones.
Though the chapel is over a century old, it’s not even the oldest thing there — the cemetery itself is.
Green-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838, one of the first rural cemeteries in the country, according to the graveyard’s website.
“Green-Wood is 478 spectacular acres of hills, valleys, glacial ponds and paths, throughout which exists one of the largest outdoor collections of 19th- and 20th-century statuary and mausoleums,” the site’s “About Us” page read in part. “Four seasons of beauty from century-and-a-half-old trees offer a peaceful oasis to visitors, as well as its 560,000 permanent residents, including Leonard Bernstein, Boss Tweed, Charles Ebbets, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Horace Greeley, Civil War generals, baseball legends, politicians, artists, entertainers and inventors.”
It is a hot spot for bird watchers, history enthusiasts and environmentalists — but paranormal investigators? Probably not.
A walk through the paths of colossal trees and rolling hills reveals statues of children, busts of the departed and soaring mausoleums.
One such road is Wistaria Path, easily accessible when entering the cemetery from Prospect Park West. This path is full of lilting trees whose branches cast a shade over the 1800’s-era gravestones that line the walkway.
In addition to grave-watching, the cemetery is a popular place for people to study history and sculpture, due to the many notable people buried there.
There are also statues that are not part of tombstones or mausoleums, such as the Altar to Liberty, which features a statue of a warrior in Greco-Roman dress.
In the man’s hand is a platter on which Green-Wood visitors place small objects, such as shiny rocks, flower heads and coins.
Around him, small American flags are planted in the ground.
While inside the cemetery, it can feel like you’re in some far away place, removed from the city buses and constant hustle and bustle of city life.
Then you walk toward an edge of the cemetery, close enough that you can see the street from your location within the graveyard, buildings being built, cars driving by.
Up on one of the hills, near the Altar of Liberty and the Civil War monument, is a beautiful view of Manhattan, with its shining skyscrapers and ephemerality.
It has not existed as long as the cemetery and no matter what the future holds, no matter if the city survives or the cemetery endures, the residents of Green-Wood Cemetery will remain forever.