Comments on: The Cemetery Belt

By: Calvary Cemetery Section « The Newtown Pentacle

Calvary Cemetery Section « The Newtown Pentacle — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:36:53 +0000

[...] Old Calvary is the original cemetery- second, third, and fourth Calvary are the metastasized and sprawling additions to the venerable original- and a significant portion of the Cemetery Belt. [...]

By: Calvary Cemetery walk « The Newtown Pentacle

Calvary Cemetery walk « The Newtown Pentacle — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 06:44:52 +0000

[...] The Cemetery Belt [...]

By: Walking widdershins to Calvary « The Newtown Pentacle

Walking widdershins to Calvary « The Newtown Pentacle — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 07:17:15 +0000

[...] Dead is what you’ll be if you don’t pay attention when crossing this street. Luckily, where we’re heading- you’ll fit right in. This may be a good time to remind you of a Newtown Pentacle posting from a few weeks back- “The Cemetery Belt“. [...]

By: the Wrong side of the tracks, a walk in Maspeth « The Newtown Pentacle

the Wrong side of the tracks, a walk in Maspeth « The Newtown Pentacle — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 05:56:55 +0000

[...] The Cemetery Belt [...]

By: from Sorabji, a member of our Flickr Gorup « The Newtown Pentacle

from Sorabji, a member of our Flickr Gorup « The Newtown Pentacle — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:55:42 +0000

[...] a comment » This is a comment reply to my “The Cemetery Belt” posting a while back, and I didn’t want it to get buried in the comments. I started up [...]

By: sorabji

sorabji — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:24:56 +0000

I have been roaming Old Calvary for years, and have done a fair amount of research into the mighty Johnston Mausoleum, as well as the Civil War Memorial — the latter is one of my favorite cemetery finds in New York, while the mausoleum is an ongoing fascination of mine.

The War Memorial is in bad shape after 150 years of exposure to the elements but in 2007 Parks began a restoration of the work, starting with a coat of paint placed on one of the 4 life-size statues. I may be in a small minority when I say this but I was excited to see this charming memorial get some sorely needed attention, and I anticipated that the job would mirror the restoration of a similar monument (by the same family of sculptors) at Green-Wood Cemetery several years earlier.

Alas, the work begun on the Calvary War Memorial in 2007 seems to have halted, probably for want of financing to continue the project, and now the marker is decidedly lopsided with three of the statues looking like pulverized metal with just one of them sporting a coat of dark green paint. It seems further unfortunate that the work done on that one statue appears to be wearing away already. It is an unfortunate situation but in these strained financial times I guess it is not surprising that a relatively obscure project like this might fall off the radar of the city’s attention.

I have several pictures of the War Memorial (maybe a few too many pictures) at this address:

http://www.sorabji.com/pictures/cemeteries/Calvary_Veterans_Memorial/

I plan to summarize the research I’ve shared in those pages into a single page, and I hope to open it up for discussion on a new message board I’m setting up at sorabji.com.

The War Memorial is only one of the many items I have followed with interest at Calvary over the years. I love that place.

By: catherine penfold

catherine penfold — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:38:02 +0000

Really lovely photos and very interesting article. Breathtaking, actually.

By: Mitch Waxman

Mitch Waxman — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 03:24:51 +0000

This would make sense, all my reading on the subject suggests that the Cemetery trip was a VERY popular excursion. Thanks for the comments, I’ll try to keep the Pentacle interesting.
Mitch

By: caryn

caryn — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:34:10 +0000

I don’t have the attribution, but I once read that the reason Greenpoint Avenue is so wide was because funerals would take a ferry across the East River and then go up Greenpoint Ave. to the cemetaries.

really enjoying your blog.