Maestro

A pleasant drive up the New Jersey Turnpike (if there is such a thing), over the Goethals Bridge, through Statin Island, over the Verrazano Narrows Bridge took us into Brooklyn, New York.  Why?  To visit the Green-wood Cemetery, of course.  A great grandfather, and a great great grandfather are buried here, it seems.  The identifier, section and plot number are on the website, but I was only able to find a tombstone with the boldly engraved last name on it.  Last fall, I visited his birthplace town of Coleraine in Northern Ireland.

Green-wood Cemetery, at one time was the second most visited tourist attraction in the U.S. after Niagara Falls, is a center of art, history and nature in the center of the borough - and the permanent residence of 600 thousand folks, many notables.

The most visited grave is that of Leonard Bernstein, composer, conductor, pianist, and educator.  It’s a simple tomb next to his wife Felicia, who pre-deceased him.  He would regularly visit her and sit on the bench and talk to her.  

Although everyone associates Bernstein with “West Side Story”, he wanted to be remembered for introducing the public to Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, the score of which lies in his hands for eternity.   

Extras include the Black Family stone, 5th Avenue Brooklyn, and the famous main entrance to the Green-wood Cemetery.