Who knew an article authored by Jeff Gottlieb would inspire a turtle walk on a quest for the rich and famous buried at the historic Maple Grove Cemetery?
Established in 1875, I discovered that in August of 2004 Maple Grove Cemetery (MGC) was inducted into The National Register of Historical Places. Major Queens County streets, boulevards, roads and drives are named after many of the notables deposed there such as Elizabeth Riis, John H. Sutphin, Theodire F. Archer, J. Harvey Smedley, Joseph B. Everitt, Edward Mandel, D.R.P. Marquis, Harold G. Cambell and a host of other extraordinary citizens.
Located directly across from Maple Grove Park in Briarwood, Queens County, New York, there is a very elegant entrance leading into the Maple Grove Cemetery on Queens Blvd. Unfortunately, the ancient stone monument marking the Briarwood entrance was defaced by vandals several years ago and the chemicals used to clean the grafitti marred the surface and beautiful craftsmanship of the work. However, there are numerous outstanding monuments errected throughout the landscape so intricately carved the cemetery has become a quiet tourist attraction. One particularly fetching area that can be viewed directly from Queens Blvd is Liberty Gardens. The stonework is amazing! Out of respect for the deposed, I've limited the selection of eye candy to post, but I must say the landscaping here is exquisite.
To quote Mr. Gottlieb's article, "Opened in 1875, Maple Grove Cemetery is a beautiful, 65-acre burial ground in Kew Gardens, with its main entrance on Kew Gardens Road and Lefferts Boulevard. It was modeled, in part, after the Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, a 478-acre tract, also well above (478 feet) sea level, and established in 1838 as a rural cemetery and horticultural garden, Maple Grove, like Greenwood, is an oasis in an urban environment."
I can attest to that fact, Mr. Gottlieb. Very well said, indeed.
Here is some eye candy from my turtle walk.
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