The walk home

After leaving the armory we took the 4 train to the last stop and, after seeing that the next bus wasn't coming for another 20 minutes, we decided to walk home through the cemetery.

A little history: Woodlawn Cemetery opened in 1863, established as an alternative to Brooklyn's Greenwood cemetery, which at the time was the only place in the city deemed a proper burial ground for the well-to-do. Among the many notable people buried there are jazz legend Miles Davis, Moby-Dick author Herman Melville, former mayor Fiorello La Guardia, Joseph Pulitzer (of the prize), Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (founder of the Whitney museum), and on and on.

I'd never been in there before, but had been meaning to check it out for awhile. We stuck to the main route that leads from one gate to the other, but one day we'll go back and explore it in more detail. Regardless, what we did see was intriguing enough for now. I love this statue--the dirt covering the face really adds something.

When I took this photo I wondered if this particular Woolworth was the one with the department store, and apparently it is. The sphinxes guarding his tomb really make a statement.

I found myself drawn to this door (love the effect of the patination).

The roads within the cemetery are all marked with these quaint-looking green signs.

I noticed a bunch of these random letters on the ground. I'm guessing they're marking the sections of the plots.

So many beautiful, creepy statues.

I have to imagine that some joker put this "endowed" plaque next to the "Seaman" stone. Although I did see a number of those plaques elsewhere, and I have no idea what they're supposed to mean.

This tree trunk kind of reminds me of the Elephant Man. No disrespect.