Trinity Cemetery and Mausoleum

Last week I went to the original Trinity Church and burial ground in Lower Manhattan, and when I did some research, I found out that there were actually two other cemeteries affiliated with Trinity. I had been to the one at St. Paul's Chapel (not far from Trinity Church), but I never knew that the one in Hamilton Heights/Washington Heights even existed. It turns out that it's actually the only remaining active cemetery in Manhattan, and only a few stops on the 1 train away from where I live.

Trinity Cemetery and Mausoleum spans between West 153rd and 155th streets, from Riverside Drive to Amsterdam Avenue, with Broadway splitting it into two halves. I feel sort of stupid that I wasn't aware of its existence until recently, but I'm so glad I went exploring on Saturday. It was a warm day, although it was very, very windy and the dead leaves swirling around the headstones added an extra level of creepiness.

The western half of the cemetery sits atop a steep hill, which slopes down toward the Hudson and provides great views of the river and the George Washington Bridge. As usual, I basically had the entire cemetery to myself, and I only saw three other people the whole time I was there. The western half is more tightly packed, and I'm assuming older, than the eastern half and has more of the old, crumbling tombstones that I love so much.

While the grounds seemed well-maintained in general, I saw more knocked over or broken tombstones than I have at any of the other New York cemeteries I've been to. There were others that were being pushed over by growing trees, some that had almost sunk into the ground entirely and some that I couldn't possibly figure out how they had even broken in the first place.

I recently attended a lecture about urban cemeteries (because I'm 100-years-old) and learned all about the weathering patterns of various headstone materials. The older stones made from brownstones, limestone and even marble fair much worse than the newer ones made from granite, which will pretty much last forever. I really dislike the way modern headstones look, and while I understand the appeal of longevity, there should be a way to maintain a classic aesthetic while still using heartier materials. The rounded shapes and simple typography and engravings will always be preferable, to me at least, to the photographic etchings and tacky clipart that adorns most modern stones.

Because I'm also sometimes five-years-old, I couldn't help but be delighted when I found a plot for the Ham family and, shortly after, one for the Burger family — is it too much to hope that they were friends in real life, or at least the afterlife? Unfortunately they weren't located next to each other, but they were still in the same cemetery, so that was enough to at least make me laugh.

Of course this is prime real estate, so Trinity has its share of famous residents, including the Astors, Jerry Orbach (whom I couldn't find) and former New York Mayor Ed Koch, who was only buried early last year. Ralph Waldo Ellison and John James Audubon are also buried here, although I wasn't able to find their plots and the office was closed so I didn't have access to a map. I did recognize a few other famous New York names like Schermerhorn (a subway stop) and Jumel (of the Morris-Jumel mansion) and there are a lot of important congressmen, mayors and businessmen buried at Trinity.

There were a lot of family plots, designated by decorative cast iron gates and fences, which I love. The saddest tombstone I saw, however, was definitely the double one for Henry Coulter, who died in 1882 and seemingly never found anyone willing or worthy enough to be buried next to him. The sight of a blank half of a tombstone so clearly made for two breaks my heart every time I think about Henry spending eternity completely alone, when he so obviously — and perhaps too optimistically — had hoped not to be.

On the eastern side is a plaque marking the spot of some of the "fiercest fighting of the Battle of Washington Heights," which occurred in 1776. I love stumbling on these little bits of history sprinkled in every corner of the city, and I never know when I'm going to be surprised by one.

There must have been a very recent addition to the mausoleum because a panel had been removed and there was super creepy red velvet curtain hung over the opening. This isn't something I've ever seen in the old, out-of-commission cemeteries that I'm used to visiting. It made me wonder just how hard it is to actually get a spot in Trinity Cemetery — New York is the most expensive place to live in the US, and I would expect that final resting places, especially as beautiful as this one, are no exception.