Lectures

From Below the Ground Up: A Geologist’s Reading of Urban Cemeteries in NYC

New York, NY

 

NYC Parks, Cypress Hills Cemetery, The New York Chapter of the Association for Gravestone Studies and The Evergreens Cemetery Preservation Foundation will present a series of three lectures in 2014 as part of the Uncommon Ground Series: Urban Cemeteries as Historic Landscapes Part II: Design, Topography/Geology and Stewardship. The subject of urban cemeteries, both private and public, will be explored with a view toward greater  understanding, appreciation and stewardship of these evocative landscapes.

On Tuesday, March 11, 2014 at 6:00 pm Sidney Horenstein will speak on From Below the Ground \/ Up /\: A Geologist’s Reading of Urban Cemeteries in NYC. New York City has the most diverse geology of any city in the United States. What role, if any, did geology play in the location and design and maintenance issues of our historic cemeteries? Older cemeteries, to some extent, preserve original topography. They are also important places to study the processes of weathering as well as the physical and chemical properties of the stones used in monuments, mausolea, and gravestones. With such a variety of cemeteries in the five boroughs, each individual site is a geological educational resource. Mr. Horenstein will share some historic and prehistoric clues embedded in these unique landscapes to help us better understand the physical character of their rich landscape. Learn more here.

Additional lectures in the series will take place on Tuesday, February 11 and Thursday, April 3.