Sunday at Trinity Cemetery

On Sunday, after Stephen and I looked at the Grinnell on 158th Street, we continued our walk down along Riverside Drive and then back up 155th Street.
The snow was melting into puddles, which made the cobblestones seems somehow timeless, as though they had risen from the bottom of the sea. In looking at this photograph later, I realized that the lines of cars really ruined the image for me, however, and I wished that they could be banned from Manhattan (except for mine, of course).
To the south of 155th Street is the last working cemetery in Manhattan -- Trinity Cemetery -- which extends all the way from the river up to Amsterdam Avenue. It's one of the most beautiful, serene spots in the neighborhood, and it never fails to remind me of Pere Lachaise in Paris, where I used to spend hours wandering among the tombstones and mausoleums. I think if I were ever going to be buried, this would be as ideal a spot as any, given the hills, the mature trees and the views of the Hudson. Today at the gym, I thought about the importance of contemplative viewpoints as I did my workout on the rowing machine; at some point in the past week, some considerate soul had switched the machines around so that instead of facing people's butts on the elliptical trainers, we now face the windows, through which it's possible to watch the endless stream of pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Needless to say, this makes the workout go much faster, the relative attraction of some ppl's butts notwithstanding.  On Sunday, Stephen and I waved at a couple of kids who had created a sled run on the hill adjacent to the cemetery, an almost startling display of contrast of life and death. (A dog was also barking continuously around the corner, and the kids were yelling at it to be quiet.) We admired the intricate wrought-iron grill work and felt certain -- given the prohibitive cost of creating something similar today -- that this too was an appropriate marker for those who are no longer among the living. 

Comments

[Caitlin]

<3 wrought-iron and that fence is so, so, so gorgeous!

[Matthew Gallaway]

Thanks, Caitlin -- its a very magical place!

[Edward S.]

My boyfriend and I live around the corner from this cemetery and on our way to walk in Hudson River Park last month we took advantage of the open gates to go in and wander around. We paid obeisance to John James Audubon by remarking on any birds we saw. There was a thoughtfully supplied bench in front of Hizzoner Edward Koch's eventual resting place (there is a lavish marker and everything already engraved awaiting a final date) where we sat for a while in contemplation of his majestic legacy. There was also a huge guy with dreadlocks who walked amid the gravestones cawing like an eagle - homage to Audubon, perhaps?

[Matthew Gallaway]

Thanks for the comment, Edward -- too bad Ed Koch seems intent on staying in the closet until hes buried!

[Edward S.]

It is equally a shame that his epitaph isn't "How'd I do?"