Staying Fit
Cemeteries seemed spooky places to avoid when I was young, but I’ve grown to appreciate them as a place to go to pay respects for my loved ones and also as a guide to our national history. Some of our favorite resting places below are significant not only because of their interred residents but because of the way they represent and reflect the populations that built their area, the commonality in life’s work and the flavor and development of that part of the nation.
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Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Location: Los Angeles
Founded: 1899
Famous burials: Cecil B. DeMille, Jayne Mansfield, Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Tyrone Power, Douglas Fairbanks, Rudolf Valentino and Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny and many other cartoon favorites, whose tomb reads, “That’s all folks.”
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What makes it special: Listed on the National Register of Historic Sites, this cemetery is an integral part of the growth of early Hollywood and includes a walking map and guide for family and friends, as well as tourists. It hosts summer outdoor movie screenings, concerts and a Dia de los Muertos celebration.
Green-Wood Cemetery
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Founded: 1838 as a rural cemetery
Famous burials: Designer Louis Comfort Tiffany, printmakers Currier and Ives, public leaders Henry Ward Beecher and Horace Greely, businessmen Edward R. Squibb, William Colgate and Charles Pfizer, artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and conductor Leonard Bernstein
What makes it special: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a National Historic Landmark, it covers 478 acres. There’s a sculpted double gate entrance and a 19th century entrance building with clock tower and chapel.
St. Louis Cemetery No. 1
Location: New Orleans
Founded: 1789, the oldest cemetery in New Orleans