2. Mausoleums In Many Different Architectural Styles
Given the sheer amount of individuals here and the almost 200 year history, the monuments, mausoleums, sculptures, and tomb stones here are Green-Wood represent a wide variety of architectural and artistic styles. Most mausoleums are built in the Classical style featuring columns, but there’s also a large number of Gothic inspired ones as well. Others look like ornate, medieval chapels, and there are even Egyptian inspired monuments, especially obelisks.
There are also many sculptures across the entire 478 acres, some part of specific tombs, others more decorative. One statue in particular caused a little controversy: Civic Virtue. Originally unveiled as part of a monumental fountain in City Hall Park in 1922, the sculpture group was intended to be an allegorical representation of Virtue triumphing over Treachery and Corruption.
The problem was that Virtue (a man) was standing over and defeating Vice in the form of female mermaids, coming off oppressive to women. It moved to Queens in 1941 only to be met with a new wave of feminists who took issue with it as well, ultimately leading the sculpture to be “banned” to Green-Wood on December 15, 2012.