oooh, i missed last weeks taphophile tragics!! i started on the post on tuesday. and on wednesday. and posted nothing on either day (and i also did not visit the other taphophiles... :( ). a new tuesday and its very late yet again, an hour after midnight....
so, just a quick post of tim and me when we are at a cemetery. i guess this is what others will see quite often, as we are reading (or trying to read) whats inscribed on the stone. normally we dont have a photographer to record our behavior, but this time my sister was present (every now and then we do drag others to cemeteries)... this is in new york, at the graveyard surrounding the st. pauls chapel. this church was built in 1766, and is the oldest church still in use in manhattan. its just one block away from the world trade center; it survived the september 11 attacks quite well. some stones did break, and ofcourse the entire graveyard was covered in rubbish (as you can see here), but it came out relatively unharmed. most likely because of all the trees surrounding the place. it cost 300,000 dollars to restore the church and headstones, which were vacuumed and washed. i myself did not take any pictures here, we could not really read/photograph the inscription, and i just "did not see it", somehow.... (or was too lazy).
we just got back from a movie; bernie. its about an assistant funeral director (jack black; hes really good) that eventually kills one of its future clients... its based on a true story that happened in texas in 1996. we really enjoyed it!
for other taphophiles, go here.
10 comments:
Sometimes I have visited cemeteries and also 'did not see (feel) it'. I am in the process of culling a few photos of markers that were not as interesting as I at first thought.
I have been there too, the graves are very old, but the place is a bit noisy with all the traffic around.
Great to see two taphophiles at work. I rarely go to a cemetery with anyone. Not sure I know anyone who could stand to be bored for 4 hours on end. And not sit down. Nor eat, nor drink. Just meander, and read, and scuff with my stick to see what might or might not be there.
What is all that stuff in the foreground. At first I thought it was bedding for the homeless. But perhaps it is headstone maintenance.
300K to vacuum headstones. Whoa!! But that is an interesting read about St Paul's and yes to see the WTC site as it is now from within the graveyard would be very moving, perhaps even more so than getting closer.
Great picture and such a fascinating place.
Herding Cats
I've walked past St Paul's Chapel a number of times, but never stopped to meander in the graveyard. Bad me.
@julie; yes, i think it was for some sort of construction. perhaps the graveyard, or the church itself... dont know now anymore!
Great post! Very interesting to see a graveyard that old in the middle of a city. In San Francisco, where I'm from originally, as the city grew the graveyards were dug up and relocated further away. The property was obviously considered more valuable for other uses. To see one still in the heart of NYC is surprising.
What a great shot! We visited this cemetery when in your city. I must try and find those photos...
I like this photo. I have a few photos of myself where I am at a cemetery trying to read what is on the headstones :-). The stones at this cemetery are indeed very difficult to read, or not at all. But I do like it there, in the middle of the city, all that city noise around you.
The Wall Street Journal had an article about the new trend for vacationers to bring along a photographer to record the holiday. I scoffed at the article, and now, here you are!
Isn't it fascinating to see very old cemeteries squeezed in between the modern highrise buildings?
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