I went to one nearby a couple of years ago, and it was cool to read the instriptions, but it made me sad so many have deteriorated to the point of being illegible Also the different styles/fashions that have passed with carving the letters. I saw one new fresh grave that was totally over the top. It was incredible! The much loved teenage daughter of a mobster, they spared no expense

Right next to the University I attended in Dayton, Ohio was Woodland Cemetery. It was located basically on a hill that was the highest in the city so it had some great views.

Me and friends would walk through it every chance we got; sober, drunk, stoned, trippin whatever and just enjoy the view. I know some people find cemeteries creepy and all, but I've always found them to be beautiful peaceful places. Plus it was the place where I courted my first boyfriend.

Anyway this is a photo of one of the more famous local monuments. The pick tells pretty much the whole story.

If you haven't already checked it out, blackguitaristz, you should get a hold of a book called Elysium: A Gathering of Souls : New Orleans Cemeteries. I think you'd enjoy it.

Lammastide said:

Lammastide, great minds think alike. Dig, I do have this book. Someone gave it to me as a gift...I know, huh? But yeah, it's a great book.

Some favorites...

Oscar Wilde (It's tradition to leave a lipstick kiss when you visit)


New Orleans Voodoo Priestess Marie Laveau (Scratch an "X" and/or leave a coin)


Edgar Allan Poe (Leave a rose. Also, every year on Halloween since 1949, an unidentified masked figure, "the Poe Toaster," has come to leave 3 roses and some cognac on his grave. It's become a seasonal event in Baltimore)


I also wanna see James Baldwin and El Hajj Malik el Shabazz's gravesites in New York and Rabbi Judah Loew's in Prague.
[Edited 3/8/08 16:36pm]

I love cemetaries. I like to go and sit near my father's grave. It's very peaceful and sometimes the deer come over to visit.
My favorite cemetary is Forest Lawn in Buffalo. It is very old and beautifully kept and there are many famous people buried here.

shellyevon said:

Oh, talk about many famous people buried somewhere...Hollywood Cemetary.

Well I did some research and I didn't know that Woodland was so important.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w...yton,_Ohio


Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum (200 acres), located at 118 Woodland Avenue, Dayton, Ohio, is one of the oldest "garden" cemeteries in the United States.

Woodland was founded in 1841 by John Whitten Van Cleve (July, 1801–6 September 1858), the first male child born in Dayton. He was the son of Benjamin Van Cleve and Mary Whitten Van Cleve. The cemetery began with 40 acres southeast of Dayton and has been enlarged to its present size of 200 acres. Over 3,000 trees and 165 specimens of native Midwestern trees and woody plants grace the rolling hills. Many of the trees are more than a century old and 9 have been designated "Ohio Champions." The highest point in Dayton is within the cemetery, and during the Great Dayton Flood of 1913, it became a place of refuge.

The Romanesque gateway, chapel and office, completed in 1889, are on the National Register of Historic Places. The buildings were constructed of the stone from the original cemetery wall. The chapel has one of the finest original Tiffany windows in the country. A mausoleum, with a rock and bronze exterior, features twenty-two varieties of imported marble and twelve large stained glass windows inspired by famous literary works. It was added in 1970.

cool.

http://www.woodlandcemete...0Final.pdf

I'm trying to find better pictures cause some of the monuments are just breathtaking.
[Edited 3/8/08 18:22pm]




http://www.woodlandcemetery.org/
[Edited 3/8/08 18:32pm]

lazycrockett said:

Awww man,....I LOVE that. That's a beautiful tombstone. I ADORE angel statues. I relate to them so much. I don't give a fuck if it sounds weird.. That shit is true.

I love them. I've probably been to Père-Lachaise about 6 times, and I still haven't been through the whole place.

Recoleta in Buenos Aires is really cool too, and there are kitties everywhere.

Here's a pic I took at Brompton Cemetery in London last year...



and here's Trinity Church Cemetery in Manhattan... (the gravestones actually look fake to me from the front )

minneapolisgenius said:

I've actually been to Trinity last time I was in New York. I've seen Recoleta and Pere-Lachaise in my books.That's cool you've seen Pere in person. I would love to see those in person.

blackguitaristz said:

I wonder how much it would cost to be mummified.

When I was around 13, some of my friends and myself would go to this cemetery at night where the gates were always open. I would ask my mom if I could spend the night at my best friend's house just as an excuse for us to go after midnight. My friend's older cousin was old enough to drive so a group of us would go. Sometimes it would be really scary. The atmosphere would be totally different at times. I remember I had this crush on one of my friend's cousin's friend. She was 16 and wicked fine. I mean, she was so pretty that it was kinda scary. I don't know who on here can relate to that but...Anyway, Linda was her name and besides being stunning, her aura was kinda weird too. Which made me dig her more. Although she was 16, for some reason, she seemed to be my age. I loved when I would see her in the car. No matter how many people would be in the car, I always ended up to manage to sit next to her.

AnckSuNamun said:

Damn...that's a good question. Would u want that done to yourself?