Free Activities And Art Installations Set For This Weekend In Brooklyn

BROOKLYN, NY — The Green-Wood Cemetery opened The Green-House, a new visitor center across from its Main Entrance, following a ribbon-cutting ceremony and public launch tied to the cemetery’s 188th anniversary.

The facility combines the restoration of the 1895 Weir Greenhouse with a new LEED Gold-certified structure designed by Architecture Research Office.

The opening coincides with a weekend of free public programming, including trolley tours, walking tours, and family activities such as planting wildflowers, making sachets and creating remembrance cards.

Visitors can also view artist Jean Shin’s outdoor installation, offering and participate in hands-on art and environmental programming.

The visitor center includes a gallery space, classroom, research center and digital stations that allow visitors to locate burial sites across the cemetery’s 478 acres.

Staff will provide maps and guidance for monuments, walking routes, and historic landmarks across the grounds.

The restored greenhouse, originally a neighborhood flower shop, stands as one of the last surviving Victorian greenhouses in New York City and holds landmark status. The surrounding new structure features a glazed terra cotta façade, sculpted green roof, and low-energy lighting.

Architects Stephen Cassell and Kim Yao said the design frames the historic greenhouse while opening views toward the cemetery’s Gothic Arch.

The project encloses the original Victorian greenhouse within a modern building that houses exhibition space, classrooms, research access and visitor services.

“Just outside the front gates, the Green-House will offer visitors a deeper understanding of Green-Wood’s role as a place of remembrance, a historic landmark, and a green space that brings communities together,” Meera Joshi, president of The Green-Wood Cemetery, said.

Green-Wood, founded in 1838, draws more than 500,000 visitors annually and operates as a cemetery, arboretum, and cultural site. The organization said the new center will expand education, research, and public programming while improving access for visitors exploring the historic grounds.