The New York City Marble Cemetery

The New York City Marble Cemetery opened its gates for the public this afternoon, something it only does a few times a year. Also known as the Second Avenue Cemetery, this half-acre of land squeezed between East Village tenements originally opened in 1831 and for much of that century was quite the fashionable place to be buried. Unlike common burial practices, concern for the spread of yellow fever meant the dead were buried deep in vaults of Tuckahoe marble. The grounds are surrounded on three sides by a high wall of rubble while an imposing iron fence separates it from the street.

The cemetery's most prominent member was President James Monroe, who was buried here in 1831, though his remains were later moved elsewhere. Other notable residents include one-time mayor Stephen Allen, financier Moses Taylor, archaeologist John Lloyd Stephens, and a shipping merchant known enigmatically as Preserved Fish.

The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.




This monument to archaeologist John Lloyd Stephens incorporates Mayan glyphs into the design.




Possibly the greatest name in the history of New York City, Mangle M. Quackenbos.