As you wander through New York City, you’ll come upon a number of street names named for the important Gothamites you’ll also encounter at Green-Wood. The “first families” of the city were all interred here, as were such notables as DeWitt Clinton (a Presidential candidate who was the mastermind behind the Erie Canal), Leonard Bernstein (composer of Broadway’s West Side Story) and artists Louis Comfort Tiffany and Jean Michel Basquiat. Heck, even pets were buried here…until the funeral of a devoted horse convinced the cemetery’s staff to stop the practice in 1870 (the cemetery itself was founded in 1837). It’s not hard to understand why New Yorkers would pick Green-Wood for their eternal rest: Set on the highest point of Brooklyn, it’s a stunning place, considered an arboretum as well as a cemetery for the 7000 trees that grow here. The monuments are equally beautiful, hand-carved in dozens of different styles, ranging from Tiffany-glass-adorned mausoleums to bronze and marble statuary. A final lure: one of the most important battles of the Revolutionary War took place on this hill; you’ll learn about it on Green-wood's excellent trolley and walking tours.