Beth Olam Cemetery

The Beth Olam Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, New York City. It is located in the city's Cemetery Belt, bisected by the border between Brooklyn and Queens.

Beth Olam Cemetery
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	2 Cypress Hills St., Brooklyn, New York
Coordinates	40°41′26″N 73°52′48″W
Area	12.37 acres (5.01 ha)
Built	1851
NRHP reference No.	16000254[1]
Added to NRHP	May 16, 2016

It is a rural cemetery in style, and was started in 1851 by three Manhattan Jewish congregations: Congregation Shearith Israel (Spanish Portuguese) on West 70th Street, B'nai Jeshurun on West 89th Street, and Temple Shaaray Tefila on East 79th Street.

In 1882, Calvert Vaux was commissioned to design a small, red brick Metaher house or place of purification and pre-burial eulogies, near the entrance to the Shearith Israel section. It is the only religious building that Vaux, the co-designer of Central Park, is known to have designed.

The burial ground contains many examples of architecture and funerary art.[2]

Vandalism

In April 2019, a thief stole 14 doors from mausoleums valued at $30,000 and 75 air vents.[3]

Notable burials

• Abraham Cohn (1832–1897), American Civil War Union Army soldier and recipient of the Medal of Honor[4]
• Abraham Lopes Cardozo (1914–2006), Dutch-born hazzan of Congregation Shearith Israel
• Benjamin Cardozo (1870–1938), American lawyer and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.[5]
• Emma Lazarus (1849–1887), American author, poetess, and activist, who wrote the poem The New Colossus describing the Statue of Liberty; niece of Jacques Judah Lyons.[5][6]
• Uriah P. Levy (1792–1862), American naval officer, real estate investor, philanthropist, and the first Jewish Commodore of the United States Navy.[7][8]
• Jacques Judah Lyons (1814-1877), Surinamese-born American rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel; uncle of Emma Lazarus.[6]
• Henry Pereira Mendes (1852–1937) British-born American rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel[9]
• David de Sola Pool (1885–1970), British-born American rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel

References

1. "Beth Olam Cemetery". National Park Service. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
2. Marena Wisniewski; Jennifer Betsworth (January 2016). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Beth Olam Cemetery / The Fourth Spanish and Portuguese Cemetery (with 32 photos from 2015)" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
3. Celona, Larry; McCarthy, Craig (April 21, 2019). "Thieves loot $30K of goods from historic Jewish cemetery". New York Post. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
4. Abraham Cohn at Find a grave
5. Kaufman, May (April 22, 2019). "Thief Steals $30K In Mausoleum Items From Jewish Cemetery: Report". patch.com. Patch. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
6. Dwyer, Jim (May 21, 2010). "163 Years Later, a President Visits to Say Thank You". New York Times. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
7. "Congregation Shearith Israel – America's First Jewish Congregation –Beth Olam Cemetery". shearithisrael.org. Congregation Shearith Israel. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
8. Uriah Phillips Levy at Find a Grave
9. "700 Pay Tributes at Mendes Rites – Simple Funeral Is Held for Rabbi Emeritus of Shearith Israel Congregation – Service As He Directed – No Praise of Him Is Uttered and Body Is Left in Room Next to 'Auditorium Built for God'". New York Times. October 25, 1937. p. 22. Retrieved April 22, 2019.