Calvary Cemetery is divided into four sections, spread across the neighborhoods ofMaspeth andWoodside. The oldest, First Calvary, is also called "Old Calvary". The Second, Third and Fourth sections are all considered part of "New Calvary".
The first Calvary Cemetery burial occurred on July 31, 1848. The name of the deceased was Esther Ennis, who reportedly "died of a broken heart." The cemetery was consecrated byArchbishopJohn Hughes in August 1848.[5]
By 1852 there were 50 burials a day, half of them poorIrish under seven years of age. In the early 20th century,influenza andtuberculosis epidemics caused a shortage of gravediggers, and people dug graves for their own loved ones.[5] The entire number of interments from the cemetery's opening in August 1848 until January 1898, was 644,761. From January 1898 until 1907 there were about 200,000 interments, thus yielding roughly 850,000 interments at Calvary Cemetery by 1907.[6]
Calvary was accessible by ferryboats crossing theEast River from23rd Street in Manhattan. It cost an adult seven dollars to be buried there. Burial of children under age seven cost three dollars; children aged seven to fourteen cost five dollars. As development in Manhattan'sEast Village expanded, bodies buried in that neighborhood were transferred to Queens. In 1854, ferry service opened by 10th Street and the East River.
The original division of the cemetery, now known as First Calvary or Old Calvary, was filled by 1867. TheArchdiocese of New York expanded the area of the cemetery, adding more sections, and by the 1990s there were nearly 3 million burials in Calvary Cemetery. The Cemetery continues to add plots and burial spaces can be purchased in advance.
In 1949, several hundred workers at the cemeterywent on strike.
Aerial view of First Calvary in 2020Fourth Calvary with the double-deckedLong Island Expressway in 2009
Calvary is split into four sections. The first section is known as First Calvary or Old Calvary, and is located to the west of the section of theBrooklyn–Queens Expressway (I-278) that runs between theLong Island Expressway (I-495) interchange andNewtown Creek. The others are known collectively as New Calvary, and as a group to the east of the above-mentioned section of the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway.
First Calvary Cemetery is bounded by the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway, Review Ave and 37th Street.
Second Calvary Cemetery is in-between the Long Island and Brooklyn–Queens Expressways, and also bounded by 48th Street and 58th Street. The cemetery's offices are located here, at 49–02 Laurel Hill Boulevard.
Third Calvary Cemetery is north of the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway, and also bounded byQueens Boulevard, 49th Street and 58th Street.
Fourth Calvary Cemetery is south of the Long Island Expressway, and also bounded by 55th Avenue, 50th Street and 58th Street.
The cemetery's chapel is named forSt. Callixtus and was designed byRaymond F. Almirall.[7] Originally a frame structure, it was rebuilt using limestone in 1908.[8]
A small part of the Old Calvary section of the cemetery is a city-owned public park that serves as a burial ground, the Calvary Veterans Park. It was purchased by the City of New York from the Trustees of St. Patrick's Cathedral in 1863, for use as a burial ground for Union soldiers who died in New York hospitals. Twenty-one soldiers were ultimately buried there, with the final burial occurring in 1909.[9]
The Calvary Monument in the park, erected in 1866, originally with bronze sculptures is located in the park. The monument honors the69th Regiment. It is by Daniel Draddy, one of the Draddy Brothers, who sculpted the obelisk toWilliam James MacNeven.[10] There is no signage from either entrance, nor any mention on the official web site's maps. It is located at40°43′51″N73°55′47″W / 40.7308°N 73.9297°W /40.7308; -73.9297. The monument was last renovated in 1929. A conservation effort was initiated in 2009, but as of 2022[update] is not done.
Joseph Petrosino (1860–1909), NYPD's first commanding officer of the "Black Hand Squad" (aka Italian Squad), a precursor to the NYPD's Bomb Squad, who investigated the Italian Mafia who used explosives to shake down businesses in NYC. Detective Lieutenant Petrosino, an Italian-American, was the first NYPD officer killed overseas in the "line of duty", while investigating organized crime in Italy. Subject of the filmPay or Die.
Mary A. Sullivan (1878/1879–1950), first woman in NYPD to be a homicide detective, lieutenant and first grade detective. Founded the Policewoman's Endowment Association.[12]
James O'Brien (1841–1907) – New York City alderman (1864, 1866), Sheriff of New York County (1867), New York State Senator (1872–1873), and U.S. Representative from New York (1879–1881)
Lawrence V. Cullen, J.D., USMC (1948–2012), Justice New York State Court of Claims (appointed by Gov. George Pataki), elected New York State Supreme Court, 11th Judicial District – 1st (Old Calvary – St. Callixtus)
Alfred E. Smith (1873–1944), Governor of New York State and 1928 U.S. presidential candidate
Timothy Sullivan (1862–1913), U.S. Representative in Congress (1903–1906; 1912), long-term member of New York State Legislature and sponsor of theSullivan Act
^abcdeDash, Mike (2009).The First Family: Terror, Extortion and the Birth of the American Mafia. London: Simon & Schuster. p. Epilogue, page 27.ISBN978-1-84737-173-7.
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