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November 7, 1952. "New York City views. Old cemetery No. 1, Shearith Israel, Old Bowery or St. James Place." 4x5 inch acetate negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size.
buried in New York could be Lorenzo da Ponte, though not in this cemetery. He wrote the librettos for several of Mozarts most popular operas including "The Marriage of Figaro". Born Emanuele Conigliano in Venice, he changed his name when the family converted to Catholicism. He later became a Catholic priest, although he led such a dissolute life that he was banished from Venice. Making his way to Vienna, he was appointed official librettist for the Italian Theater by the emperor. When he wasn't writing librettos for Mozart, he was writing them for Salieri as well. Later he went to New York, where he was employed as a professor of Italian literature at Columbia University. He also started up an opera house, which later ended up as the Metropolitan Opera. After dying in 1838, an elaborate funeral was held for him at the old St. Patrick's Cathedral on Mulberry Street. However, no-one really knows where he is actually buried, having that in common with Mozart.
At 3:30 a.m. on the day this was taken I was born about 1,000 miles to the west.
People were shorter back in the olden days.
The day you posted this the NY COVID-19 death toll is 965, with 267 in the past 24 hours. May all Rest In Peace. Everybody else, shelter in place!
Unlike most of the structures in Shorpy photographs, cemeteries tend to stay put.
Wikipedia has an interesting page on this place, and it reveals that it is the only remaining 17th century structure in Manhattan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Shearith_Israel_Graveyard
You can see a few more photos of it here:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:First_Cemetery_of_the_Spanis...
In the upper right of the photo, the word SHORPY is seen. Has to be a sign, right?
Boy, it looks like you guys have a really lavish office building. Included is a great view of the cemetery.
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