New York Marble Cemetery

Opened in 1830, the New York Marble Cemetery was the first public, non-religious burial ground in the City, and remains a fascinating half-acre sliver of history. The somewhat secret cemetery is open to the public on a limited schedule, but it's worth making the time to glimpse the remnants of the past in a peaceful, pastoral setting in the thick of the East Village. Now decreed by the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, this patch of green contains more than 2,000 bodies but no headstones—only simple marble signs along the walls denote those who are buried underground. Special arts events occasionally take place on the grounds. The Cemetery is open roughly once a month, April through October.