Buffalo Rising

“Buffalo….who knew” that Forest Lawn, the cemetery located in the city proper/adjacent to Olmsted’s Delaware Park that dates back to 1849, was part of the 19th-century rural (or garden) cemetery movement?

The movement, which represented a nationwide shift inspired by Romanticism, aimed to move burials out of cramped, unsanitary city centers into beautifully landscaped, park-like settings. It was centered on three primary tenants: picturesque landscapes, art & commemoration, and public recreation. The visionary founders of Forest Lawn took inspiration from other notable garden cemeteries, including Père Lachaise (1804, Paris), Mount Auburn Cemetery (1831, Cambridge, MA), Green-Wood Cemetery (1838, Brooklyn, NY) and Spring Grove Cemetery (1855, Cincinnati, OH)–all of which were designed to balance art and nature.
https://www.buffalorising.com/2026/06/buffalo-who-knew-that-forest-lawn-was-part-of-the-19th-century-rural-or-garden-cemetery-movement

Until recently, I had never paid a visit to the Niagara Arts & Cultural Center (The NACC) in Niagara Falls, NY. So when I was invited to tour the facility with its executive director, Jennifer Pauly, I jumped at the opportunity.
https://www.buffalorising.com/2026/06/podcast-exploring-the-niagara-arts-cultural-center-the-nacc-with-director-jennifer-pauly