Statue outside the U.S. Supreme Court, 1 First Street NE in Washington, DC. ‘Contemplation of Justice’ by sculptor James Earle Fraser depicts a female figure in meditation while holding a book of law in one hand and a figure of Justice in the other. Fraser also sculpted the Frederic A. and Florence Sheffield Boardman Keep memorial at St. Paul’s Rock Creek Cemetery, among other famous works.
It’s not called “The Empire State” for no reason–New York is not only among the largest states in the U.S., it’s also among the most influential. Its citizens have made an outsized contribution to American history and culture, and today you can visit the final resting places of many of these historic and influential personalities.
Mount Hope Cemetery, at 1133 Mount Hope Avenue, in Rochester, New York, was founded in 1838 as a municipal rural cemetery on the hills overlooking the Genesee River. It sprawls over 196 acres adjacent to the University of Rochester. More than 350,000 former residents are interred there, including abolitionist Frederick Douglass, suffragette Susan B. Anthony, and city founder Nathaniel Rochester.
Belle Isle, in the James River in downtown Richmond, Virginia, opened as a public park in 1973. During the American Civil War, it was a prison camp for Union POWs. Disease, starvation, and exposure took a toll, and as many as 1,000 prisoners died on the island. In the twentieth century, the Virginia Electric Power Company operated a hydroelectric power plant on Belle Isle. The ruins of the power plant and the nail factory can still be seen to this day. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
Monument to John (1835-1919), Dora (1833-1905), and Amelia (1864-1941) Nill in Brookside Cemetery, at Watertown Center Loop and Brookside Drive, Watertown, Jefferson County, New York. John Nill was a German immigrant from Nehren, Kingdom of Wurtemberg. He was a baker and cigar manufacturer by trade, Freemason, and mayor of Watertown in 1888. The inscription on his monument reads:
Humanity is our creed. To do good is our religion. The world is our home.
Alternative model Sara Lynn poses in a skeletal bodysuit, black skirt, and custom-made skull tiara in Greenwood Cemetery in Rockford, Illinois. I opted for a yellowish-tinted, well-lit background to contrast with her outfit. I think the purple streaks in her hair add the perfect dash of color.
Check out my other photo shoots with Sara Lynn: Primordial and Concrete Sunset.
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Headstone for Lt. Elam S. P. Clapp (1842-1864) in Oakwood Cemetery, 50 101st Street, Troy, Rensselaer County, New York. Lt. Clapp led Company A, 125th NY Volunteer Infantry, in the 3rd Brigade, First Division, II Corps, Union Army of the Potomac, at the attack on the “Mule Shoe” on March 12, 1864 during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. Fighting there was some of the most desperate and bloody of the war. The regiment’s commander, Capt. E. P. Jones, was killed, and Lt. Clapp was mortally wounded. This 300-acre cemetery was established in 1848 and designed in rural style. It offers a beautiful view of the Hudson Valley and contains the remains of over 16,000 people, including Samuel “Uncle Sam” Wilson.
Sweeney’s Grocery and Hunting Supplies Store, 13238 Catoctin Furnace Road outside Thurmont, Maryland. Check out that old Pepsi sign. One thing’s for sure, you know there’s no shortage of soda here.
