AROUND 1750, a cemetery was established on a slight rise at the far western edge of Staten Island. Perhaps the spot was chosen for its restful prospect over a salt marsh shoreline and the tidal strait separating New York from New Jersey. Or perhaps it was chosen because marshy edges, until recently, were considered of little use.
Only a few dozen headstones remain, eroded and broken. The view is ruined, too. Below is what locals call the boat graveyard, dozens of rusting, half-submerged ships and barges. To the west, the New Jersey bank is cluttered with industrial facilities. Just north, across a creek, is a long slope, blank but for grass cover, reaching a height of 225 feet. This is the largest of four mounds at one of the world’s…
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Landscape Architecture (Digital) - 1 Issue, November 2024