Item From the Past: Grant's Tomb

On Saturday, I could sit out on the deck and eat lunch, and then read, without thinking about how various parts of me were getting cold. On Sunday, I could do it again. So I did. How often does this happen in November? Just about never.

But there have been a good number of good walking days in November, as opposed to sitting around outside. On Sunday, November 5, 2000, I had a fine walk around parts of Manhattan that were new to me, including the Columbia University campus, the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, and this structure:

It's Grant's Tomb, a remarkable edifice, and officially the General Grant National Memorial in Riverside Park. According to the National Park Service, "Approximately 90,000 people from around the world donated over $600,000 towards the construction of Grant's Tomb. [In big, fat 1890s dollars, mind you.] This was the largest public fundraising effort ever at that time. Designed by architect John Duncan, the granite and marble structure was completed in 1897 and remains the largest mausoleum in North America. Over one million people attended the parade and dedication ceremony of Grant's Tomb on April 27, 1897."