Travel

‘One of the Wonders of New York’ Is a Little-Seen Cemetery in the Bronx

History, celebrity, and leafy beauty live on at Woodlawn

Duke Ellington’s grave at Woodlawn Cemetery in New York City. 

Photographer: Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images North America

New York (AP) -- Michael Cumella, dressed in 1920s garb, laid his old Victrola record player down among the tombstones and turned to the small tour group assembled under the towering trees at Woodlawn Cemetery.

“She was the diva of her day. The Beyoncé of her day,” he said, brushing leaves off the modest stone commemorating vaudeville star Nora Bayes.