To commemorate the signing of the legislation that authorized the creation of Mount Auburn Cemetery, representatives from the Commonwealth's Senate and House of Representatives presented Mount Auburn with proclamations in honor of the Cemetery's 175th Anniversary. The Cemetery was also presented with a proclamation from the City of Cambridge.

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The Cemetery commemorated the actual 175th Anniversary of the Consecration of Mount Auburn with a special program held on Bigelow Chapel Lawn. The program included remarks by William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; Paul Grogan, President, the Boston Foundation; and Reverend Peter Gomes, Pusey Minister, Memorial Church, Harvard University, and Plummer Professor of Christian Morals, Harvard University. The program also included a poetry reading by poet Celia Gilbert and a brass fanfare provided by The New England Conservatory of Music. Following the ceremony, guests were able to enjoy refreshements provided for the event by Whole Foods Market, River Street, Cambridge.

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Members of the Pro-Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston joined us at the Cemetery in October for an Ensemble Recital in Story Chapel. The program featured music by Arthur Foote (1853-1937) and Walter Piston (1894-1976), composers who are buried at Mount Auburn. This special event was generously funded by the Halvorson Design Partnership, Inc.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr., W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of Humanities at Harvard University, joined us at the Boston Public Library, Copley Square, to speak about W.E.B. Du Bois and Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, an incomparable guide to the history and culture of Africa and the African Diaspora including references to African Americans buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery.  This lecture, the first in our "Facets of Mount Auburn" lecture series, was co-sponsored by the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

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Steven Ledbetter, musicologist and former program notes annotator for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, shared his thoughts on Rediscovering a Musical Culture and Boston's music life between 1875 and 1925 at the Boston Public Library, Copley Square. This lecture in the "Facets of Mount Auburn" lecture series was co-sponsored by the New England Conservatory.

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The Vose Galleries of Boston hosted a special exhibition of paintings by artists who were either buried or cremated at Mount Auburn Cemetery.

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Peter Dobkin Hall, Hauser Lecturer on Nonprofit Organizations at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, discussed the history of Boston non-profit institutions during his lecture No Margin; No Mission: Mount Auburn Cemetery as a Charitable Enterprise at the Boston Public Library, Copley Square. This lecture in the "Facets of Mount Auburn" lecture series was co-sponsored by The Boston Foundation.

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The Friends of Mount Auburn and the Longfellow National Historic Site presented a special program detailing Longfellow's involvement in the abolition movement at Mount Auburn's Story Chapel. The special event honored the 200th anniversary of the birth of Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and also celebrated the induction of both Mount Auburn Cemetery and the Longfellow National Historic Site into the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program. The program concluded with birthday cake and a wreath-laying at Longfellow's grave.

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David Dearinger, Susan Mores Hilles Curator of Paintings and Sculpture at the Boston Athenaeum, discussed American NeoClassic Sculptors and their Patrons at Mount Auburn Cemetery, 1820-1870 at the Boston Public Library, Copley Square. This lecture in the "Facets of Mount Auburn" lecture series was co-sponsored by the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

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Daniel J. Hinkley, celebrated horticulturist, plant explorer, and author, focused on The Asian Connection and the influence of Asian horticulture on Western landscapes such as Mount Auburn Cemetery in his talk at the Boston Public Library, Copley Square. This lecture in the "Facets of Mount Auburn" lecture series was co-sponsored by the Arnold Arboretum, Massachusetts Horticultural Society, New England Wildflower Society and Wellesley College Botanic Gardens.

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Wayne R. Petersen, Director of the Massachusetts Important Bird Areas for the Massachusetts Audubon Society, Norman Smith, Director of the Massachusetts Audubon Society's Blue Hills Trailside Museum, and natural history author Scott Weidensaul discussed The Pleasure, Art and Science of Birding at the Boston Public Library, Copley Square. This lecture in the "Facets of Mount Auburn" lecture series was co-sponsored by the Harvard Museum of Natural History and Massachusetts Audubon Society.

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Dr. Charles Beveridge, Series Editor of The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted, and Arleyn Levee, a national expert on cultural landscapes and their preservation, discussed Mount Auburn and other desgined landscapes during their discussion on The Cemetery and the Park: Nature, The Designed Landscape and Urban Planning at the Boston Public Library, Copley Square. This lecture in the "Facets of Mount Auburn" lecture series was co-sponsored by the National Association for Olmsted Parks, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site and Friends of Fairsted.

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A concert held at Mount Auburn's Bigelow Chapel, featuring Soloist Jean Danton and pianist Thomas Stumpf, was the perfect celebration of spring. Ms. Danton and Mr. Stumpf performed works written by composers cremated or buried at Mount Auburn, including George Whitefield Chadwick (1854-1931), John Knowles Paine (1839-1906), Randall Thompson (1899-1984), Harvey Worthington Loomis (1865-1930), Margaret Ruthven Lang (1867-1972), Henry Kimball Hadley (1871-1937) and Arthur Foote (1853-1937).

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To end a year-long series of events throughout Boston, Mount Auburn hosted a special gala evening at the Cemetery. Guests enjoyed cocktails in Asa Gray Garden followed by dinner and remarks under a clear tent on Bigelow Chapel Lawn. Special remarks were delivered by PBS documentary filmmaker Rick Sebak, Mayor of Cambridge Kenneth Reeves, and Chair of the Mount Auburn Board of Trusettes James Storey. Music throughout the evening was provided by the Longy School of Music and the New England Spiritual Ensemble.

This evening was made possible through the generous support of many indivduals, foundations and companies.

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CO-SPONSOR - Harvard University Art Museums

Please join us to celebrate the Grand Opening of the Mount Auburn Visitors Center at Story Chapel.  Explore the Visitors Center's new exhibit "Mount Auburn Cemetery: A New American Landscape" before going out on the grounds to enjoy the beauty of Mount Auburn in autumn.  Walking tours and special family-friendly activities will occur at the Cemetery throughout the afternoon.