Green-House at Green-Wood inches closer to its long-awaited opening

The space is slated to open spring of next year

The Green-Wood Cemetery provided an update on construction of its greenhouse and Education Center.

A photo was posted on its Facebook page of the progress of the space on Aug. 15, which is now called the Green-House at Green-Wood.

“Signage is up, fencing is down—the Green-House is moving ever-closer to being ready to welcome our community,” the post read. “Bravo to our design team and to everyone who has contributed to this next chapter. Architecture by @Architecture.Research.Office; landscape by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc.”

Ground was broken for the $34 million project in 2023. The grand opening is now planned for spring 2026.

Once open, along with a restored historic greenhouse space, the area will feature a visitor welcome and orientation area, a classroom for 3K-12th-grade school programs, community meetings, and two exhibition galleries to engage with Green-Wood’s history.

The two-story, L-shaped education and welcome center will wrap around the cemetery’s greenhouse.

Construction of the new facility is supported by $4.1 million in funding from New York State, including $2 million from the New York State Council on the Arts, $1.5 million from Empire State Development, and $600,000 from the State legislature.

“To be located right across the street from the Main Entrance at 25th Street and Fifth Avenue, it will combine the restored Victorian-era Weir Greenhouse with a new building and serve as a central hub where you can engage with so much of what Green-Wood has to offer,” its website reads. 

The Weir Greenhouse was built in 1880 by Brooklyn florist James Weir Jr. The Weir family owned and operated it until they sold it to McGovern Florist in 1971.

According to the New York Times, Green-Wood Cemetery bought the greenhouse in 2012 for $1.63 million from McGovern Florists, a flower-selling family with deep Brooklyn roots that had owned the place for 41 years.

The Historic Districts Council designated it as an individual landmark in 1982.