{"nrhp_refnum":"91000522","name":"Oakwood Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"940 Comstock Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Syracuse","county":"Onondaga County","state":"NY","lat":43.03123383700006,"lon":-76.13539489617027,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1991-05-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture","Art","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Oakwood Cemetery is a roughly 160-acre rural cemetery district at 940 Comstock Avenue in southeastern Syracuse, New York. Howard Daniels designed it in about 1859, and it was expanded through parcels bought between 1869 and 1889.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that Oakwood is an outstanding example of the rural cemetery movement, with a picturesque design that works with the glacial landforms of the site. It was the last cemetery designed by landscape gardener Howard Daniels. Its consistent design, mature plantings, bridge, buildings and funerary art stayed intact across decades of development from 1859 to 1940.","narrative":"Oakwood Cemetery covers about 160 acres in southeastern Syracuse, with eight miles of roadway winding across hills, ravines and valleys left by glaciers. Howard Daniels, a New York City landscape gardener who had laid out some fifteen cemeteries, designed the original 82 acres around 1859. Later parcels, bought between 1869 and 1889 and developed until about 1940, followed the same picturesque principles. The grounds hold about 300 varieties of trees and shrubs, including a remnant native oak grove, along with vaults, mausolea, monuments and funerary art. Near the old western entrance are a granite railroad bridge built in 1902 for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western line, a Romanesque Old Office from the same year and a chapel. The cemetery is recognized as a well-preserved example of the rural cemetery movement, where winding paths, views and plantings were meant to bring visitors close to nature. Highway construction removed the outer entrance park, but the interior design remains largely intact.","period_of_significance":"1859-1940","architect_builder":"Howard Daniels (landscape gardener/designer)","architectural_style":"Other: rural cemetery","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still an active cemetery and urban park. The original entrance area was altered by Interstate 81, though the 1902 railroad bridge, Old Office and chapel survive. A few small sections remain undeveloped.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:44.788346-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/91000522.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91000522/1ac0923987-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91000522/1ac0923987-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Unknown authorUnknown author","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oakwood-cemetery_1909_syracuse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown authorUnknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oakwood-cemetery_1909_syracuse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75320406","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakwood_Cemetery_(Syracuse,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7074291"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/onondaga-county/oakwood-cemetery-91000522/"}