Retracing President Lincoln's NYC Funeral Procession

[ReignetteC]

Richard Sloan led a fabulous tour today - April 25, 2015 - in which we (friends and members of The Lincoln Group of NY) retraced the president's funeral procession on April 25, 1865. No one knows this important piece of Lincoln's funeral better than Richard, and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to participate in this remembrance.

Richard got us special access to City Hall, where we ascended the staircase just as the mourners did 150 years ago.

Tour Highlights: City Hall, A.T. Stewart's Department Store (building), Matthew Brady's 359 Broadway Gallery, Lord and Taylor's site, the Brooks Brothers building on Broadway and Grand, site of the St, Nicholas Hotel, the original Tiffany's building, and site of Laura Keene's Theatre.

Beautiful day!

[STS Lincolnite]

Thanks for sharing this! I desperately wanted to go along on this tour, but living far away in the Midwest, I just couldn't swing it. Glad to know it was excellent.

[LincolnToddFan]

Thanks Reignette. NYC put on the largest funeral/memorial in 1865 next to Chicago. The written accounts of the lying in State at City Hall overnight, by candlelight, with various choral groups chanting dirges and hymns makes it sound so hauntingly beautiful.

It must have been impressive!

[RJNorton]

Thank you for this posting, Reignette! And kudos to Richard. Richard (emma1231 on this forum) has an excellent account (with numerous illustrations) of the New York funeral in The Lincoln Assassination: Crime and Punishment, Myth and Memory edited by Harold Holzer, Craig L. Symonds, and Frank Williams. Please see pp. 55-93.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful event (what a great program) and also sharing photos - very nice!!!

[ReignetteC]

Pictures of 359 Broadway, once the site of Matthew Brady's portrait studio (top three floors). Richard was instrumental in having this building designated as a NYC landmark.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Kudos to Richard!

[L Verge]

Several years ago, Richard produced a multi-projector and audio presentation on the NYC funeral of Lincoln for the Surratt Society's banquet. It was masterfully done, and the music made your heart ache.

[emma1231]

Thanx to you all for the nice words about my Lincoln funeral walking tour. Sorry for the delay in writing, but I was so rundown fr. witnessing the April 14-15 events in DC that I was out of commission til just prior to giving the tour (and still coughing for yet another few days!). Now I am swamped with catching up. The turnout (about 26) for the tour was perfect. Weather perfect, as well. Having Reignette along was a bonus. She rattled off info about Brooks Bros. and Lincoln's coat for all of us, at my request. I have written an illustrated story about Brady's 359 Bway gallery for the next issue of Bob Zeller's Center for Civil War Photography's magazine. I was asked what's in the building now, but was deliberately reticent bec. I didn't want to spill the beans until Bob's next issue comes out. I hope interested parties will contact him for details on how to get the mag and perh. join his organization. Regardless, I'll be happy to fill you all in here after its publication! I was inspired to write the piece by anarticle Joan Chaconas had once written about Brady's D.C. gallery.
I'll next submit a post about the Julian diary, also long overdue.