The perfect place for a picnic used to be … a cemetery?

It may seem like an emotional mismatch, but rolling hills of headstones were once destinations, suggests a UO researcher in a recent article in The New York Times. And that trend is coming back.

In the article, Keith Eggener, the Marion D. Ross Distinguished Professor of Architectural History and author of a book about American cemeteries, says final resting places are developing creative ways to draw visitors, just like they did in the 19th century.

“Cemeteries are reverting to old practices,” Eggener said. “People would take guests and have picnics. A cemetery was considered a major ornament to a city.”

For the full story, see “Turning Cemeteries Into Wine at a California Diocese.”