Since 1863, the sprawling Woodlawn Cemetery has seen jazz greats, literary giants, political leaders and everyone in between entombed above and beneath its hallowed grounds. On Sunday, Oct. 16, the cemetery was inducted into the National Historic Landmark Registry. It is the sixth Bronx institution to make the list.

“From every racial background, the Woodlawn Cemetery represents the largest and most distinguished register of mausoleums in the country,” said John Liu, the New York City Comptroller.

The ceremony joined together Woodlawn Cemetery President John P. Toale, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., State Senator Jeffrey Klein, Bronx Historian Lloyd Ultan, Lehman College President Ricardo Fernandez, and many others who assisted in distinguishing the cemetery as a National Landmark.

At the cemetery’s Jerome Avenue entrance, among some of the more illustrious mausoleums, the speakers were joined by the classical quintet, The Bardekova Ensemble.

Originally designed to be a “rural cemetery,” Woodlawn’s creators covered the grounds with Silver Linden, White Pine, Weeping Beech and other seedlings that would grow to become the aging trees that shade the grounds, making it feel more like an arboretum than a resting place.

While not typically associated with revival, the speakers all connected the designation and the cemetery as another signal of the continued resurgence of the Bronx.

“The renaissance of this borough comes with hard work, and we’re celebrating the fruit of that labor today,” said Diaz at the ceremony. Noting the 50 million tourists the city receives yearly, Diaz believes the designation will only bring more visitors to the cemetery.

“Look around you and see all these people who have taken up final residency in Woodlawn Cemetery,” said Ultan. “We have people from all walks of life. ”

Among the distinguished interred are female suffragists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Carrie Chapman Cat and “captains” of industry F.W. Woolworth and Roland H. Macy. Joseph Pulitzer, known as the father of journalism, lies among the author of “Moby Dick,” Herman Mellville, salsa legend Celia Cruz, and jazz greats, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis.

“We have people here that have achieved fame in very different ways,” said Ultan.

Ed. Note: The Cemetery is open to the public every day from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located at the intersection of Jerome and Bainbridge avenues.