Chipmunks were not the only creatures scurrying among the headstones and fall leaves at Woodlawn Cemetery on Sept. 26. Dozens of people of all ages enthusiastically competed in the “Great Woodlawn Cemetery Scavenger Hunt,” sponsored by Women of Woodlawn and the Historic Districts Council of New York City (HDC).  Proceeds were donated to Woodlawn Conservancy.

Competing teams paid a small registration fee, then selected one of five routes to search (see photo at left).  They looked for items such as famous stained glass windows in tombs, faces carved into headstones, and the monuments of the famous robber barons buried at Woodlawn.

 

 

 

A cemetery map and a list of tantalizing written clues were provided for each route.  Woodlawn books, HDC tote bags, and gift cards for Subway restaurant were awarded to winners at the post-hunt reception, held at Rambling House on Katonah Avenue (see photo at right).

Women of Woodlawn is a local civic group that has spearheaded several community initiatives related to education, the arts, and historic preservation, including applying for designation of the Woodlawn Heights neighborhood for the 2015 “Six to Celebrate” list, an honor bestowed annually by HDC.   Woodlawn Heights was selected, and now joins 29 other city neighborhoods added to the list since 2011, including Morningside Heights, Long Island City, Sunset Park, Bedford Stuyvesant, Port Morris, and Van Cortlandt Village. The historic parks, spread across several Bronx neighborhoods, are also included on the list as a group, specifically Crotona, Claremont, Pelham Bay, Bronx River and Van Cortlandt parks, Williamsbridge Oval and Crotona and Mosholu parkways.

HDC provides printed guides, hosts walking tours, and extends fund-raising and other strategic advice, as well as promotional assistance, to honored neighborhoods. For more information on the groups that hosted the scavenger hunt, visit  www.womenofwoodlawn.org,  www.hdc.org,  www.6tocelebrate.org, and www.woodlawnconservancy.org.