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Grant's Tomb

Last week, Brian and I finally made it to the last major historic monument on my personal list of must-sees in New York: Grant's Tomb.  It's is the largest tomb in North America and in it resides the bodies of former U.S. President and Civil War General Ulysses S. Grant and his wife, Julia.  

It was breathtaking.  Brian and I went to see the tomb at an off-hour.  That meant that we got some stunning shots of the exterior, sans tourists.  The white building was so bright, it made my picture a bit blurry:


Fun fact I learned: Grant was the second general to be given a 4th star in U.S. history.  The first was Washington.  That's how awesome of a general Grant was.

It looks like it's glowing:


I loved the detail on the eagle sculptures flanking the steps:


Here are the sarcophagi where they are entombed:


They were on a lower level.  You could look down on them, like you see here, and you could walk around them downstairs too.

Brian loved the woodwork on the domed ceiling:


Whenever I go to new places, I buy my Mom a souvenir spoon for her collection.  Unfortunately, they weren't selling any.  They did have one in a glass case though.  I guess people have been collecting spoons since at least 1892:


Sorry that I couldn't get you a spoon, Mom.  I suppose the picture will have to do.

Finally, here's another shot of the dome and part of a wall.  I loved the murals, showing different parts of his life:


It was beautiful to see.  If you happen to be in Manhattan and are up by Columbia University, you should go check it out.

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