sweet auburn | 2021 volume ii
President ’ s Corner
t is an honor to be addressing you as the fourteenth President in Mount Auburn ’ s distinguished 190-year history . Like many , I was aware of the Cemetery — which is
I well known in the world — prior to my first visit . Within seconds of walking through the front gate , I was struck by the unique sense of place here . As I explored the Cemetery , I became literally and figuratively lost in the experience — it was absolutely incredible .
In my previous position as Director of the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers , Japanese Tea Garden , and Botanical Garden , I met many people who visited the Gardens of Golden Gate Park . They visited on their best days as well as their worst days because it felt like a safe space , a place of inspiration or simply an extension of home . I get a sense that the same is true for the many visitors to Mount Auburn .
In my first few weeks here , I have seen first-hand how the well-defined sense of place that is Mount Auburn speaks to a great variety of people in a voice that is specific to their personal experience .
As an active cemetery and public garden , Mount Auburn feels like nowhere else on earth and is uniquely positioned to become a cultural institution , cherished both locally by neighbors and by those who dwell across the planet .
It is humbling and exciting to be here now and to remember that what the Cemetery was designed to be did not exist prior to its creation : it was a radical idea 190 years ago , not a carbon copy of something that already existed .
Our founders set literal and figurative roots for what this organization could look like and in that moment redefined what a cemetery could be .
It seems fitting that we should all play a part in evolving the tradition of redefining what cemeteries can be .
I don ’ t know exactly how we are going to do that right now , but this incredible tradition of redefinition is in our DNA as an organization and that is our story . Wise people came before us and it seems only fitting to take the inspiration from them onward .
It would be wonderful to walk around the Cemetery today and have a conversation with our founders , to ask them questions about what they see today and what they had envisioned — and how they would think the Cemetery might keep evolving .
What does it mean to redefine Mount Auburn in 2021 and beyond ? I am thrilled to lead this institution as we explore the answer to that question .
Photo by Richard Morgenstein
Matthew Stephens President & CEO
1