The Greenwood Cemetery is expanding, and on Tuesday staff and city officials broke ground on a multimillion-dollar center that will give visitors an introduction to the historic cemetery before exploring the grounds.  

The cemetery welcomes around 500,000 visitors from across the globe annually, and this new education and welcome center will be the first stop for those looking to learn more about the historic landmark. It will be built across from the cemetery’s main entrance, and behind the newly renovated Weir Greenhouse.  

The new center will house two exhibition galleries, space for year-round educational programs, and an event space for local organizations. Staff say the $34 million center will allow them to enhance the cemetery’s role as a critical center of the arts, history, and open green space it offers.  

“Greenwood is more than a cemetery,” said Greenwood president Richard Moylan. “It’s art, history, nature. The landscape is amazing, and we need to tell that story. It’s the story of Brooklyn, it’s the story of New York City… and we will now have a space to tell it.” 

Moylan says that they expect the center to be completed by 2025.