Grant's Tomb, officially the General Grant National Memorial, is the final resting place of Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the United States, and his wife, Julia Grant. The mausoleum is a prominent architectural land feature visible from the Hudson River. In addition to being a national memorial since 1958, Grant's Tomb was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966 and was designated an official New York City landmark in 1975.[1]
Coverage[]
Grant's Tomb is featured in Take Me to Your Leader.
It was introduced in 2 weeks after people when there is no one is buried in Grant's Tomb and the real answer to the classic riddle "Who's buried in Grant's Tomb?" is that Ulysses S. Grant and his wife were both entombed above ground and technically not buried at all. Ulysses S. Grant was once the most famous man in the world and so popular was the former Civil War general and US president that in 1897 that when his mausoleum was dedicated, more than 1 million people showed up. However, the body of General Grant took a tortured path to its final resting place and like Chairman Mao, he was the victim of a botched embalmment job. When Grant, a legendary chain smoker of cigars, died of throat cancer in 1885, there was hoped that his body could be preserved to go on a public tour. Dr. Howard Oliver stated that the body lay in the refrigerated coffin for several weeks and if it's not at least 37 to 39 degrees, it wouldn't preserved his body very well but the refrigeration they used was actually an icebox. When the public got their first look at Grant, they were horrified because the face was blackened with decay but what no one knew was that the general's face had begun to deteriorate before he died because the cancer blocked the blood circulation above his neck. Dr. Howard Oliver stated that the embalmer did the best he could but the face deteriorated more than the rest of the body. His body rests in a granite sarcophagus and inside the largest mausoleum in North America. After people, Grant seems well protected but an enemy force has the general surrounded.
In 100 years after people, Grant's Tomb is still holding strong but a relentless force is moving to attack. Steven S. Ross stated that the building would stand for a very lone time but its going to be assaulted and the troops that will assault the tomb are the trees around it. The trees were revealed to be London planes and was so notorious for producing organic debris that New York City officials banned any new plantings of the trees for decades. Steven S. Ross stated that the London planes are bad for buildings because it shed their bark all throughout the year and the shed bark plus the leaves form soil making it a very fertile area for ivy and other vines to grow. Grant's Tomb has been left unattended before when in beginning in the 1960s, mismanagement by the National Park Service left the monument exposed to damage from water intrusion, plant growth, extensive vandalism, and even used for ritual animal sacrifices which was possibly by Caribbean immigrants who practice a religion called Santeria. Grant's Tomb was viewed as a national disgrace before it was finally restored and rededicated in 1997. After 100 years of unchecked tree growth and creeping vine, it has draped the granite mausoleum like a shroud.
Grant is about to be buried.
In 175 years after people, Grant's Tomb is losing its battle with the trees and despite it was built to last, the destructive London plane have breached the inner sanctum. Steven S. Ross stated that the area around it is a soil creation machine and once it start to create a lot of soil, it'll create more trees. After 175 years, the relentless soil production and tree growth has covered Grant beneath 6 feet of earth and for the first time in history, there is truly someone buried in Grant's Tomb.
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