It is said, “The celebrated and humble rest together at Oakland. Tycoon and pauper, Christian and Jew, black and white, powerful and meek, soldier and civilian—all are here.” History buffs heading out on Atlanta holiday will truly enjoy a visit to this landmark Victorian-style garden cemetery and community park just a stone’s throw from the heart of the city – an inviting 48-acre sanctuary of winding brick paths and pleasing cityscape vistas lush with magnolias, flowering shrubs and ancient oaks sheltering 19th century Atlanta’s interred, among them important builders and prestigious townsmen, industry leaders, Civil Rights pioneers and thousands of Civil War soldiers. Some sleep beneath simple markers ravaged by the passage of time, while others are memorialized with elaborate mausoleums and statuary, many pieces bearing effusive inscriptions that bespeak an age when the bereaved found consolation in extravagant expression. Once through the stately brick entrance, impressive art and architecture can be seen in many styles, including Neo-classical, Egyptian, Greek Revival, Gothic and Exotic Revival; several mausoleums feature stained glass windows from Tiffany Studios and massive bronze urns more than six feet tall cast at Gorham Manufacturing Company in New York, the first art foundry in America. A walk through beautiful Oakland Cemetery – one of the largest green spaces in Altanta – is at once a delightful, fascinating and moving history lesson, every monument, marker and sculpture a testament to times past and lives lived – and lost- etched in the eternal script of traditional observation.