Cemeteries are often portrayed as grim and creepy places to be in, but in Connecticut, a cemetery there evokes a certain kind of respect and prestige.

The Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut is where distinguished New Haven and Yale University personalities were buried. The cemetery’s “residents” include fourteen former Yale presidents. Organized in 1797, the cemetery is the first private and non-profit burial grounds in the world. It is also one of the earliest to have a detailed layout of burial plots, walkways and ornamental plants.

New Haven residents and Yale students enjoy the park-like ambience of the cemetery, which explains the signs of life and activity in this otherwise place for the dead. The six-acre burial grounds are fronted by an Egyptian Revival gateway while the perimeter is surrounded by stonewalls. The whole cemetery was declared a National Historic Landmark on February 16, 2000.