Machpelah Cemetery

It’s not a widely known fact that Harry Houdini is buried in Queens.
I really enjoyed this little adventure. The cemetery is neglected/​possibly abandoned but so very peaceful. There are overturned gravestones, weeds, tree stumps strewn about. They recently demolished the old office building that previously stood in the front. It also appears that the Houdini gravesite is the only one that receives any upkeep. It’s a family plot and quite nice. There are playing cards and other artifacts adorning the gravestone.
I didn’t see a single person when I visited on a Sunday. According to Google, the cemetery (being Jewish and all) is closed on Saturdays. It’s open 8 – 430 other days and I assume someone opens/​locks the front gates.
Btw — the gravesite is right in the front, visible from the street, so you don’t have to venture far. But I encourage you to anyway!
Really cool piece of history to check out.

The reason to come here is to check out the burial site of the Houdini brothers. The buildings in disrepair are an added bonus. And it’s a short distance from Ridgewood Reservior.
There are 79 inhabitants at this small cemetery, and you can get info right here:
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Yup. Harry Houdini– one of America’s most legendary entertainers– is buried in Queens, just a short bike ride away from the L and M trains.
His family tomb remains reasonably well adorned with coins, decks of cards, keys, and so forth. But the rest of the cemetery is a wreck; overgrown with weeds, lopsided, uprooted. Many of the headstones are cracked and have had their lettering worn off with age. It is amazing that Houdini’s final resting place could be such a shithole.
If you enjoy the occasional company of ghosts, like I do, then take a sunny afternoon to explore the entire cemetery. It’s remarkable in it’s own right and few places will instill you with a sense of how fleeting and impermanent fame are, as Machpelah Cemetery.