One of the premiere historic sites in Concord, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is known throughout the world as the resting place of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, the Alcott family, and Daniel Chester French. It is the work of pioneer landscape architect Horace WS Cleveland, and with its steep topography, long vistas, stone retaining walls, cobblestone paths, exquisite sculpture and grand shade trees, exemplifies the 19th century Rural Cemetery Movement.

The Concord Cemetery Commission asked Martha Lyon Landscape Architecture to prepare alternatives for treating the edge of Sleepy Hollow’s most prominent landform, the “hollow.” Using digital photography, MLLA documented existing conditions, and superimposed three design options on the photographs. The simulation allowed the commissioners to visualize the best approach for enhancing the cemetery’s street appeal.