Who's buried in Grant's tomb?

Another of my early OMGWTFISTHIS moments in New York was early in my freshman year at Barnard, when I was out on a walk and came across Grant's Tomb.

Being a fresh-off-the-boat Australian, I had absolutely no idea what I was looking at.  I was just surprised to see this big, grand-looking structure which wasn't a part of the university at all.  I went in, had a quick chat to the friendly lady at the desk, and took a look around.  I had the place to myself, so I was totally free to take my time catching up on a couple hundred years of history in my new country.  

[photo via the Library of Congress]

This photograph was taken at its dedication, in 1897.  It's a remarkable monument to one man, even a very important man.  Even more remarkable to me is the way that the city has grown up around it.  All of those wide open spaces in the background are now occupied by apartment buildings, as well as the campuses and dorms of Columbia, Barnard, the Union Theological Seminary, and the Manhattan School of Music.  

Grant's Tomb, rocking my Instagram since I got Instagram.  Photo taken last fall.

This space is one of my favourite places in the city.  It's magnificent, and yet hardly anything goes on here.  The most attention you're likely to see this place receive on any given day is from local arts students taking advantage of the setting, or the occasional double-decker tour bus driving by.  There aren't many better places to sit with a coffee and your dog while you ponder your life.  

The lack of a busy stream of tourists is one of the great and strange things about Grant's Tomb.  The result is that once you step through its great big doors, you're no longer in New York City.  You feel like this place could be anywhere in the country - except for where you actually are.

What's the most interesting monument you've seen?