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Cemeteries
Copyright © Experience New Orleans
Source: www.experienceneworleans.com
Cemeteries
The above ground tombs in the cemeteries of New Orleans are often referred to as "cities of the dead."
Enter their gates and you will be greeted by decorative, rusty ironwork, and blinded by the sun-bleached tombs.
Crosses and statues on tomb tops cast contrasting shadows adding a sense of mystery.
Votive candles line tombs on holidays to remind you the Dead have living relatives that still care.
New Orleans has always respected the dead, but this isn't the reason the tombs of our departed loved ones are interred above ground.
Early settlers in the area struggled with different methods to bury the dead. Burial plots are shallow in New Orleans because
because the water table is high. Dig a few feet down, and the grave becomes soggy, filling with water.
The casket will literally float. You just can't keep a good person down!
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The early settlers tried by placing stones in and on top of coffins to weigh them down and keep them underground.
Unfortunately, after a rainstorm, the rising water table would literally pop the airtight coffins out of the ground.
To this day, unpredictable flooding still lifts an occasional coffin out of the ground in those areas generally considered safe
from flooding and above the water table.
Another method tried was to bore holes in the coffins. This method also proved to be unsuitable.
Eventually, New Orleans' graves were kept above ground following the Spanish custom of using vaults.
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St. Louis Cemetery #1 is the oldest and most famous. It was opened in 1789 replacing the city's older St. Peter Cemetery
(no longer in existence) as the main burial ground with a redesign of the city after a fire in 1788
It is 8 blocks from theMississippi River, on the north side of Basin Street, one block beyond the inland border of theFrench Quarter.
It borders the Iberville housing project that was built over what was formerly, the most famous red light district in the
United States, "Storyville." It has been in continuous use since its foundation.
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St. Louis #2 is located some 3 blocks back from St. Louis #1, bordering Claiborn.
It was consecrated in 1823. A number of notable jazz and rhythm & Blues musicians are buried here, including Danny Barker and
Ernie K. Doe. Also entombed here is Dominique You, a notorious pirate who assisted in the defense of the city against the British
in the Battle Of New Orleans.
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St. Louis #3 is located some 2 miles back from the French Quarter, some 30 blocks from the Mississippi,
fronting Esplanade Avenue near Bayou St. John. It opened in 1854.
The crypts on average are more elaborate than at the other St. Louis cemeteries, including a number of fine 19th century marble tombs.
Those entombed here include ragtime composer Paul Sarebresole and photographer E.J.Bellocq.
There are many beautiful Cemetaries in and around New Orleans, we focused on the three closest to the French Quarter
and will add more as we explore New Orleans with you.
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