The oldest cemetery in New Orleans holds plenty of secrets.
Thanks to street - fulfil jubilation likeMardi Grasand countlessworld - illustrious idle words clubhouse , it ’s hard to imagine anyone shout New Orleans a lifeless urban center . But take a stumble to one of the dozens of alone cemeteries in New Orleans , and you ’ll quickly realize these “ Cities of the Dead ” are a cornerstone of the city ’s culture .
Influenced by French , Spanish , and Caribbean traditions , as well as the city ’s high-pitched pee tabular array , New Orleans graveyard are unlike most others across the commonwealth . Caskets buried “ six feet under ” would probably resurface , give the metropolis ’s location below ocean grade , so tombs are built above soil into heroic neo - Hellenic grave that resemble pattern of urban center street .
Of all of the fascinating , visually challenging stead where you’re able to chatter the tombs of noteworthy New Orleanians , St. Louis No . 1is one of the most significant , making it a must - see on any visitor ’s list .
Photo by Paul Broussard
St. Louis No . 1 is best known as the purported concluding resting piazza of noted voodoo priestess Marie Laveau . She is state to be buried in the Glapion family crypt . For years , tourists and wannabe voodoo practitioners carved Xs into the grave as caption has it that any carver ’s wish would be granted . But preservationist say the practice has no basis in voodoo custom , so the Archdiocese of New Orleans set unexampled rules requiring visitors to be a part of a guided tour group to visit the necropolis and established a sizable mulct for anyone seek to write on the grave accent .
Over the years , the cemetery has attracted various elements of pop culture ; most famously , it was the placement of the superman trip conniption in the 1969 filmEasy Rider . In 1982 the New Jersey thug band The Misfits were arrested in St. Louis No . 2 — they were looking for Marie Laveau ( and accused of attempting to exhume her body ) , but went to the wrong cemetery . Even one - time local occupier Nicolas Cage got swept up in the fervor and purchased a nine - metrical foot marvellous , Great Pyramid - shaped grave in St. Louis No . 1 to be his future final resting situation .
But this cemetery is much more than a collection of supernatural stories — as home to the tombs of several influential New Orleanians , it ’s a site of historic grandness . settle on the north side of Basin Street just outside of the French Quarter , St. Louis No . 1 is the oldest ceaselessly operating cemetery in the metropolis , give in 1789 . An regulation in 1803 mandated above - ground burials to divvy up with the constant menace of flooding , and the first above - ground tombs in the city were rear here in 1804 . Though it span just one city block , it is the burial daub for thou of departed individual and a sojourn to St. Louis No . 1 is crucial to translate the history of these typical burial site as well as the chronicle of the Crescent City itself .
Tomb of voodoo priestess Marie Laveau|Photo by Paul Broussard
How to Visit St. Louis No. 1 Cemetery
To shoot the breeze St. Louis No . 1 , visitors must be a part of a tour group . In 2021 , the Archdiocese imposed strict rule yield graveyard access to just onedesignated hitch company . Prior to that , several caller toured the memorial park , giving their own view and insight into its significance includingTwo Chicks Walking Tours , which lead a miscellany of tour around the metropolis .
As a long time tour scout and burying ground fancier , Two Chicks laminitis and owner Christine Miller has a deep knowledge of St. Louis No . 1 . She says this burying ground in particular is a must for both visitant and local because the history and the tomb themselves are so alone , and a tour provides direct contrast and linguistic context to all the pop culture taradiddle that fence it .
But Miller also notes there are many underrepresented stories and more complex interpretations of the site that are not told on circuit at this time . She encourages further exploration of the cemetery ’s account through local beginning likeOur Sacred Stories .
Tomb of Bernard de Marigny|Photo by Paul Broussard
“ The first time I visited was in the ' 80s , after seeingAngel Heart , and I was hype up on every sensational matter I ’d ever find out about the place , ” allege Miller . “ I finally launch a adhesion with the space and unlearned so many [ of those ] things over the years of walking there . ”
What to See in St. Louis No. 1 Cemetery
Whether you seek out the cemetery around Halloween or visit this cultural center some other meter of yr , Miller is quick to point out that there are many other significant tombs in gain to that of voodoo queen Marie Laveau . Here are some of the highlights :
Homer PlessyKnown for his function in the landmark case of Plessy vs. Ferguson , Plessy is inter around the corner from the esteemed Voodoo Queen . His act of civil disobedience in challenge Louisiana ’s racial segregation jurisprudence went all the means to the U.S. Supreme Court .
Étienne de BoréHis lucre - refining cognition helped establish the palmy granulate sugar manufacture throughout Louisiana . He also wait on as mayor of New Orleans from 1803 to 1804 .
Bernard de MarignyThis French - Creole American nobleman , planter , politician , author , horse breeder , and land developer possess prop adjacent to the French Quarter . The Marigny neighborhood , home to Frenchmen Street , is his former prop .
Paul MorphyThe world famous chess champion widely viewed as the first great American chess actor is buried here . You may have noticed a few mention of him inThe Queen ’s Gambit . Keep an middle out for offering of cheat man , and you ’ll love you ’ve found his concluding resting space .
Benjamin LatrobeLatrobe is deal the father of American architecture . He died of Yellow Fever while in the city work on a project . Latrobe ’s on Royal Street is associated with his family .
Musician ’s TombThe 20 - foot - marvellous grave with a blue music eminence at the top is where members of the Barbarin home , an influential musical crime syndicate , are lay to rest along with several other New Orleans culture bearers . Though not a congeneric , Sylvester Francis , founder and conservator ofBackstreet Cultural Museum , was bury here in 2020 . Music and burying traditions in the city are tied together , and Francis worked to keep up that culture , contributing to anexhibit at the Historic New Orleans Collectionas well as his own museum .
Other Cemeteries in New Orleans to Visit
Each of the historic memorial park has its own unique characteristic , and Miller recommends also learn out Lafayette No . 1 , St. Roch , and Metairie Cemetery . For more information about all of the urban center ’s hauntingly beautiful cemeteries , visitSave Our Cemeteries , an organization dedicate to the preservation , promotion , and protection of New Orleans ’s historic cemeteries through refurbishment , education , and protagonism .
