St. Louis Cemetery Number 1, founded in 1789 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is the oldest existing cemetery in New Orleans. The tombs and vaults stand above ground, in the French and Spanish tradition (also in consideration of the high water table in New Orleans). Wall vaults, which were the tombs of the lowest ranking tier of society, were the lowest in cost. Since the weather in New Orleans is hot, the wall vaults can reach 300 - 400 degrees and the body decomposes rapidly. One year and one day following an "oven" wall vault burial, the vault is opened by an undertaker, the bones wrapped and pushed to the back of the slab where they fall into the 6-foot deep opening below the vault called the "caveau", French for cave. There the bones desiccate and compress so there can be several hundred bodies housed in a family vault, a practice that continues today.
In the cemetery are a number of local politicians and historical figures. This is the tomb of Marie Laveau, the most famous Voodoo Priestess (1794-1881). She was baptized Catholic and was married to a Haitian free man of color, Jacques Paris. During this time the services and practice of Voodoo, a West African religion, gained popularity in New Orleans, due to the influx of refugees after the Haitian Revolution. Her religious services combined elements of Voodoo and Catholicism, including Catholic symbols and devotional observances to Catholic Saints. As Marie aged, she is remembered as a servant to the sick and infirm, assisting in the charitable outreach of St. Louis Cathedral's pastor.
Paul Morphy was a child prodigy, born of a wealthy and prominent family who learned to play chess merely by watching his grandfather and uncle pay. Morphy (1837-1884), at the age of nine, was considered the best chess player in New Orleans. Several years later, Morphy had defeated all the chess champions in the U.S. and in Europe. At the age of 13 he enrolled in college and by the age of 19 had earned a law degree from Tulane University.
The tomb of Nicholas Cage is a refurbished one. The actor is a part-time resident of New Orleans. He claimed he bought "The Most Haunted House in America," the La Laurie Mansion in the French Quarter, but later lost it to the IRS. Since the IRS, by law, cannot seize burial property, this tomb, built in 2010, still belongs to Cage. This nine foot tall pyramid shaped tomb, is engraved with the Latin, Omia Ab Uno, = Everything from One.
The tomb of the Italian Benevolent Association, built in 1857, is the largest and most elaborate tomb in the cemetery. This is an example of a society tomb. The benevolent societies, usually representing an ethnic and/or religious organization to which members paid dues, provided burial services for the members who could not afford private burial property. This tomb's notoriety, however, is due to its use in Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper's irreverent antics in their 1969 classic, "Easy Rider".
The tomb of Homer Plessy who was the plaintiff in the landmark 1896 U.S.Supreme Court case, Plessy v. Ferguson, which upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation. He was arrested for sitting in the "white only" section of a railroad car. The case reached the Supreme Court in 1896 and the "separate but equal" doctrine became the law of the land for decades until the 1954 Brown v. The Board of Education decision which decided that racial segregation was unconstitutional.
After the cemetery tour it was time to hop on the bus - we usually sit on the upper level.
As we were waiting to depart the station, I took this picture from the top of the bus of a magnolia blossom. Usually the magnolias bloom in the spring, but because of the cloudy and cooler than usual spring and summer, some of the trees are beginning to bloom now. The multicolored object below the tree is a coffin shape with the date, August 29, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans. There are 1,464 hearts stamped on the coffin, in a variety of colors, representing each death in New Orleans as a result of the hurricane.
Along the route today, I was able to get a picture of the Louisiana Superdome, the largest fixed-domed structure in the world, covering 13 acres.
We took the Hop On Hop Off bus to the stop for the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar for a trip out to see some of the mansions and other sights in the western part of the city.
These trolly cars date from 1923 and are not heated or air conditioned. You may see that the windows are open.
Inside the trolly it is bright and comfortable with nice wooden seats with seat backs that can be shifted to face one way or the other.
Since the trolly car ride was not narrated, I don't have any information about the houses that are pictured below. They are just beautiful and large homes.
We passed several parks, I think this is the Audubon Park, and I thought these trees, live oaks, were interesting.
We took the trolly to the end of the line then got off and right back on to a trolly heading back into downtown. This house is already decorated for Christmas.
Not all the houses are of historic design. This contemporary one fits in quite nicely, I think.
This iron-work structure is the restaurant that, until 1981, was the second level of the Eiffel Tower. It was taken down during restoration of the Tower because its weight was deemed too heavy. A French Chef in New Orleans paid $1.5 million for it and had it erected in the city. It served as a restaurant under a number of different owners but is now an event space owned by the Eiffel Society.
We hopped on the bus again and rode back to the station, passing the Katrina Sculpture. A tree, resembling a monster, holds a house. All the materials in the sculpture were recovered from buildings demolished in Katrina.
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