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HALLOWEEN
“The mission of Save Our Cemeteries is to preserve, promote, and
protect the historic cemeteries of New Orleans through restoration
of the stone crypts and mausoleums that fill these “Cities of the
Dead,” education, and advocacy. The organization was founded
in 1974 in response to the proposed demolition of the wall vaults
surrounding St. Louis Cemetery No. 2 in historic Treme. Save Our
Cemeteries offers cemetery walking tours seven days per week in
Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, and in St. Louis
Cemetery No. 2 twice per month. For more information, visit http://
www.saveourcemeteries.org.”
—Amanda Walker, Exceutive Director, Save Our Cemeteries
St. Louis Cemetery No. 1
Marie Laveau, the Queen of New Orleans Voodoo from the 1820s
until the early 1870s, is buried in the Glapion Family Tomb in
St. Louis Cemetery on Basin Street. The tomb is covered in Xs
scrawled by believers who have come to pay homage to Laveau.
Etienne de Boré, the first mayor of New Orleans, is also buried in
No. 1, along with Civil Rights activist Homer Plessy, and Ernest N.
“Dutch”Morial, the first African-American mayor of New Orleans.
St. Louis Cemetery No. 2
This is the final resting spot of Ernest Kador, Jr., self-proclaimed
“Emperor of the Universe.” Kador, nicknamed Ernie K-Doe, had a
#1 Billboard hit, “Mother-In-Law.” (He later opened the Mother-
In-Law Lounge in Treme.) K-Doe is entombed in the second
block of the cemetery, along with his mother-in-law and his wife
Antoinette. Jazz great Danny Barker is also buried here.
St. Louis Cemetery No. 3
This cemetery on Esplanade Avenue dates back to 1854. Ernest J.
Bellocq, a professional photographer famed for photographing the
prostitutes of Storyville (New Orleans’ legalized) red light district,
during the early 20th Century, is buried here.
Lafayette Cemetery, No. 1
There are about 1,100 family tombs and more than 7,000 people
buried in this cemetery, which covers only a single city block in
the Garden District.The cemetery is directly across the street from
Commander’s Palace.
Metairie Cemetery
Popeye’s founder Al Copeland and Ruth Fertel, the Ruth of Ruth’s
Chris Steak House, are buried on “Restaurant Row” in Metairie
Cemetery (the cemetery was built on the former site of Metairie
Race Course).Other notables include Grammy-winning bandleader
Louis Prima and Grammy-Award winning clarinetist Al Hirt.
Save Our
Cemeteries
[ABOVE] New Orleans cemetery [LEFT TOP] Ernie K-Doe mannequin next to his tomb
[LEFT BOTTOM] Marie Laveau's tomb in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 — photos by
Erika Goldring