Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 and Cities of the Dead

Why is it significant?

You stand before the historic gates of Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, established in 1833 by the municipal government of the City of Lafayette.

Key Facts

Open the walk

You stand before the historic gates of Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, established in 1833 by the municipal government of the City of Lafayette. Covering a single square city block bounded by Washington, Sixth, Prytania, and Coliseum Streets, this consecrated ground contains over eleven hundred above-ground family tombs, society vaults, and copings, holding the mortal remains of over seven thousand souls.

Why are graves in New Orleans built above ground? The answer lies in geology: New Orleans sits on water-saturated alluvial soil with an extraordinarily shallow water table. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, traditional underground burials frequently floated to the surface during heavy rains and river floods, forcing city authorities to adopt the Spanish and French Mediterranean tradition of above-ground stone and brick mausoleums.

Stroll along the central cruciform pathways lined with weeping magnolias and ancient cedars. These above-ground vaults function as natural ovens: in the intense subtropical summer heat, temperatures inside the sealed brick vaults reach over two hundred degrees Fahrenheit, naturally cremating remains into bone fragments and ash within a year and a day, allowing the tomb to receive subsequent family members for generations. Here lie immigrant families from over twenty-five nations, including German and Irish laborers, American Civil War soldiers, and victims of the devastating 1853 yellow fever epidemic that claimed over eight thousand lives. Notable group tombs include the Jefferson Fire Company No. 22 vault and the New Orleans Home for Incurables. Wandering down the quiet rows of tombs, you notice delicate wrought-iron gates, carved marble weeping willows, and classical pediments that mirror the architecture of the surrounding Garden District mansions. These historic family vaults stand as monuments to the resilience of immigrant generations who built New Orleans through recurring epidemics and river floods.

The gleaming whitewashed plaster, neoclassical pediments, and weathered marble epitaphs create an ethereal City of the Dead. It stands as a profound testament to how New Orleans conquered yellow fever, floods, and mortality through enduring community architecture.

Cross Coliseum Street to the world-famous turquoise facade of Commander's Palace.