Saint Louis Cemetery is the name of three Roman Catholic cemeteries in New Orleans, Louisiana. All of these graves are above ground vaults; most were constructed in the 18th century and 19th century.
Doug Keister, author/photographer of Going Out in Style: The Architecture of Eternity states that
The custom of above-ground burial in New Orleans is a mixture of folklore and fact.
The vaults are in fact more due to French and Spanish tradition than they are to water table problems.
Cemeteries #1 and #2 are included on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.
Read more about Saint Louis Cemetery: Saint Louis #1, Saint Louis #2, Saint Louis #3
Famous quotes containing the words saint, louis and/or cemetery:
“A few hours’ mountain climbing turns a rogue and a saint into two roughly equal creatures. Weariness is the shortest path to equality and fraternity—and liberty is finally added by sleep.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“God, if this were enough,
That I see things bare to the buff”
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894)
“The cemetery isn’t really a place to make a statement.”
—Mary Elizabeth Baker, U.S. cemetery committee head. As quoted in Newsweek magazine, p. 15 (June 13, 1988)