Some of the unusual tombs at Metairie Cemetery.
One of the modern, more ordinary headstones in Metairie Cemetery.
Mel Ott's tomb in Metairie Cemetery.
Closeup of the tomb of Mel Ott, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
I hope you will have time before or after the convention to take a tour of some of the Crescent City's many interesting cemeteries, but anyone coming to the city in a cab from the airport will get a view of two of the very largest ones. Approaching the city by car on the Pontchartrain Expressway (I-10) at exit 231, you will see Metairie Cemetery on your right, founded in 1872 at a time when the city was in need of more room for their "cities of the dead." Unlike older cemeteries which developed piece by piece, the Metairie Cemetery developers had a master plan to provide a spacious setting for the grandiose tombs which had grown popular in nineteenth century New Orleans. Metairie Cemetery's tombs, monuments and vaults are the most imposing in the city, so a quick glance from your car window won't do them justice. One could spend a day driving through the beautifully landscaped grounds, or walking from tomb to tomb reading inscriptions.
At the same place but on your left, you will see Greenwood Cemetery, founded in 1852 by the Fireman's Charitable and Benevolent Association. Although Metairie Cemetery is larger, much of it is concealed by trees, and Greenwood Cemetery makes a visually arresting image to Expressway travelers with its row after row of finely constructed tombs.
The Cheap Easy Guide on the Local Advisory Committee Page has some great tips about seeing some of the cemeteries: http://www.lb5.uscourts.gov/AALL/cheap.html#tourism
The New Orleans Police Department has a few tips as well: http://www.nopdonline.com/cem.htm
The AALL Hospitality Booth will have some brochures from Historic New Orleans Tours (http://www.tourneworleans.com/) who offer tours of St. Louis #1 Cemetery downtown and Lafayette #1 in the Garden District. I have taken this tour of St. Louis #1 and it was very good . You will learn a lot about the history of the city. Historic New Orleans Tours was founded by Robert Florence who has written two excellent books on the cemeteries:
City of the Dead: A Journey Through St. Louis Cemetery #1, New Orleans, Louisiana, published in 1996 by the Center for Louisiana Studies
New Orleans Cemeteries: Life in the Cities of the Dead with photographs by Mason Florence, published in 1997 by Batture Press.
Also, the first five people who come to the AALL Hospitality Booth and ask about Judge Joachim Bermudez (see a picture of Judge Bermudez with our LAC, he is the guy in the back wearing the bowtie), who is buried at St. Louis #1, will receive a copy of City of the Dead: A Journey Through St. Louis Cemetery #1. There is an article about Judge Bermudez in the Spring/Summer 2007 issue of SCCLL News found at: http://www.aallnet.org/sis/sccll/membership/newsletter.htm
Georgia Chadwick
Hospitality Committee
AALL Local Arrangements Committee
At the same place but on your left, you will see Greenwood Cemetery, founded in 1852 by the Fireman's Charitable and Benevolent Association. Although Metairie Cemetery is larger, much of it is concealed by trees, and Greenwood Cemetery makes a visually arresting image to Expressway travelers with its row after row of finely constructed tombs.
The Cheap Easy Guide on the Local Advisory Committee Page has some great tips about seeing some of the cemeteries: http://www.lb5.uscourts.gov/AALL/cheap.html#tourism
The New Orleans Police Department has a few tips as well: http://www.nopdonline.com/cem.htm
The AALL Hospitality Booth will have some brochures from Historic New Orleans Tours (http://www.tourneworleans.com/) who offer tours of St. Louis #1 Cemetery downtown and Lafayette #1 in the Garden District. I have taken this tour of St. Louis #1 and it was very good . You will learn a lot about the history of the city. Historic New Orleans Tours was founded by Robert Florence who has written two excellent books on the cemeteries:
City of the Dead: A Journey Through St. Louis Cemetery #1, New Orleans, Louisiana, published in 1996 by the Center for Louisiana Studies
New Orleans Cemeteries: Life in the Cities of the Dead with photographs by Mason Florence, published in 1997 by Batture Press.
Also, the first five people who come to the AALL Hospitality Booth and ask about Judge Joachim Bermudez (see a picture of Judge Bermudez with our LAC, he is the guy in the back wearing the bowtie), who is buried at St. Louis #1, will receive a copy of City of the Dead: A Journey Through St. Louis Cemetery #1. There is an article about Judge Bermudez in the Spring/Summer 2007 issue of SCCLL News found at: http://www.aallnet.org/sis/sccll/membership/newsletter.htm
Georgia Chadwick
Hospitality Committee
AALL Local Arrangements Committee
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