New Orleans, Orleans Parish story
Above the Waterline
In New Orleans, the geography of the land dictates how you bury your dead. Because the water table is so high, the city became famous for its above-ground vaults. St. Louis Cemete…
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In New Orleans, the geography of the land dictates how you bury your dead. Because the water table is so high, the city became famous for its above-ground vaults. St.
Louis Cemetery Number One, the oldest in the city, opened in seventeen-eighty-nine after the previous cemetery could no longer handle the growing population. Walking through these white stone cities of the dead, you'll find the tombs of legendary figures like Marie Laveau and Paul Morphy. It's a striking landscape where the architecture of the afterlife is forced to stay above the damp earth of the delta.
Updated June 2026