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September 26, 2007
Feature Photo: Girod Cemetery, 1942
Since Da Saints lost Monday night, and Deuce McAlister appears to be out for the sesaon, no doubt someone will blame the team's misfortunes on the "cemetery curse." Many people believe that Da Saints are doomed to perpetual failure because the Superdome was built on top of a cemetery, specifically, Girod Street Cemetery.
It wasn't. Girod Street Cemetery was built between Girod, LaSalle, and Liberty Streets, roughly on the area now occupied by the parking garage for the New Orleans Centre shopping mall. Da Dome was actually built on the site of an Illinois Central Railroad engine terminal and roundhouse.
The photo shows Girod Street Cemetery in decline in 1942. The cemetery was founded in 1822 by the chapter of Christ Church (Episcopal). Prior to 1822, Protestants were burying their dead in the back of St. Louis Cemetery Number One, but the Episcopal congregation wanted their own burial ground. Girod was a grand cemetery, but because Christ Church did not establish a "perpetual care" fund, the cemetery fell into disrepair and the church did not have the funds to maintain it. By 1957, the cemetery was even more decayed and overgrown than what you see in the photo, and Girod was "deconsecrated" and demolished.
You can find more details on Girod on my work-in-progress page on the cemetery. The "history" section has been completed.
Posted by YatPundit at 10:00 AM
September 19, 2007
Feature Photo: Beth Israel in Gentilly
Grave of Clara Schkolnikov and Abraham Heiman in Beth Israel Cemetery on Elysian Fields in Gentilly.
clicky the image for a larger version
Those who are knowledgable about New Orleans cemeteries often will go out of their way to debunk the notion that we bury our dead above ground in New Orleans because of concerns about our high water table. They point out that above-ground tombs were fashionable in Europe in the 19th century and that's why we have so many tombs here.
Like most urban legends, though, the water table story has some truth to it. Yes, the French German and Italian families of New Orleans buried their dead in above-ground tombs, Continental style. Jewish families, however followed their own traditions and buried their loved ones in-ground. But the high water table is a problem--in many parts of New Orleans, you couldn't dig down six feet without hitting swamp and muck. That's why several congregations acquired land along the Gentilly Ridge, one of the highest parts of the city. Congregation Beth Israel did just that. Beth Israel is an Orthodox congregation that is over 100 years old. They moved out to Lakeview in the 1970s, and unfortunately, their synagogue on Canal Blvd. got a lot of water when the 17th Street Canal floodwall breached. The congregation currently holds Shabbat services at Congregation Gates of Prayer in Metairie. (You can click here to learn how you can help Beth Israel re-build and return to Lakeview.)
the Schkolinkov and Heiman grave is distinctive because most Jewish graves have very simple headstones. Theirs is a bit more elaborate. In a non-sectarian or Christian cemetery, this grave would be dwarfed by tombs, but it stands out in Beth Israel.
Posted by YatPundit at 8:40 AM | Comments (0)
September 12, 2007
Feature Photo: Rogers-Palfrey-Brewster-Stilwell Cross in Metairie Cemetery
The Rogers-Palfrey-Brewster-Stilwell Cross (west face)
I was driving past Metairie Cemetery yesterday, and it occurred to me that most people only see this cross from the highway. Metairie Cemetery was originally built on the western bank of the New Basin Canal. The canal was filled in around 1947, and replaced by the "Pontchartrain Expressway," which connected West End Boulevard with downtown. It's since become part of I-10, so thousands of people drive right by it every day. But they only see the side of the cross that faces the highway, and this particular monument is rich with symbolism on all sides. So, here's the western side of cross, what you see when you're standing inside the cemetery, looking east.
This photo was shot before the storm; you can see my old Cherokee in the background. That's the car that got over a foot of mold in it after the Broussard water around my house receded. The cross is in the original (1871) part of Metairie Cemetery. This part is relatively high ground, right on the Metairie Ridge. (Metairie Road, which is the northern boundary of the cemetery), was originally a bayou that dried up. The elevation gets lower as you go north from Metairie Road, which is why the funeral home on the grounds of the cemetery flooded badly.
The cross and the symbols etched into it are described in detail on the website.
Posted by YatPundit at 9:43 AM | Comments (0)
September 5, 2007
Feature Photo - Memorials in St. Patrick's
Throughout St. Patrick Cemetery Number One on Canal Street you'll find in-ground markers, a curious sight in a cemetery that otherwise consists of above-ground burials. Even the regular graves in cemeteries at the head of Canal Street are raised a few feet, but there are still a number of markers set in the concrete walkways, such as this one:
clicky the image for a much larger version
St. Patrick #1 opened in 1841; according to this tablet, Mr. Newmun passed in 1817, so it's unlikely that he even came to America. Most likely his relatives wanted to remember him directly in the general vicinity of the family tomb.
And, yes, the debris you see on the marker is most likely still there from the storm. The pattern indicates receding flood waters. St. Patrick's (and all the cemeteries at the head of Canal) got about 4' of water.
Posted by YatPundit at 8:00 AM