Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 is a historic cemetery in the Garden District neighborhood of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. Founded in 1833 and still in use today, the cemetery takes its name from its location in what was once the City of Lafayette, a suburb of New Orleans that was annexed by the larger metropolis in 1852. The city's first planned cemetery, it is notable for the architectural significance of its tombs and mausoleums, often containing multiple family members, and for its layout, a cruciform plan that allowed for funeral processions. Confined within a single city block, the cemetery contains approximately 1,100 family tombs and 7,000 people.

Conservation

The Cemetery was included in the National Register of Historic Places on February 1, 1972, for its architectural and social-historical importance. The World Monuments Fund placed Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 on its "Watch" list in 1996 due to the dilapidated state of some tombs, and it did so again in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina damaged much of the cemetery. The Fund subsequently partnered with Save Our Cemeteries, a nonprofit focused on preserving Louisiana's historic cemeteries, and the Preservation Trades Network to repair tombs and restore the cemetery's landscape. Save Our Cemeteries continues to advocate for the cemeteries and make repairs. The City of New Orleans closed the cemetery in September of 2019 to visitors. There is no date available for when it will reopen.

Notable tombs

* John Howard Ferguson, defendant in the 1896 ''

Plessy v. Ferguson ''Plessy v. Ferguson'', 163 U.S. 537 (1896), was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race were equal in qualit ...

'' court case that upheld the constitutionality of

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...

laws for public facilities. *

Harry T. Hays Harry Thompson Hays (April 14, 1820 – August 21, 1876) was an American Army officer serving in the Mexican–American War and a general who served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Known as the "Louisiana Tigers," his brigad ...

, an American Army officer serving in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

and a general who served in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

; leader of a brigade known as the "

Louisiana Tigers Louisiana Tigers was the common nickname for certain infantry troops from the State of Louisiana in the Confederate army during the American Civil War. Originally applied to a specific company, the nickname expanded to a battalion, then to a b ...

In popular culture

Literature

While promoting her 1995 novel ''

Memnoch the Devil ''Memnoch the Devil'' (1995) is a horror novel by American writer Anne Rice, the fifth in her '' Vampire Chronicles'' series, following ''The Tale of the Body Thief''. In this story, Lestat is approached by the Devil and offered a job at his s ...

, a''uthor

Anne Rice Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021) was an American author of gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Christian literature. She was best known for her series of novels ''The Vampire Chronicles''. B ...

famously emerged from a coffin after riding through the cemetery. At the time, she lived in the nearby Garden District.

Films and TV series

Films and TV series shot in the cemetery include: * ''

Hard Target ''Hard Target'' is a 1993 American action film directed by Hong Kong film director John Woo in his U.S. debut. The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chance Boudreaux, an out-of-work homeless Cajun merchant seaman and former United States Forc ...

'' (1993) * ''

Interview with the Vampire ''Interview with the Vampire'' is a gothic horror and vampire novel by American author Anne Rice, published in 1976. It was her debut novel. Based on a short story Rice wrote around 1968, the novel centers on vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac ...

'' (1994) * ''

Double Jeopardy In jurisprudence, double jeopardy is a procedural defence (primarily in common law jurisdictions) that prevents an accused person from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges following an acquittal or conviction and in rare case ...

'' (1999) * ''

Dracula 2000 ''Dracula 2000'' (also known internationally as ''Dracula 2001'') is a 2000 American gothic horror film co-written and directed by Patrick Lussier and produced by Joel Soisson and Wes Craven (executive producer), and starring Gerard Butler, Chr ...

'' (2000) * ''

Deja Vu Deja or Dejah may refer to: * Deja News, an archive of messages posted to Usenet discussion groups and its successor ''deja.com'' * Andreas Deja (born 1957), German animator * Dejah Mulipola (born 1998), American softball player * Dejah Thoris, a ...

'' (2006) * ''

Jonah Hex Jonah Woodson Hex is a fictional antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is scarred on the ...

'' (2010) * ''

Black and Blue ''Black and Blue'' is the 13th British and 15th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 23 April 1976 by Rolling Stones Records. This album was the first recorded after former guitarist Mick Taylor quit ...

'' (2019) * '' The Originals'' * ''

The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...

Other

Music videos by the following artists have been shot in the cemetery: *

LeAnn Rimes Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (born August 28, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She originally rose to success as a country music artist at age 13 with 1996's "Blue". She has since crossed over into pop, contemporary Chris ...

New Kids on the Block New Kids on the Block (also initialized as NKOTB) is an American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts. The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block enjoy ...

Red Dead Redemption 2 ''Red Dead Redemption 2'' is a 2018 action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar Games. The game is the third entry in the ''Red Dead'' series and a prequel to the 2010 game ''Red Dead Redemption''. The story is set in 1899 and f ...

References

External links

* * {{Find a Grave cemetery 1833 establishments in Louisiana Buildings and structures in New Orleans Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana Geography of New Orleans National Register of Historic Places in New Orleans Neoclassical architecture in Louisiana Tourist attractions in New Orleans