Each of these tombs may contain hundreds of family members.
Ah yes, we made the requisite visit to the St Louis cemetery. Technically, this cemetery is not in the French Quarter, but it is so much a part of the culture of the French Quarter that most guided tours include the cemetery as a stop.
Because much of New Orleans is below sea level and prone to flooding, it was not practical to bury dead as is done in much of the rest of this country. Up until a few years ago, the Roman Catholic Church did not approve of cremation. In addition, space was an issue. The solution: they placed each dead person in a space called an “oven” for a year and a day. After a year and a day, the remains would be desiccated and very small. The remains would then be moved to the “basement” to share eternity with other deceased family members.
Each of these tombs may contain hundreds of family members.
The tour took us past a number of historic residences. The various styles of architecture were all interesting. The residence in these pictures is especially interesting because it once belonged to a very wealthy person and because the courtyard was used in the movie, “Double Jeopardy”.
