Touring the Cemetery
I love cemeteries. I once (very briefly) dated someone who thought it was OK to like cemeteries...provided you were clinically depressed. If you weren't depressed, there was no reason to want to go to one.
I beg to differ, most especially when it comes to gorgeous old places like St. Louis No. 1. I'm going on several tours that'll take me through the old above-ground cemetery, and I hope that they don't all cover the same stuff, especially since there's so much in there crammed into so little space.
I even love the gates to the cemetery, though the gates and walls are often the best part. Here we are, inside looking out:
Of course, one of the very first tombs is Marie Laveau's. There were a lot fewer offerings this time than the last time I was here. The tour guide was very grateful that the only bird present was fake.
The whole place is sinking a little at a time, and you can really see it with some of the graves. Here's the oldest dated on, though undoubtedly not the oldest in the whole place:
And once you're past those, down the lane you go:
I love cemeteries mostly for the art. I'm fascinated by what people feel the need to leave behind, or what they want to make for those they've lost. And I love, love, love the fences around some of the individual tombs, though they always make me think of a little wisdom from Harry Dresden: the fences around cemeteries aren't for keeping people out. They're for keeping things in. Kinda makes you wonder who's buried in some of them.
I think some of the statuary left for those we've loved and lost is absolutely beautiful, too.
St. Louis No. 1 is a live cemetery. There are still people being buried there, and the still active tombs are the ones in the best condition, though I believe Save Our Cemeteries has also been involved in the restoration of some of the old and forgotten tombs. The restored or active areas are markedly different from much of the rest of the place:
I'm glad that someone out there is working to repair the damages. I hope there's a family or someone who will want to replace this now that it's crumbled:
I know that there's quite a debate about whether or not to let things fall apart on their own or restore them. I wonder if there's a happy middle ground with maintaining what can be done, to preserve the beauty and the age without just letting it all fall into nothing. I'd hate to lose these:
I don't know how often you get to see one of these around the place: an open grave.
That's all well and good, but I wonder who managed to escape from this one:
I took many, many more pictures than this during the tour, but I think I'll spare everyone.
I beg to differ, most especially when it comes to gorgeous old places like St. Louis No. 1. I'm going on several tours that'll take me through the old above-ground cemetery, and I hope that they don't all cover the same stuff, especially since there's so much in there crammed into so little space.
I even love the gates to the cemetery, though the gates and walls are often the best part. Here we are, inside looking out:
Of course, one of the very first tombs is Marie Laveau's. There were a lot fewer offerings this time than the last time I was here. The tour guide was very grateful that the only bird present was fake.
The whole place is sinking a little at a time, and you can really see it with some of the graves. Here's the oldest dated on, though undoubtedly not the oldest in the whole place:
And once you're past those, down the lane you go:
I love cemeteries mostly for the art. I'm fascinated by what people feel the need to leave behind, or what they want to make for those they've lost. And I love, love, love the fences around some of the individual tombs, though they always make me think of a little wisdom from Harry Dresden: the fences around cemeteries aren't for keeping people out. They're for keeping things in. Kinda makes you wonder who's buried in some of them.
I think some of the statuary left for those we've loved and lost is absolutely beautiful, too.
St. Louis No. 1 is a live cemetery. There are still people being buried there, and the still active tombs are the ones in the best condition, though I believe Save Our Cemeteries has also been involved in the restoration of some of the old and forgotten tombs. The restored or active areas are markedly different from much of the rest of the place:
I'm glad that someone out there is working to repair the damages. I hope there's a family or someone who will want to replace this now that it's crumbled:
I know that there's quite a debate about whether or not to let things fall apart on their own or restore them. I wonder if there's a happy middle ground with maintaining what can be done, to preserve the beauty and the age without just letting it all fall into nothing. I'd hate to lose these:
I don't know how often you get to see one of these around the place: an open grave.
That's all well and good, but I wonder who managed to escape from this one:
I took many, many more pictures than this during the tour, but I think I'll spare everyone.
posted by Tyburn Blossom at 3:39 PM
2 Comments:
I enjoy cemeteries also. I somewhat recently befriended a displaced Alaskan who enjoyed cemeteries and took her to Fairlawn (right before she returned to Alaska). She was fascinated that we had such "old" stuff in the central states, but she was floored when I told her that I visited a much older cemetery than Fairlawn when I went to Alaska.
Ok. One more thing. I agree about the restoration thing. I looked at lots of church graveyards in Ireland, and it was quite obvious which ones had been cared for and which hadn't. You know how old that stuff can get - I saw so many fabulous things that had nearly faded into oblivion, including an incredible monastery held together by only 2x4 supports and string... obviously someone's too-late good will attempt to save it.
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