Metairie Cemetery: The Grandest Resting Place in the South

Metairie Cemetery: The Grandest Resting Place in the South

Metairie Cemetery is where New Orleans buries its rich, its famous, and its flamboyant. Established in 1872 on the grounds of the former Metairie Race Course, this sprawling, 150-acre cemetery on Metairie Ridge is home to some of the most elaborate funerary monuments in the world—soaring obelisks, weeping angels, Egyptian pyramids, and mausoleums that would make a pharaoh blush. If St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is the most famous, Metairie is the most spectacular.

History

The story of Metairie Cemetery begins with revenge. According to local legend, Charles T. Howard, a wealthy lottery magnate, was denied membership in the exclusive Metairie Jockey Club, which operated the race course on the site. Howard vowed that he would one day turn the racetrack into a cemetery. When the Jockey Club went bankrupt after the Civil War, Howard made good on his promise, purchasing the land and converting it into a cemetery in 1872. The oval shape of the old racetrack is still visible in the cemetery’s main road, which loops around the grounds following the path where thoroughbreds once ran.

Monuments and Architecture

Metairie Cemetery is an outdoor museum of funerary art. The Moriarty Monument, a towering column topped by a cross, rises over 60 feet and is one of the tallest privately owned monuments in the South. The Army of Northern Virginia tomb features a dramatic sculpture of a Confederate soldier. The Brunswig Mausoleum is an elaborate Egyptian Revival structure. The Egan tomb features a striking sculpture of a woman pushing open the doors of death. The variety of architectural styles is staggering—Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Gothic, Art Deco, and Modernist monuments sit side by side, representing nearly every era of American funerary design.

Famous Residents

Metairie Cemetery reads like a who’s who of New Orleans history. Louis Prima, the singer and bandleader, is buried here. Al Copeland, the founder of Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken, rests in a massive mausoleum. P.G.T. Beauregard, the Confederate general who ordered the first shots of the Civil War at Fort Sumter, is interred here. Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, was temporarily buried at Metairie before being moved to Richmond. William C.C. Claiborne, Louisiana’s first American governor, is buried here. So are three Louisiana governors, a slew of mayors, Josie Arlington (one of Storyville’s most famous madams), and countless captains of industry who built New Orleans into one of the wealthiest cities in the nineteenth-century South.

Visiting Today

Unlike many New Orleans cemeteries, Metairie is well-maintained, open to the public, and free to visit. The grounds are shaded by massive live oaks and crisscrossed by paved roads perfect for driving or walking. A free map is available at the entrance, and self-guided tours lead visitors past the most notable monuments. It is a peaceful, almost park-like experience—a far cry from the claustrophobic paths of the older Quarter cemeteries. For anyone interested in the history, art, and ego of New Orleans, Metairie Cemetery is essential.