St. Louis Number One was built in 1789. It is the oldest cemetery
in the metro New Orleans area. Its location, on what is now Basin
Street between Conti and St. Louis Streets was actually outside
of the city at the time it was built (figure 1). Like most cemeteries,
it was built just out of town, but the town eventually overtook
the cemetery. The neighborhood around the cemetery became known
as Faubourg Treme, then later it was known as the infamous "Storyville"
red-light district.
Figure 1: Colonial New Orleans, 1715-1803. The star outside
the city rampart indicates the location of St. Louis Cemetery
Number One
Getting to the Cemetery
The neighborhood around St. Louis Number One is not the best in
the world. If you're not familiar with New Orleans' layout and
geography, please read our Cemetery Overview page before
setting out on your own to explore any of our cemeteries. Several
housing projects grew up around the cemetery, and the crime rate
in those projects is not good. We highly recommend that you take
an organized tour of St. Louis Number One. The Voodoo Museum and
Magic Walking Tours both offer excellent tours. There's safety
in numbers, and we want you to be safe.
If you insist on striking out on your own, please consider at
least going in a group. If you're coming from downtown or the
Quarter, take either Royal or Bourbon Street to Conti, then walk
up Conti to Basin Street (figure 2). Along the way, you'll pass
Our Lady of Guadalupe Church,
on Conti and N. Rampart Streets. The church was originally the
mortuary chapel for the cemetery. You'll see the whitewashed wall
of the cemetery when you get behind the church. Enter and exit
the main entrance on Basin, and hi-tail it out of there if you
see anyone suspicious! It's best to go around 1:00pm, since this
is when most of the organized tours go through the cemetery.
Figure 2: The blue star marks the location of St. Louis Number
One.
This World Wide Web document is provided as a public service by
Yatcom Communications. Yatcom Communications is a consulting/public
relations company dedicated to using computer technology to promote
the City of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
