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All the United States Louisiana New Orleans Metairie Cemetery

Metairie Cemetery

New Orleans' famous cemetery, located on the site of a former race track.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Added By
Annetta Black
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  breaingram / Atlas Obscura User
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  Figgz / Atlas Obscura User
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The Weeping Angel   Figgz / Atlas Obscura User
The cemetery is enormous and lovely. Find a spot, wander around a bit, move on to a different area, it’s easy to spend hours here.   ickaimp / Atlas Obscura User
The Army of Tennessee, Louisiana Division monument, with I-10 in the background. Oct 2018   ickaimp / Atlas Obscura User
J.V. Harrington, aka ‘Never Smile Harrington’ was a gambler well-known for his poker face. After he was gunned down in 1924. The judge handling the estate refused to grant payment for the tomb, his widow mysteriously paid for it in cash.   ickaimp / Atlas Obscura User
The Hyams mausoleum with the Angel of Greif is now locked due to vandalism, such as this broken side window. Oct 2018   ickaimp / Atlas Obscura User
  jlord7 / Atlas Obscura User
  sarahbiasiolli / Atlas Obscura User
  sarahbiasiolli / Atlas Obscura User
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About

For more than two decades the Metairie Race Course was a horse racing institution in antebellum New Orleans, home to epic races that created and destroyed fortunes in a lap of the course.

However, after serving a stint as a Confederate Army camp site during the Civil War, the track went bust and the site was turned into the now-famous cemetery, keeping the original name (and contours) of the track.

Another story is that Charles T. Howard moved to New Orleans before the Civil War. He built a house on St. Charles Avenue and made sizable donations to charities, yet this was not enough to gain membership in the Metairie Jockey Club. He vowed to get revenge by turning it into a graveyard. Howard eventually bought the track and turned it into the cemetery that is still there today.

Today the cemetery is well known for its particularly lovely monumental architecture and funeral sculptures, dedicated to some of the city's noteworthy early heroes and notorious residents both.

The Army of Tennessee, Louisiana Division Monument by sculptor Alexander Doyle honors Confederate Soldiers of the Civil War, and features the equestrian statue of Albert Sidney Johnston astride his horse Fire-Eater. Johnson was killed at the Battle of Shiloh in 1862.

The beautiful mausoleum that once held the remains of Storyville madame Josie Arlington shows a young girl, cautiously approaching the door. At one time, Arlington was the proprietor of one of the most well-known brothels of the city's red light district, Chateau Lobrano d'Arlington. The Arlington was known not only for its stable of fine girls for hire, but also for the advertised entertainment of a so-called "sex circus." Although no one knows for sure, it is thought that the figure represents a virginal caller being turned back from her door. The lovely monument quickly became such an attraction at the cemetery that the family had Josie's remains moved elsewhere, and it now houses the remains of the Morales family.

Known for their distinctive above ground burials and particularly lovely monuments, New Orleans' historic cemeteries are worth exploring, including the Saint Louis Cemetery #1 (home to the tomb of "Voodoo Queen" Marie Laveau) and St. Louis Cemetery #2.

Related Tags

Catacombs And Crypts

Community Contributors

Added By

Annetta Black

Edited By

Roz, ickaimp, breaingram, sarahbiasiolli...

  • Roz
  • ickaimp
  • breaingram
  • sarahbiasiolli
  • Figgz
  • jlord7

Published

October 17, 2013

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Sources
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metairie_Cemetery
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josie_Arlington
  • http://www.nola.com/175years/index.ssf/2011/08/1860_metairie_race_course_was.html
Metairie Cemetery
Metairie Cemetery
5100 Pontchartrain Blvd
New Orleans, Louisiana, 70124
United States
29.985833, -90.117778
Get Directions

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of New Orleans

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Photo of New Orleans

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