Here are some photos of the tombs in Metarie cemetery. Located in New Orleans, the Cemetery is one of the oldest in the area. The cemetery originally was a horseracing track but was closed just after the Civil War. In 1872 the 80-acre tract of land was converted to a cemetery and has several Confederate generals and mayors of New Orleans as well as other famous people buried there.
Since New Orleans is mostly below sea level the early settlers had problems with burying their dead. Due to the high water table, if you dig a few feet down, the grave would fill with water and the casket would literally float. Eventually, graves were kept above ground following the Spanish custom of using vaults. Some of the tombs are very ornate and quite large.
All photographs are © of Jake Hellbach 1998