“But the sky was never quite the same
shade of blue again.”
~Anne Rice, The Vampire Lestat
Continuing with my Metairie Cemetery experience, I’ve noted some of the incredible mausoleums but
I should probably take a step back to explain how I arrived at the cemetery. For
starters, the Canal Street streetcar line ends just across the street from
Greenwood Cemetery which I only photographed from the outside and did not enter
because of time. I have a flight voucher that expires in the next few weeks and
I desperately need to decide on a place to travel. I’m tempted to return to New
Orleans this summer just so that I have a bit more time. With the conference,
meet up’s, and rushing out to cemeteries the day of giving my conference paper,
I really didn’t have much time to meander and take in the city as I did last
year. That’s okay. Each travel experience is different but I do wish that I had
more time to take in these cemeteries.
When you’re facing the
entrance of Greenwood Cemetery, if you look to the left you’ll see Metairie
Cemetery in the distance. You actually have to cross the entrance (and on ramp)
of Interstate 10, to arrive at the pedestrian entrance near the front left
corner of the cemetery. You basically enter near The Army of Tennessee, La.
Div. tomb. I was with two other members of the American Culture Association
Cemeteries and Gravemarkers group and as soon as we figured out how to enter
the pedestrian entrance, the woman in the group (I can’t recall her name)
basically said, “If we separate, I’ll see you later at Odd Fellows Rest”… and
after that, we didn’t see her again.
I walked around with a
gentleman named Francis who teaches at an Art college in Connecticut. He also
really wanted to see Metairie Cemetery so we made a great pair. He was friendly
and chatting… and for the most part we wanted to see the same things. He was
also very much interested in seeing those connected to the Civil War which I
felt that I needed to do as I mentioned in my last post. RVA Street Cred—“I saw
where Jefferson Davis was originally buried” :p
Aside from this, I
really wanted to see the Anne Rice tomb which holds her late husband Stan Rice
because well… do I have to explain to this audience?!? My teen years included
the resurgence of her Vampire Chronicles
and I was every bit of a fan back then.
When we arrived at the
Metairie Funeral Home which is at the very front entrance of the cemetery,
Frances and I walked right into a service. We were both pretty hot and sweaty
from making it that far so we clearly looked a little tourist-y. You can
imagine what the heat had done to my make-up. Surprisingly when I used the
restroom, I could tell that my eyeliner was still in place and not melted down
my face. I’m sure this happens all the
time and one of the workers was kind enough to take us to the front entrance to
pick up some maps.
Jefferson Davis was the
first trek… but after that, I had my heart set on the Anne Rice tomb.
Each time I’ve come to
New Orleans, I walked by her former homes. This excursion was more walking by
her future home. Mr. Rice’s tomb reads “permanently sealed” so unless Ms. Rice
decides that her eternal rest is going to be a departure from her previously
plans of RIPing with her hubby, this will be where she comes home.
It’s a little too easy
to be critical in a place like Metairie where the mausoleums are on such a
grand scale. By Metairie standards, the Anne Rice tomb (as the cemetery calls
it and it’s noted on their People of Interest map—one of three maps with
important places in the cemetery to visit) is quite modest. It’s a white mausoleum
with four columns and two grand flower pots in the front. The door has some
stunning scroll work but you actually have to be quite close to it to see the
detail. It is made up of roses and a vine with a basic cross in the middle.
Inside the tomb is a stain glass window—blue background with a bouquet with
various red, purple, pink, white and yellow flowers. The vase resembles the
actually vases that flank the tomb. Below the bouquet is the name Rice. Above
it reads, “May perpetual light shine upon them O Lord”. The inside of the tomb
appears to be white marble.
To the direct right of
the Rice tomb is the Brown mausoleum which includes stain glass windows on the
side but a more modern and perhaps whimsical typeface of their family name. To
the right front part of the tomb is a feminized angel (that my fella actually says appears to be somewhat sexualized pose).
The angel is clearly female with
breasts and a navel (which my fella also wonders why an angel who was never
born needs a navel?). She is somewhat scantily clad and appears to be in a
fainting pose throwing her arms back against her detailed bird-like wings. I’m
no Art Historian so I don’t have the vocabulary for the sculpture. There is a
great deal of detail in her wings, her hair, and her floral crown. The stain
glass window on the side of the mausoleum that faces the Rice tomb appears to
be two Magnolia blooms. There are also Magnolia trees around the tomb. The
entire surrounding appears to be much more landscaped. Either way, these are
some gorgeous tombs.
Finally on my list of
must-sees was one of the most popularly photographed crying angel. It was such
a sunny day that it was difficult to take pictures through the glass without
getting reflections.
There were some
surprises. While I expected to see the pyramid, I had no idea that I would walk
right into the Henry Egan Ruined Castle which looks like, well, a ruined
castle. Since this post is going a bit long, I’ll write about that in my next
post.
Four years after the hurricane, the Katrina
Memorial was built on the site of this hospital. With this addition, Charity
Hospital now includes several tombs, which hold the remains of those
individuals who were not identified from the hurricane in 2005. The Memorial
includes a much-too-shiny monument that I would argue wasn’t thought through
very well. New Orleans is sunny. Shiny things are a bit difficult to read and
capture in photos! Alas, it is lovely, and it is surrounded by a circular path
that appears to resemble the movement of a hurricane. 
The marker reads: "This cemetery was purchased by Charity
Hospital in 1848 and was originally known as Potter's Field. It has
historically been used to bury the unclaimed from throughout the city including
the victims of several Yellow Fever and influenza epidemics. The ashes of
those who have donated their remains to the Louisiana State Anatomical Board for
medical education are buried here, also. Charity Hospital Cemetery is one
of the most historically significant, yet least known, among New Orleans'
famous Cities of the Dead."
