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Built as a ruin
This is a folly. That is to say it’s “a whimsical or extravagant structure built to serve as a conversation piece, lend interest to a view, commemorate a person or event, etc.; found especially in England in the 18th century.”*
Or, in this case, found in New Orleans in the 21st century.
Metairie Cemetery
New Orleans, Louisiana
photographed 4.24.2018
* as per dictionary.com.
Tomb’s Quiet Interior
Many of the tombs here at the Metairie Cemetery are inaccessible – there are heavy, locked gates across them. Fortunately, though, my camera fit between the bars of the gates and I was able to capture this graceful interior.
Historical note: the cemetery grounds were originally a horse-racing track. And New Orleans being New Orleans, the story doesn’t stop there:
Metairie Cemetery was built upon the grounds of the old Metairie Race Course after it went bankrupt. The race track, which was owned by the Metairie Jockey Club, refused membership to Charles T. Howard, a local resident who had gained his wealth by starting the first Louisiana State Lottery. After being refused membership, Howard vowed that the race course would become a cemetery. Sure enough, after the Civil War and Reconstruction, the track went bankrupt and Howard was able to see his curse come true. Today, Howard is buried in his tomb located on Central Avenue in the cemetery, which was built following the original oval layout of the track itself. Mr. Howard died in 1885 in Dobbs Ferry, New York when he fell from a newly purchased horse.*
Metairie Cemetery
New Orleans, Louisiana
photographed 4.24.2018
Confederacy
For some reason, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia has a large monument here in this cemetery in New Orleans.
I am not going to get drawn into the argument about tearing down (or not) monuments to various “heroes” of the Confederacy. Nope. I won’t.
All I am doing here is recording the way the light is coming in from the back of this monument. And the way the many of the names have worn away. And the way those two Confederate flags sure do look new, in spite of the fact that there is a heavy, locked gate across the entrance to the memorial.
Metairie Cemetery
New Orleans, Louisiana
photographed 4.24.2018
Floral Tribute
Even the flowers were dead…
Lafayette Cemetery No. 1
New Orleans, Louisiana
photographed 4.24.2018
Cross Shadow
Everyone’s probably heard “The best camera is the one you have with you.”
On my morning cemetery tour, I had two cameras with me – the one I considered the “real” camera, and my phone. I tried to get this shot with the “real” camera, but it kept on not working out like I wanted, so eventually I decided to give the phone a try.
Which just shows that sometimes the best camera is the other one, the one that’s in your pocket.
Lafayette Cemetery No. 1
New Orleans, Louisiana
photographed 4.24.2018
One Day | One Image 