The first cemetery in New Orleans designed for aboveground burial was the St. Louis #1 cemetery, which opened in 1789.

These tombs in New Orleans cemeteries are used again and again. Because of the hot climate, the tomb becomes an oven, and the high heat causes the body to decompose rapidly in a process that has been compared to a slow cremation.

After a year, the bones of the departed are swept into an opening in the floor of the tomb, which is then ready for its next occupant. It is a common practice to bury all the members of a family—or multiple families—in the same tomb, with names and dates added to a plaque or headstone as necessary. Some of my photos show tombs with a dozen or more names listed outside. One of them has hundreds of occupants.