My New Black Magazine - NYU Black Renaissance Noire BRN-FALL-206 ISSUE RELEASE | Page 27

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Around the same time, the City created
and the Church consecrated St. Louis
Cemetery No. 2, even further removed
from the city center, in 1823. St. Louis
Cemetery No. 1 remained in operation,
but the more ornate tombs of the
Creoles and the Benevolent Societies
were being constructed in St. Louis
Cemetery No. 2. Further city
development resulted in the shrinking
of St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, resulting
in a site that is significantly smaller
than its original size. For example, the
pyramidal Varney monument, once
located at the center of the site, now
marks the entrance. By the late
nineteenth century, the area surrounding
the cemetery had become chiefly
residential, with few undeveloped lots
left available. In 1898, “Storyville” was
created in the sixteen square blocks
that included the cemetery, and was
bounded by Iberville, North Robertson,
St. Louis and Basin Streets. The “red
light district” lasted until 1917, when
the Navy ordered it closed.
Significant changes started taking
place to the area surrounding St. Louis
Cemetery No. 1 in the mid- twentieth
century. Construction began on the
Municipal Auditorium in 1930, and
the canal was filled in by 1938. What
was left of Storyville was demolished
to make way for the Iberville Housing
Project in the 1940s. Neighborhood
decline continued with the construction
on Interstate 10. The city made several
attempts to rehabilitate the area,
including the creation of Louis
Armstrong Park in 1976. St. Louis
Cemetery No. 1 acquired a reputation
as an extremely dangerous site,
resulting in tomb owners, families,
and locals staying away from the site.
As a result, the site and tombs were
neglected and became overgrown.

m
Untitled 8, 1986
Archival Ink Jet Print on Canson Platine Fiber Rag
14 x 14 inches
ll
Untitled 9, 2007
Archival Ink Jet Print on Canson Platine Fiber Rag
14 x 14 inches