Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 Is Open Again, Just Not the Way the Neighborhood Remembers

In 2019, a tourist trying to look inside a tomb at Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 broke off a piece of it. According to NOLA.com, that incident is why the Tomb and Coping Owners' Association formed. The group represents the families who own the cemetery's tombs. That same year the City closed the cemetery to the public. The closure was partly for repairs and partly in response to family members' concerns.

For seven years, the gates at Washington Avenue and Prytania Street stayed locked. On Thursday, October 1, 2026, they opened again. Fox 8 reported it was the first time in seven years. The cemetery that reopened works differently from the one many of us used to wander through on the way to lunch. The new arrangement is built around the people who own the tombs. Visitors get in on the families' terms, and every ticket they buy helps pay for the walls, gates and paths around them.

Who owns what inside the walls

Every tomb in Lafayette No. 1 is privately owned and maintained by its owners. The City is responsible for the common areas, which means the walkways, walls, gates and lights.

So the cemetery has two kinds of stakeholders. Families have deeds to their tombs and a stake in privacy. The City has a maintenance bill for everything between the tombs. During the years the gates were open to anyone, the families bore the costs of foot traffic. Paul Pastorek, who sits on the owners' association board, told NOLA.com that people burying family members were sometimes photographed by tourists, and called it "very obtrusive."

The cemetery also kept working while it was closed. Burials continued throughout the closure, according to the City. It was established in 1833, when the land was designated a cemetery as the area incorporated as the City of Lafayette. It has been a working burial ground for nearly two centuries. The seven-year closure was one stretch of that history, and the cemetery never stopped serving families during it.

What seven years of locked gates paid for

The physical changes are modest, and a regular passerby will notice them first underfoot. The City replaced the broken asphalt walkways with gravel paths laid over a liner that helps with drainage. Crews removed dead magnolia trees and treated the living ones, and a structural engineer reviewed the wall foundation. The City did not give NOLA.com a cost for the project. It attributed the long timeline to limited staffing, personnel changes, and time spent researching families' concerns.

The most visible restoration is privately funded. In summer 2026, the Preservation Resource Center paid for a full restoration of the German Presbyterian Society Tomb, a 20-vault Gothic Revival tomb built in 1866. PRC's account of the project says Bayou Preservation and Nola Cemetery Renewal did the work:

• Repointed failing joints and replastered the tomb
• Repaired the sloped roof and the drainage scupper
• Reopened several vaults
• Cleaned the tomb

PRC says the tomb was built for low-income German immigrants. Its owner, the Presbytery of South Louisiana, plans to return it to burial use for families in need. The restoration that drew the most attention was done to keep a tomb serving families, and the tour program grew up alongside it.

Where the ticket money goes

The City chose a single tour operator. It issued a request for proposals in May and selected the nonprofit Preservation Resource Center. Tours are run by Save Our Cemeteries, a PRC department. The model has a local precedent. In 2021 the Archdiocese of New Orleans limited tours of St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 to one company.

The contract ties tour revenue to upkeep. According to the copy NOLA.com reviewed, the City's share of revenue rises in tiers and goes toward cemetery maintenance.

The City's share grows as the tours earn more. Busier tours mean more money for the walkways, walls, gates and lights the City is responsible for. The 5 percent fund reaches beyond this cemetery to tomb repair in other city-owned cemeteries. Mayor Helena Moreno described the balance in a statement quoted by NOLA.com. She said tours give residents and visitors the chance to learn the history "while ensuring we continue to treat this sacred space with the care and respect it deserves."

The days the gate belongs to families

The clearest sign of whose cemetery this is shows up on the calendar. Save Our Cemeteries told NOLA.com the cemetery will be closed to the public on All Saints' Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and other days when people traditionally visit family tombs. All Saints' Day, Sunday, November 1, is the first of those dates under the new system. PRC describes the observance as the day New Orleans families clean and repair tombs, lay flowers and wreaths, and light candles.

The booking calendar follows the same logic. On the November and December calendars, the slots on November 1, Thanksgiving on November 26, and Christmas Day are marked "Call to book" and can't be reserved like ordinary dates. Families with someone interred at Lafayette No. 1 have a separate way in. According to the City's Division of Cemeteries page, relatives can arrange a visit by appointment at (504) 658-3781.

Pastorek, speaking for the owners' side, was measured about the setup in NOLA.com's report:

"I think the way it's been proposed to be handled is going to be done in such a way that it does respect the fact that it's still an active cemetery."

The City's own cemetery page, last updated October 21, still shows "Hours: TBD" and a "CLOSED" label. Its text says guided tours and family appointments are allowed. In practice, the cemetery has no general walk-in hours. You get in on a PRC tour or by family appointment.

Booking a morning across from Commander's Palace

The tour schedule reflects the same priorities. Fox 8 reported that tours are limited to six sessions a day with 16 or fewer people each. WWL reports the tours cover the cemetery's history, the people buried there, its architecture and burial traditions. Ghost, supernatural and other entertainment-style programming is off the table.

Here are the details for booking through PRC's Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 page:

The calendar has a few exceptions. Thursday, November 5, shows afternoon slots from 1 p.m. through 3:30 p.m. instead of the usual morning times. PRC's listing gives no resident or member rate. Its tour plan does offer up to 10 free tours a year for New Orleans public-school groups, plus discounted bookings for educational groups, veterans' groups and local nonprofits.

Signing up for a cleanup day is the other way in that isn't a tour. PRC held a free volunteer cleanup inside the cemetery on October 24, from 9 to 11 a.m. Registration was limited, no experience was needed, and the spots ran out. PRC's events page is where future cleanup dates would appear.

What you see inside is worth the advance planning. PRC notes the cemetery never segregated burials by race or religion. Its records include people from more than 25 countries and at least 26 states, and the cemetery reflects the toll of 19th-century yellow fever. PRC's Save Our Cemeteries reports it has restored more than 50 family and society tombs here. A NOLA.com photo taken September 22 shows Commander's Palace directly across from the cemetery. If guests are in town, a 9 a.m. weekday tour finishes in time for a late-morning table on the same corner.

At The Kathryn Collection, I pay close attention to places like Lafayette No. 1, where the history and the rules for using a space are what define a neighborhood. If you're thinking about the Garden District, I'm happy to walk you through these blocks. Schedule a free consultation.