Since the ghosts of the old Girod Street Cemetery seem to be resting peacefully this football season - as evidenced by the fact that the Saints are doing well - I thought it might be safe to talk about the cemetery today.  I do this with some amount of apprehension, because, if the Saints should suffer a decline in fortunes (Heaven forbid), I wouldn't want to be held responsible for stirring up those venerable Girod Street spirits!

But, we'll get to that part of the story later.

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The former Girod Street Cemetery came into being in 1822.  It was initially established for Protestant residents of the Faubourg St. Mary community and beyond.  Until that time, Protestants had been buried in a special section of Catholic St. Louis Cemetery Number 1.  Christ Church (now Christ Church Cathedral) purchased the land at a cost of a little over $3,000.  The cemetery was named for one of the streets which formed its boundary - the street, at the time of its creation, having been named for a distinguished citizen of the community.

And, speaking of distinguished, the old Girod Street Cemetery held the mortal remains of some of the most distinguished citizens of the time.  In fact, some of the tombs were comparable in extravagance to the tombs on "Millionaires' Row" in Metairie Cemetery.  But, sadly, by the time the old cemetery was de-consecrated in 1957, it had fallen into serious disrepair from the twin ravages of time and neglect.  Girod Street Cemetery had been used for 134 years.  Since it was not a publicly owned cemetery and since many of those who were buried there no longer had family members in the city to take care of the tombs and crypts, it had gradually been reduced considerably from its former state.

In 1957, the city was planning a new civic center - a complex of city, state and federal facilities - on a piece of land that included a portion of the old Girod Street Cemetery.  It was decided that the cemetery would be de-consecrated and the remains of those who hadn't been removed by their families would be moved to Hope Mausoleum, to a common crypt that Christ Church Cathedral provided without charge.  After the removal of remains took place, the tombs and crypts in the cemetery were destroyed to make way for the new civic buildings.  Thirteen of the most outstanding vault slabs were preserved and attached to the back wall of the Canal Street wing of Hope Mausoleum, in adjacent St. John Cemetery.  The accompanying photos of the Girod Street Cemetery were taken in the 1940's and '50s, except for the photo of the vaults, which was taken in 1894.

The civic complex, however, didn't cover the entire site of the former burying ground.  In 1970, the Louisiana Superdome was constructed on top of the remaining portion of what had been the Girod Street Cemetery.  Over the not-so-good football years, those of us who were loyal (though impatient and not very happy) Saints' fans searched for a reason for the team's continuing bad luck.  Of the many who were blamed - owners, managers, coaches, players - eventually, it was suggested that the restless spirits of the old Girod Street Cemetery, angry that their final resting places had not been final, were haunting both the Dome and the team.

You're smiling...but I can tell you that, after enough years of football heartbreak, anything, no matter how far-fetched, can sound vaguely plausible...or else, why would so many of us, who were otherwise rational human beings, have faithfully carried our fake gris-gris with us to the Dome or worn the same outfit every game day or dutifully closed our eyes when a field goal was kicked, all in hopes of influencing the outcome!?

In any case, if the ghosts of the good citizens of Girod Street Cemetery were, indeed, ever irritated by a team irreverently called the Saints - or by the irreverent crowds who cheered them on - trespassing on their former resting places, we can only hope that they have, at last, been calmed.  And that, perhaps, they are enjoying the team's happy times as much as the rest of us.