Death has a distinctive presence in New Orleans. People play music and dance at funerals. For burials, they move old bones to make room for new. Tombs ranging from plain to ornate, from new to old, are the final resting places for many residents.

Now, after years of neglect, vandalism and theft, there are signs of life in New Orleans' "Cities of the Dead."

Love of unique cemeteries and concern for their decay has led to groups like Friends of New Orleans Cemeteries and Save Our Cemeteries. They spearheaded fund-raising efforts, renovations and cleanup campaigns that have sparked restoration in many of the cemeteries.

"Our cemeteries are unique," said Robert Florence, founder of Friends of New Orleans Cemeteries and the operator of Historic New Orleans Tours. "Their history is remarkable, the architecture is remarkable, their beauty is remarkable."

The tomb reported to be Laveau's is among those that were restored. The once chipped facade and crumbling roof are smooth and brightly painted now. The practice of marking it with Xs is condemned by preservationists, especially when it's done with pieces of brick broken from nearby unrestored tombs.

The New Orleans tradition of above-ground burial, necessitated by the city's low elevation that caused graves to flood, has resulted in several kinds of tombs -- the family tomb, the wall tomb, or "oven" because of their resemblance to ovens once used here, and the society tombs, where people could band together to secure a burial spot.

But as rich in history and architectural interest as they are, for years the 42 cemeteries in New Orleans were largely allowed to crumble.

"Families die off or move away, and if there isn't a perpetual care policy, the tomb begins to crumble," Florence said. "Without care over the years, you can just end up with a pile of rubble."

The oldest of the tombs were built of bricks covered with a thin layer of plaster; the panels that listed those in the tomb were usually marble. It broke easily and the engraving would fade over the years.

"The older tombs, in many cases, were little more than collapsed piles of brick," said Rachel Witwer, director of Save Our Cemeteries, founded in 1974.

Conditions in many cemeteries have improved since the low point in the 1980s when the Archdiocese of New Orleans considered selling neglected tombs.

It's not unheard of for tombs to be sold in New Orleans. Even some famous tombs have changed hands, and the remains of the bodies originally buried there were removed and placed elsewhere with the permission of the relatives of the dead.

Tombs in New Orleans allow for unlimited burials. After one year, the tomb may be opened, the bones removed from the coffin and placed in a receiving well in the tomb, which allows for a new burial.

Since 1984, all new tombs built in a Catholic cemetery in New Orleans have required perpetual care that costs $2,700 -- a onetime fee.

Though there is still work to be done, restoration efforts are beginning to pay off.

In St. Louis No. 1, which opened in 1789, many of the old tombs gleam blindingly white in the sunlight now.

And tourists have returned to cemeteries that once were considered dangerous enough to carry a police warning about visiting.

In the past, tourists wandering along the twisting lanes between tombs at the oldest cemeteries were perfect targets for robbers.

"We have not had any reports of robberies in the cemeteries in recent years," said New Orleans police spokesman Bob Young.

http://www.freep.com/article/20081130/FEATURES07/811300347