Entry No. 33 — the New Orleans file — filed under: outdoor-weird

Holt Cemetery

A rare in-ground potter's field, established in 1879, where most graves were handmade by families rather than stonemasons. Markers here are improvised from PVC pipe, painted fence posts, plastic headstones with stick-on lettering, garden fencing, and astroturf, an enduring African-American folk-burial tradition with roots tracing to the Caribbean and West Africa. Early jazz cornetist Buddy Bolden and singers Jessie Hill and Babe Stovall are buried somewhere in its unruly, deeply personal rows.

The move: Wander slowly through the handmade plots reading the improvised markers, then go looking for the spot honoring jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden.

📍 Before you go This is an active, fragile working cemetery with many sunken graves; tread carefully and stay on paths between plots.

• 📍 Navarre / near City Park
• 💸 Free
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Outdoors

Where: 635 City Park Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119

Hours: Added 2026-06-22 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4

last checked: 2026-06-22