The Louisiana Superdome has stood as a symbol of the City of New Orleans for 50 years. Built between August 12, 1971 and August 3, 1975, the Superdome has a past that reaches deep into the history of New Orleans and its storied burial traditions. The site the Superdome now occupies, selected in 1967, was a 55-acre parcel of land in the heart of the city's Central Business District. The area, consiting of warehouses, transportation centers, and poor neighborhoods, was considered to be an eyesore to the powerful men who would champion the construction of the Superdome. The area was occupied by homes and businesses, but notably included the Illinois Central Railroad roundhouse and shops, as well as the Girod Street Cemetery. It was an area which had been in decline since the late 19th Century, and this was reflected nowhere more than in the cemetery.
The long tradgedy of Girod Street Cemetery, the fledgling downtown of the city, Jim Crow and Civil Rights era politics, the lackluster first decades of the Saints franchise, and the Voodoo tradition of New Orleans all intersect on these formally hallowed grounds.
