photograph by Mandi Gray

What do Thomas Hart Benton (the Senator), William S. Burroughs (the author), and William Clark (of “Lewis and Clark”) have together in common? The answer is that they are all interred at the sprawling, urban necropolis of Bellefontaine Cemetery.

Bellefontaine Cemetery was established in 1849 as a place for bodies of an older downtown cemetery to be moved, making the area downtown suitable for development. After the Cholera Epidemic and Fire of that same year, it became clear that the new cemetery would have a successful start (I know, that’s a bit morbid). Anyway, good foresight and design granted Bellefontaine Cemetery with a beautiful, parklike setting that still exists. Over the years, many of the city’s finest sons and daughters came to rest here, some of who had ornate architectural monuments or crypts erected in their honor.

photograph by Steven Ley

We had a fabulous time visiting, and hope you’ll get a sense of that in the images above and those that follow. Enjoy!

By the way, Photo Flood Saint Louis was featured by St. Louis Public Radio. Their website is a fantastic resource for all things St. Louis and beyond!

photograph by Steven Ley

photograph by Theresa Harter

photograph by Mandi Gray

photograph by Andy Holman

photograph by Theresa Harter

photograph by Jason Gray

photograph by Patrick Gioia

photograph by Andy Holman

photograph by Mandi Gray

photograph by Rock Harris

photograph by Christine Huhn

photograph by Theresa Harter

photograph by Jason Gray

photograph by Mandi Gray

photograph by Andy Holman

photograph by Mandi Gray

photograph by Jason Gray

photograph by Andy Holman

The map:

Our end point is easily the mecca of chicken and waffles. The Goody Goody Diner is an icon of North St. Louis, and we all agreed about why.

photograph by Jason Gray