In St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, the oldest cemetery in New Orleans, a gleaming white pyramid about nine feet tall stands among weathered family vaults. It belongs to the actor Nicolas Cage, who built it in 2010 as his future resting place. It carries no name and no dates yet, only three Latin words on its side: 'Omnia Ab Uno', 'everything from one'.
Nicolas Cage's pyramid tomb at a glance
- Where: St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 on Basin Street, on the edge of the French Quarter, near Tremé.
- Built: 2010, after Cage bought two plots in the cemetery.
- What it is today: an empty tomb in an active Catholic cemetery run by the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Since 2015 visitors can only enter on a tour with a licensed guide, unless they are visiting the grave of a relative.
- Time needed: a few minutes at the pyramid, as part of a guided visit to the cemetery.
A Hollywood tomb in the city's oldest cemetery
St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 opened in 1789, when Louisiana was a Spanish colony. Its tombs stand above ground, as in most old New Orleans cemeteries, in a city that lies largely below sea level. Many of the city's best-known names are buried here, among them Marie Laveau, the 19th-century Voodoo priestess who died in 1881, and Homer Plessy, whose arrest in a whites-only railway car in 1892 led to the Supreme Court ruling Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, which upheld 'separate but equal' segregation.
Cage lived in New Orleans for a time in the 2000s and owned property there, including the LaLaurie Mansion in the French Quarter, a house with a dark history and a reputation for being haunted. He lost it, along with his other New Orleans properties, to foreclosure over unpaid taxes. In 2010 he bought two plots in St. Louis No. 1 and put up the pyramid on one of them. After vandalism in the cemetery, including damage to Marie Laveau's tomb, the Archdiocese closed it to unaccompanied visitors in 2015.
What to look for
- The shape: a smooth, bright white pyramid, completely unlike the gabled and flat-topped family vaults around it.
- The inscription 'Omnia Ab Uno' on its side, and the absence of any name or date.
- Lipstick marks: fans have made a habit of kissing the tomb, so you may see traces of lipstick on the white surface.
- The neighbours: rows of above-ground family tombs, some crumbling and some freshly whitewashed, and the wall vaults built into the cemetery's outer walls.
- Marie Laveau's tomb, a few steps away, often with small offerings left by visitors.
Why a pyramid?
There is no official explanation for the shape, which has left room for theories. Some point to Cage's film National Treasure, whose poster features a pyramid; others to the Illuminati or simple eccentricity. Another theory links the tomb's spot, close to Marie Laveau, to the haunted LaLaurie Mansion he once owned, as if he wanted a protector nearby. None of these comes from Cage, so treat them as local gossip rather than history.
Tips for your visit
- Book a guided cemetery tour in advance: you cannot enter on your own, and tours often fill up around Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest and Halloween. Tours start from Basin Street Station, next to the cemetery.
- Don't kiss, touch or mark the pyramid or any other tomb. Lipstick and graffiti damage the stone, and the 'X' marks once drawn on Marie Laveau's tomb are one reason solo visits were stopped.
- There is almost no shade among the tombs. Choose a morning tour in summer, and bring water and a hat.
- This is still a working cemetery where families bury and visit their dead, so keep your voice down and step aside for any funeral.
Nearby
- Our Lady of Guadalupe Church: on North Rampart Street, built in 1826 as a mortuary chapel for victims of yellow fever, and the oldest surviving church building in New Orleans.
- Congo Square: in Louis Armstrong Park, a few blocks away, where enslaved and free Africans gathered on Sundays to play music, dance and trade.
- The French Quarter: its streets begin just across North Rampart Street, with wrought-iron balconies and Creole townhouses.
- St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square: the cathedral with three spires and the old parade ground in front of it, further into the French Quarter.
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Facts checked in October 2026.