On the map we highlight the most outstanding and lesser-known musical sites that you can visit. In this edition we focus on one of the mythical jazz artists of the world of music, Louis Armstrong, through a visit to the museum that is located in his Old Home in New York. Explore!
THE SITE
The Louis Armstrong House Museum is located at 34-56 107th Street in Corona, New York, a community in Queens, east of Manhattan. Armstrong lived in space with his spouse Lucille for nearly thirty years. Across the street, there is also the Louis Armstrong Center, opened in 2023, which houses 60,000 pieces of Armstrong memorabilia, archival documents, photographs, books, musical instruments, etc.
LUIS
Oh, there was no one like Louis Armstrong. That incomparable voice, that smile, those sounds he created with his trumpet. Jazz music has an iconic thank you to musicians like him. Born in 1901, a few blocks from the infamous red light district known as Storyville in New Orleans, Louisiana, he grew up in wonderful poverty. In late 1912, when he was eleven, he was arrested and sent to the Colored Waif children’s home; however, it was there that he learned to play the cornet.
In 1919, Armstrong played with Kid Ory, a well-known New Orleans bandleader and trombonist, which led to him giving concerts on Mississippi riverboats such as the Dixie Belle. In 1920, he moved to St. Louis and then to Chicago, where he played with his mentor. in the King Oliver Band. The “Roaring Twenties” saw Armstrong make a call for himself, and during the 1930s he recorded records that would influence musicians for decades. He was on the radio and performed for audiences around the world.
Armstrong recorded his most beloved song, “What A Wonderful World,” in 1967. “Hello Dolly!” won the Grammy for Song of the Year in 1965. He recorded “La Vie En Rose” in 1950, “St James Infirmary” in 1928 and “When The Saints Go Marching In” in 1938. He has recorded and/or conducted with legends . . like Ella Fitzgerald, Barbra Streisand, Duke Ellington, Johnny Cash, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby.
Armstrong died on July 6, 1971 from a stroke at his home in Corona. He was 69 years old. He is buried in Flushing Cemetery in Queens.
THE HISTORY OF THE HOUSE
“The space was built in 1910 and the Armstrongs moved there in 1943,” Regina Bain, executive director of the Louis Armstrong House Museum, told me in a recent email. “Lucille Armstrong bought the space with the budget of her dancing career at the Cotton Club. “Louis’ fourth and last spouse, Lucille, tired of living in hotels after their marriage in 1942, chose the space on 107th Street. “Heraldo’s circle of relatives knew that Lucille Armstrong was looking for a home,” Bain continued. “When the space next door, on 107th Street, was put up for sale, they let Lucille know. Selma Heraldo, a beloved member of our museum community. When he died, he moved from his home to the museum, which is now a component of the three-building Armstrong campus, along the historic space and the new center.
“After Lucille passed away in 1983, it took two decades to manage and prepare the space for visitors,” Bain told me of how the space became a museum. “No one has lived in space since the Armstrongs, a rare phenomenon in space museums. All furniture, wallpaper and art belong to them. When you enter the space you feel like they’re just going to leave for a minute and come back.
After Louis’ death, “Lucille Armstrong used the following years to safeguard the legacy, leading the process for the space to be designated a National and New York Historic Landmark,” Bain said. “She bequeathed the space to New York City with the explicit goal of turning it into a museum. With the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation and Queens College, the archives were opened to the public in the 1990s and the space was opened for public visits in 2003. ”
The museum also organizes concerts and other activities. ” Last year we organized twenty-six concerts and many other activities, such as yoga classes, collage workshops and trumpet lessons. In fact, the museum has just received the IMLS National Museum Medal. , the highest national honor given to museums and libraries that demonstrate a significant impact on their communities. “It is a phenomenal honor to receive the National Medal for our decades of service to and with the community. “
VISIT
The museum is open Thursday through Saturday, from 11:00 a. m. to 4:00 p. m. It is recommended to buy tickets in advance. This is a 45-minute guided tour and photography is not allowed inside the space itself, but inside photography is allowed. the Center and the garden.
You’ll begin your tour at Downtown. Tickets for the House and Center are $20 for adults, $14 for seniors 65 and older, students, military veterans, and people with disabilities; Citizens of Corona pay $5, while children aged six and under get in for free. Prices are lower if you just want to attend the Here To Stay exhibition at the Centre. Please note that street parking is limited and the museum recommends using public transportation. or carpooling when you come to the museum.
At Once Array there is a lot to see and be informed about Louis Armstrong. Bain told me this about the Center’s Here To Stay exhibit: “Visitors will find many original objects, including the trumpet!We have seven trumpets in Armstrong’s archives and the most ornate of them, the trumpet that King George V gave Armstrong, is on display in the Here to Stay exhibition. You’ll also find Armstrong’s FBI record and a short film about how the story of the Little Rock Nine (nine Black students looking to integrate into one of Arkansas’ top schools) led to this record.
THE LEGACY
Bonerama trombonist Mark Mullins recently shared with me this about Armstrong’s influence: “Louis Armstrong created and established a point of musicality and functional abilities that no one had noticed before, while entertaining a wide audience. The complete package. New Orleans and the world has never noticed this before at this time, and it set the bar high on what New Orleans greatness aims to be to this day.
Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, who chronicled Armstrong in his ten-part documentary Jazz in 2001, wrote in the accompanying book: “I always knew Armstrong was vital to the story, but, most of all, he seemed like a guy with a smile. and a handkerchief, singer of popular songs such as “Hello Dolly!” and “It’s A Wonderful World”. I had no idea of the truth, proven in interview after interview, album after album: Louis Armstrong is simply the most important user of American music.
For Bain, there was more than just music. In addition to being an ordinary singer and instrumentalist, few people know that he was a prolific visual artist, whose numerous collage works adorned his collection of audio cassette recordings. I also love the fact that he traveled to sixty-five countries. it crossing not only geography but also languages, politics and culture, thus being able to be enjoyed throughout the world and in all nations.
The city of New Orleans has enjoyed Louis. In 2001, they revered him by renaming their airport Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. You can also take a walk through Louis Armstrong Park, near the city’s French Quarter. Satchmo SummerFest takes place every year in early August, and trumpeter Kermit Ruffins will pay tribute to Armstrong at Jazz Fest every year. There’s a new exhibit, It Started in Jane Alley: Louis Armstrong in New Orleans, at the New Orleans Jazz Museum at The Old U. S. Mint. And if you venture to Baton Rouge, you can get an up-close look at Armstrong’s bugle from his remains in the Capitol Park Museum’s House of the Colored Waifs.
The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC has some artifacts related to Armstrong, in addition to one of his trumpets. In Chicago, you can drive past his former home at 421 East 44th Street in Bronzeville. In 1995, the United States Postal Service issued a Louis Armstrong stamp; In 1949, he became the first jazz musician to appear on the cover of Time magazine; he earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960; inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as one of his early influences in 1990; and in 1972 he posthumously received a lifetime achievement Grammy.
LOUIS IS STILL GOING STRONG
Believe it or not, there’s a new recording that was released last month. In fact, it’s an old live recording from 1968, but it’s still blank. Louis In London presents 13 tracks recorded in front of a live BBC audience. “In London there is a new recording of a live concert recorded through the BBC towards the end of Armstrong’s life,” Bain explained. “It has never been published in this format before. The museum is organizing a field trip to the archive of this concert that showcases the music and stories that made this concert important. People will be able to see it in our Jazz Room on August 15th. Tickets can be purchased through the museum’s website.
RECOMMENDED READING
Louis Armstrong: Swing That Music and Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans; Terry Teaching: pop; Ricky Riccardi: What a glorious world; Muriel Weinstein and Frank Morrison: Play Louis Play; Gary Giddins: Satchmo.
WEBSITE
https://www. louisarmstronghouse. org/: The museum has a lot of information, photographs, and archival fabrics that you can check out.
WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR US
If you’ve visited the Louis Armstrong House-Museum, head over to Glide’s social media pages and in the comments under the link to this article, post a photo of yourself in front of the space or at the Center. Not to mention Glide and the Louis Armstrong House Museum. We need to see you!
Visit On The Map Volume 1: The Big House in Macon, Georgia
Photographs courtesy of the Louis Armstrong House Museum, unless otherwise noted.
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