Louis Armstrong House Museum Celebrates 80th Anniversary with New Center Opening in Queens, NY

Table Of Content

• Upcoming Events
• Historic House Tour + Here to Stay
• Dr. John Collection ‘Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya: Singles 1968–1974’ Out Now
• YIMBY’s 2023 Q1 Report Tallies 9,138 Residential and Hotel Units Filed From January Through March in New York City
• One of NYC's Best Under-the-radar Museums Is Expanding — and You Can Visit Starting Tomorrow
• Tour Capacity

The Museum is announcing the upcoming season of its groundbreaking Armstrong Now, which will feature the creation and debut of new works by Esperanza Spalding, Amyra León, and Antonio Brown. Armstrong Now will provide established and emerging artists with a platform to create new work inspired by Armstrong’s legacy, as well as the vast collection of artifacts and documents in the Armstrong archives. “His star shines bright worldwide, but especially here at his home in Corona, Queens,” Moran says. “I consider this one of the ‘wonders’ of the world, meaning, we have Lucille and Louis' magnificent home, and now a museum dedicated to his life and archive.

Upcoming Events

The Armstrong Corona campus is a Queens-based hub for inspiration and learning, economic development and tourism. For local neighbors, city, national, and international visitors, the new campus will permanently establish Armstrong’s legacy as one of the most influential figures in American and Global History. Advance ticket purchase required to visit the new Center and the historic house. Tickets are non-refundable, but can be re-scheduled if guests have contacted the museum before the start time of their tour. The opening of the 14,000 square foot Center has spurred the creation of new programming.

Historic House Tour + Here to Stay

Designed by Caples Jefferson Architects, the two-story building comprises 14,000 square feet and sits between two single-family homes. The massing of the structure resembles a giant piano and features an undulating glass façade with black ornamental fins, a large metal canopy above a second-floor terrace, and a green roof with modest landscaping. Ticketing and information about all of the Louis Armstong Museum’s events and programs can be found here. On a late summer night in Corona, Queens, approaching 107th Street between 34th and 37th avenues, a Chinese-American woman in purple scrubs dances her way around the corner, a little sideways strut, making an entrance into the Louis Armstrong House Museum’s annual block party. On a sidewalk stage, when Roland Guerrero, leader of an eponymous quartet, proudly references his Honduran Garifuna heritage (which includes African, Caribbean, Central American, and European roots), the crowd applauds.

Dr. John Collection ‘Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya: Singles 1968–1974’ Out Now

Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona Expands With New Center - Patch

Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona Expands With New Center.

Posted: Wed, 21 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

LAHM administers the historic house under a long-term license agreement with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and Queens College. The house where jazz legend Louis Armstrong lived and died is now a tribute to his life and legacy. The Louis Armstrong House Museum, still furnished as it was when Louis and his wife Lucille lived there, lets viewers peek into the intimate life of the couple, while its collection pays tribute to his public accomplishments and contributions to the world of jazz. The world`s most famous jazz musician could have lived anywhere, but in 1943, he settled in a modest house in Corona, Queens where he and his wife lived for the remainder of their lives. Bessie “Baby Ruth” Williams, Lucille’s housekeeper since 1973, continued to clean and preserve the house, eventually serving as the museum’s first caretaker and manager.

YIMBY’s 2023 Q1 Report Tallies 9,138 Residential and Hotel Units Filed From January Through March in New York City

In addition the interior of the house was renovated to their taste.[7] Ornate bathrooms, and the kitchen was not originally part of the house. Paintings and souvenirs were given to Louis Armstrong on tour from Asia, Europe to Africa. These gifts[8] have found a home of their own on dressers, night stands, shelves and walls.

Jazz history comes to life in Corona

No two rooms are alike — “I guess ‘Rococo’ is the word I could use without losing my job,” Harris said of the overall aesthetic — though many are surprisingly modest, especially given Armstrong’s larger-than-life presence. He is the only person ever to have hit records in the ’20s, ’30s, ’40s, ’50s and ’60s. He played behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War and in the Democratic Republic of Congo during decolonization in 1960, during which both sides of a civil war called a truce to watch him perform, then picked up fighting again once his plane took off. The gold sconces offer a glimmer of opulence, but the walls themselves are covered in a subdued, cream-colored wallpaper — the same wallpaper that covered them at least 50 years ago. It matches the upright piano standing against one wall, and the two twill couches. There’s also a small TV — one of the first on the block — that sits low to the floor, so that the neighborhood children whom Armstrong would invite over (he never had kids of his own) could sit comfortably on the floor to watch Westerns.

New York City, block by block

The museum is also announcing the upcoming season of its Armstrong Now performance series, which will feature the creation and debut of new works by Esperanza Spalding, Amyra León, and Antonio Brown. A week after the museum’s block party, the stretch of 107th Street appeared more like a church Sunday than the Friday before Labor Day. Junior Armstead stopped me to say hello; he’d changed out of his work clothes into a navy blue dress shirt and several of his signature custom-made rings.

One of NYC's Best Under-the-radar Museums Is Expanding — and You Can Visit Starting Tomorrow

After all, he was always eager to get away from the fame and return to his modest home, where Lucille and the neighborhood kids would be waiting for him. We invite musicians, jazz fans, scholars from around the world–and our closest neighbors here in Corona, Queens–to discover Louis and Lucille Armstrong’s story from a new perspective. 2023 marked the opening of the newly constructed Armstrong Center and our the landmark multimedia exhibition, Here to Stay, curated by award-winning pianist, composer and Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz, Jason Moran.

Tour Capacity

Accompanied by the Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble (ALJE), Arturo leads an octet of jazz virtuosos, paying homage to Latin jazz pioneers while pushing the boundaries of the genre with contemporary compositions. Their electrifying performances have garnered international acclaim, from prestigious festivals to iconic venues worldwide. Faith Logue is a current junior at SUNY Oneonta, and majors in media studies. Her passion is all things music, and at age 15 she joined her first magazine. The Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens announced it is celebrating its 80th anniversary and officially opening its new state-of-the-art building on July 6.

The Louis Armstrong Center Comes to Life in Building Filled With Music - ARCHITECT Magazine

The Louis Armstrong Center Comes to Life in Building Filled With Music.

Posted: Mon, 07 Aug 2023 21:39:40 GMT [source]

Check out our home page for more information on this event and  SIGN UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER to be notified about future events. For details on availability and pricing, please visit our Group Tour Page and click on the form. Don’t miss this opportunity to witness the fusion of cultures and rhythms as Arturo O’Farrill and ALJE ignite the stage with their passion and artistry, all in celebration of International Jazz Day.

Funds were awarded by the Office of the Governor, the New York State Senate, New York State Assembly, Office of the New York City Mayor, Office of the Queens Borough President, and theNew York City Council. The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York(DASNY) led the construction project. The Museum is announcing the upcoming season of its groundbreaking Armstrong Now, which will feature the creation and debut of new works by Esperanza Spalding, Amyra León and Antonio Brown. Writer Rebecca Bengal and photographer Chris Mottalini are exploring New York City’s boroughs through its blocks, one each in the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. They previously visited City Island’s Hunter Avenue and Manhattan’s Washington Square Village and Silver Towers.

Heraldo’s home is a time capsule too, currently serving as office space for museum staff, and, during the summer jazz concerts and block party, a green room for the band. Louis called her “Little Dynamite” even though, at 5 feet 6 inches, he was not much taller than she; the museum programmers relied on her for public speaking and impromptu recollections. Open to the public since fall 2003, the Louis Armstrong House Museum is an exuberantly decorated time capsule, a window into the down-to-earth life of an artist, a pivotal period of music history. It is also both a portal to a neighborhood’s past and a link to its future. The Museum also recently launched an outreach program to local schools, providing trumpet lessons, made possible by a donation of musical instruments from Ken Karnofsky, a descendant of the same family who helped Armstrong buy his first instrument. Ticketing and information about all of the museum’s events and programs can be found at here.