The legendary Louis Armstrong went by many names—Satchmo, Satch, Pops–and is considered by many to be the founding father of jazz, the most American of all art forms. Among his most remembered classic hits were “Hello, Dolly!” “When You’re Smiling,” “When the Saints Go Marching In,” and perhaps most noteworthy, “What a Wonderful World.”
When we toured the house and center on opening day, our knowledgeable guide, Moses, explained why Pops thought his world was so wonderful when it wasn’t all that remarkable for many African Americans during his lifetime. The explanation was because of his love for the beautiful home he shared with his beloved wife Lucille in the little jazz enclave in Corona. His friend and fellow superstar, Dizzy Gillespie, lived just around the corner. This was Armstrong’s cherished wonderful world—which may now be visited by devotees from all over the globe.
HIS LOVE OF CORONA
Unbeknownst to her husband, Lucille made a down payment on the house. e in 1943 at 34-56 107th Street, where he would live until he left us in 1971. Shortly after, Lucille gave ownership of it to the City of New York to create a museum focused on her husband.
And now, just across the street stands the newly opened Louis Armstrong Center—the world’s largest institution devoted to any single jazz artist, housing the 60,000-piece archive of Louis and Lucille Armstrong, a 75-seat venue offering performances, lectures, films, and educational experiences, and a gift shop where jazz lovers from all over can purchase a memento to remind them of their visit when they get back home.
A LOVE OF HUMANITY & MUSIC
The opening exhibit, Here to Stay, is curated by Grammy award-winning pianist, composer, and Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz, Jason Moran. It looks at Louis Armstrong’s five-decade career as a musician, archivist, collaborator, and community builder. For Moran, the exhibition is “a declaration of Louis Armstrong’s infinite love of music and humanity.”
Across the street, tours of the house museum, limited to 10 people, are offered, led by volunteer guides. When Moses guided us through the house on opening day, we were immediately transported back to the 1960s via the home’s decor: Metallic foil wallpaper with matching wide vertical blinds, plush white carpeting, Danish-style furniture, and wooden kitchen cabinets painted in numerous coats of turquoise lacquer. Although the overall effect is subdued, a riot of mirrors, colors, and textures in the main floor bathroom offers a more vibrant side of many rooms of that era.
Both floors of the red brick home are on view. Visitors only need to stay on vinyl runners to protect the historic rooms, which include: the large dining room, formal living room, primary bedroom, kitchen, and Louis’ den, where he spent time organizing what would become his archives and listening to music via a now vintage state-of-the-art reel-to-reel music system.
Guides point out photos of Armstrong alone and surrounded by friends and family in each room. Buttons are pushed and recorded music and voices transport visitors to the home’s heyday. Armstrong acquired two lots on the south side of the house and still provide a lush urban oasis to be enjoyed by visitors to the house and center. Everyone is awe-struck when they first see the amazingly tall trees in this garden. They must be some of the tallest trees in Queens and provide an extraordinary place to sit and reflect on this beautifully preserved Wonderful World created by Louis and Lucille Armstrong.
For more information on The Louis Armstrong House, visit louisarmstronghouse.org