Backyard Tour: Half Day Trip to Jazz Concert at the Louis Armstrong House Museum

On Saturday, I finally made it out to Corona Queens for my first visit to the Louis Armstrong House Museum for a tour of the house and to enjoy an afternoon jazz concert in the house's garden. 

Not recalling whether I've ever set foot in Corona Queens, the neighborhood was easily accessible by the #7 Train. Once you arrive, you get the sense that you are in Latin America.  However, by the time you reach the house, a short walk from the subway station, you are transported back in time.  

According to the tour, Louis Armstrong (1901 - 1971) was born dirt poor in New Orleans. When he went to see the simple house in Corona, he told the driver that he must have made a mistake because the house he pulled up to was extravagant compared to anything he ever grew up in.

The house is femininely designed because that stuff was all left up to his fourth wife Lucille. However, Louis' den is all him, trimmed in wood with recordings and a music player which looks like it belongs in a museum - oh wait, it is a museum.

The Grand Street Stompers, who performed on the day of my visit, were very good as they jammed to classics such as Stardust. 

If you are a jazz fan, then the Louis Armstrong House Museum is definitely worth the trip to Latin America - eh-hem I mean Corona Queens. If you can manage to go when they have one of their special events in the garden, then even better.  

Photos

Photos are not permissible inside the house of the Louis Armstrong House Museum (LAHM). However, here are a few from outside. 

1) The plaque commemorating the designation of the Louis Armstrong House as a National Historic Landmark in 1977.

 

2) The entrance to the visitor center and gift shop at the LAHM. 

 

3) A photo of the simple brick house in Corona Queens. 

 

4) Jazz vocalist Tamar Korn taking us back with her retro voice. The day of the event was also Ms. Korn's 30th birthday.  

 

5) Gordon Au and the rest of the Grand Street Stompers. 

 

6) The Japanese style garden sans jazz fans and the Grand Street Stompers. 

 

7) Finally, the future home of the museum's archives - across the street from the LAHM. I believe that it is scheduled to be completed in 2013, but from the looks of it, I don't think that  they will meet the schedule. The cool thing is that when the project is completed, all of Louis Armstrong's archival records and personal recordings (now at Queens College) will the housed here for fans to peruse.