Louis Armstrong House

Last updated

Louis Armstrong House
Louis Armstrong House 02 (cropped).jpg
Louis Armstrong House, 2012
Louis Armstrong House
Location34-56 107th Street, Queens, New York
Coordinates 40°45′20″N73°51′43″W / 40.75556°N 73.86194°W / 40.75556; -73.86194
Built1910 [1]
ArchitectRobert W. Johnson [1]
NRHP reference No. 76001265
NYCL No.1555
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMay 11, 1976 [2]
Designated NHLMay 11, 1976 [3]
Designated NYCLDecember 13, 1988

The Louis Armstrong House is a historic house museum at 34-56 107th Street in the Corona neighborhood of Queens in New York City. [3] [4] It was the home of Louis Armstrong and his wife Lucille Wilson from 1943 until his death in 1971. Lucille gave ownership of it to the city of New York in order to create a museum focused on her husband.

Contents

The house was designated a New York City Landmark in 1988 [1] and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

The home is part of The Louis Armstrong House Museum, a non-profit organization and 3-building campus encompassing The Historic Home, the Armstrong Center and Selma's Place. [5] The museum presents concerts, educational programs, community programs, and makes its archival collection of writings, books, recordings and memorabilia available to the public for research. The Louis Armstrong House Museum is a winner of the 2024 National Medal for Museums and Library Service from the Institute for Museum and Library Services. [6]

Background

The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation gave the house to the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs after Lucille Armstrong died in 1983. New York City designated the City University of New York, Queens College to help administer the building. The building is operated and programmed by the nonprofit organization The Louis Armstrong House Museum. [5]

The brick house was designed by architect Robert W. Johnson and built by Thomas Daly in 1910. [7] Some changes were made to the exterior and interior of the house when the Armstrongs moved in. The porch that was once in the front of the house was taken down and the space was added to the living room. For the exterior of the house the garden was assembled and the garage was constructed by the Armstrongs. [8]

In addition the interior of the house was renovated to their taste. [9] 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 [10] have found a home of their own on dressers, night stands, shelves and walls.

Landmark designation

National Historic Landmark plaque on the Louis Armstrong House Louis Armstrong House National Historic Landmark.jpg
National Historic Landmark plaque on the Louis Armstrong House

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing in November 1985 about whether to designated the Louis Armstrong House as a Landmark. At the hearing, a letter and a statement were read in support of the designation, and five witnesses spoke in favor. [11] The house was designated as an individual landmark on December 13, 1988. [12]

Louis Armstrong Center

After a 2017 groundbreaking, [13] The Louis Armstrong Center [14] opened across the street from the Armstrongs' house in 2023. It represents the largest archives for a jazz musician with more than 60,000 items. [15] It also features a 75-seat performance space [16] and the multimedia exhibition Here to Stay curated by Jason Moran. [17] The Center also hosts Armstrong Now, an artist residency program. Armstrong Now, multidisciplinary artists have included Esperanza Spalding, Immanuel Wilkins, and Daniel J. Watts. [18] Performers in the Armstrong Center's jazz room and garden have also included Jon Faddis, Nikki Giovanni [19] , Jimmy Heath, Bria Skonberg, and Wendell Brunious. [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corona, Queens</span> Neighborhood in New York City

Corona is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. It borders Flushing and Flushing Meadows–Corona Park to the east, Jackson Heights to the west, Forest Hills and Rego Park to the south, Elmhurst to the southwest, and East Elmhurst to the north. Corona's main thoroughfares include Corona Avenue, Roosevelt Avenue, Northern Boulevard, Junction Boulevard, and 108th Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission</span> New York City agency

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and culturally significant buildings and sites by granting them landmark or historic district status, and regulating them after designation. It is the largest municipal preservation agency in the nation. As of July 1, 2020, the LPC has designated more than 37,800 landmark properties in all five boroughs. Most of these are concentrated in historic districts, although there are over a thousand individual landmarks, as well as numerous interior and scenic landmarks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flushing–Main Street station (IRT Flushing Line)</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The Flushing–Main Street station is the eastern terminal on the IRT Flushing Line of the New York City Subway, located at Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Downtown Flushing, Queens. It is served by the 7 local train at all times and the <7> express train during rush hours in the peak direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Bowne House</span> Historic house in Queens, New York

The John Bowne House is a house at 37-01 Bowne Street in Flushing, Queens, New York City, that is known for its role in establishing religious tolerance in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lower East Side Tenement Museum</span> Museum in Manhattan, New York

The Lower East Side Tenement Museum is a museum and National Historic Site located at 97 and 103 Orchard Street in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The museum's two historical tenement buildings were home to an estimated 15,000 people, from over 20 nations, between 1863 and 2011. The museum, which includes a visitors' center, promotes tolerance and historical perspective on the immigrant experience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queens County Farm Museum</span> Museum in Queens, New York

The Queens County Farm Museum, also known as Queens Farm, is a 47-acre (190,000 m2) farm in the Floral Park and Glen Oaks neighborhoods of Queens in New York City. The farm occupies the city's largest remaining tract of undisturbed farmland, and is still a working farm today. Queens Farm practices sustainable agriculture and has a four-season growing program. The museum includes the Adriance Farmhouse, a New York City Landmark on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunnyside Gardens, Queens</span> Neighborhood in New York City

Sunnyside Gardens is a community within Sunnyside, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. The area was the first development in the United States patterned after the ideas of the garden city movement initiated in England in the first decades of the twentieth century by Ebenezer Howard and Raymond Unwin, specifically Hampstead Garden Suburb and Letchworth Garden City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wyckoff House</span> Historic house in Brooklyn, New York

The Wyckoff House, or Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House, is a historic house at 5816 Clarendon Road in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City, within Milton Fidler Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Quaker Meeting House (Queens)</span> United States historic place

The Flushing Friends Quaker Meeting House, also the Old Quaker Meeting House, is a historic Quaker house of worship located at 137-16 Northern Boulevard, in Flushing, Queens, New York. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1967 and a New York City designated landmark in 1970. Today, it still serves as a Quaker Meeting, with meetings for worship taking place every Sunday.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewis H. Latimer House</span> Museum in Queens, New York

The Lewis H. Latimer House, also called the Latimer House or the Lewis Latimer House, is a historic house located at 34–41 137th Street in Flushing, Queens, New York City. It was constructed in the Queen Anne style of architecture between 1887 and 1889 by the Sexton family. It served as the home of the African-American inventor Lewis Howard Latimer from 1903 to 1928, and is now operated as a museum dedicated to the inventor's work. In addition, this museum-house also illuminated the life and achievements of other black scientists. The house remained property of the Latimer family until 1963. Currently, the Lewis H. Latimer House is owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, operated by the Lewis H. Latimer Fund, Inc., and is a member of the Historic House Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingsland Homestead</span> Historic house in Queens, New York

Kingsland Homestead is an 18th-century house located in Flushing, Queens, New York City. It is the home of the remains of The Weeping Beech, a landmark weeping beech tree, believed to have been planted in 1847. The homestead is also close to the 17th-century Bowne House, the location of the first Quaker meeting place in New Amsterdam. The homestead is operated by the Queens Historical Society, whose quarters are inside; the homestead is open to the public as a museum. The Kingsland Homestead is a member of the Historic House Trust, and is both a New York City designated landmark and a National Register of Historic Places listing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Tifereth Israel (Queens)</span> Historic synagogue in New York City

Congregation Tifereth Israel is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the Corona section of Queens, in New York City, New York, in the United States. It was founded by Ashkenazi Jews who had moved to Queens from Manhattan's Lower East Side. Estée Lauder and her parents were early members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York Landmarks Conservancy</span> American nonprofit organization

The New York Landmarks Conservancy is a non-profit organization "dedicated to preserving, revitalizing, and reusing" historic structures in New York state. It provides technical and financial skills to owners of historic properties. In the half century since its 1973 founding, the conservancy has provided more than $60 million in grants and loans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vander Ende–Onderdonk House</span> Historic house in Queens, New York

The Vander Ende–Onderdonk House, also known as the Van Nanda House, is a historic house at 1820 Flushing Avenue in Ridgewood, Queens, New York City. It is the oldest Dutch Colonial stone house in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Ridgewood Historic District</span> Historic district in Queens, New York

Central Ridgewood Historic District is a national historic district in Ridgewood, Queens, New York. It includes 990 contributing buildings built between 1895 and 1927. They consist mainly of two-story, brick rowhouse dwellings with one apartment per floor. Buildings feature rounded bay front facades and the use of several shades of speckled brick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queens Theatre (New York City)</span> Professional theatre in Queens, New York

Queens Theatre, formerly Queens Theatre in the Park and before that Queens Playhouse, is an American professional theatre at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. Artistic and Executive Directors have included Joseph S. Kutrzeba, founder and producer; Robert Moss, Sue Lawless, Jeffrey Rosenstock and Ray Cullom, formerly Managing Director of Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, and since 2011, Taryn Sacramone, former Executive Director of Astoria Performing Arts Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weeping Beech (Queens)</span> United States historic place

The Weeping Beech was a historic tree located at Weeping Beech Park in Flushing, Queens, New York City. It was the mother of all European weeping beeches in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Met Fifth Avenue</span> Branch of art museum in New York City

The Met Fifth Avenue is the primary museum building for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The building is located at 1000 Fifth Avenue, along the Museum Mile on the eastern edge of Central Park in Manhattan's Upper East Side.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Dolkart, Andrew S. & Postal, Matthew A.; Guide to New York City Landmarks, 3rd Edition; New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2004. ISBN   0-471-36900-4; p.283.
  2. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  3. 1 2 "Louis Armstrong House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 15, 2007. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013.
  4. ↑ Lynne Gomez Graves (February 3, 1976). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Louis Armstrong House" (PDF). National Park Service. and Accompanying photos, exterior, from 1976  (1.36 MB)
  5. 1 2 "About". Louis Armstrong House Museum. January 18, 2025. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  6. ↑ "2024 National Medal for Museum and Library Service". Institute of Museum and Library Services. May 21, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Louis Armstrong House Museum – History". Archived from the original on June 13, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Queens College: Louis Armstrong House" (PDF). CUNY.edu. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  9. ↑ Hill, Miriam (November 2, 2003). "Louis Armstrong's house in Queens opens as museum". The Baltimore Sun.
  10. ↑ Flagler, Renee (January–February 2012). "The Louis Armstrong House Museum – ProQuest". Network Journal. 1 (1): 41.
  11. ↑ Landmarks Preservation Commission (December 13, 1988). "The Louis Armstrong House" (PDF).
  12. ↑ "Designation Reports – LPC". www1.nyc.gov. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  13. ↑ Parry, Bill (June 18, 2023). "New Louis Armstrong Center set to open to public on July 6 in Corona". QNS.com. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  14. ↑ "The Louis Armstrong Center". Louis Armstrong House Museum. January 13, 2025. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  15. ↑ Weaver, Shaye (June 15, 2023). "See photos of the super cool new Louis Armstrong Center". Time Out. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  16. ↑ Glassberg, Lauren (February 21, 2022). "Music great Louis Armstrong's mark in Corona, Queens neighborhood continues to grow". ABC 7 New York. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  17. ↑ Ryzik, Melena (August 3, 2023). "Satchmo's Wonderful World: Louis Armstrong Center Amplifies An Artist's Vision". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Armstrong Now". Louis Armstrong House Museum. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Instagram". www.instagram.com.
  20. ↑ "Events Archive - Page 2 of 5". Louis Armstrong House Museum. August 15, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2025.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.