Louis Armstrong was a founding figure of jazz and America’s first Black popular music icon. Armstrong had hit songs for five decades and knocked the Beatles off the charts with the song Hello Dolly. Perhaps best known for the song What a Wonderful World, Armstrong toured 65 countries with his trumpet and unique voice, earning the moniker, Ambassador Satch.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana at the turn of the century, when he moved to Queens, New York in 1943, he was already a star. He and his wife Lucille Wilson Armstrong lived together on 107th St. in Corona, Queens for nearly 30 years. That nationally landmarked home is now the crown jewel of the Louis Armstrong House Museum (LAHM), a 3-building campus in the heart of the block.
The new Louis Armstrong Center, a 14,000-square foot state-of-the-art building that opened in July 2023, is the culmination of 25 years of community dreaming and planning. It marks LAHM’s physical and programmatic expansion into a creative incubator for artistic excellence, re-defining Armstrong’s legacy from a 21st Century interpretive lens. The Center houses a 75-seat performance space, a multimedia exhibition, and the extensive 60,000-piece archives – the largest of any jazz musician.
In 2024, The Louis Armstrong House Museum was the winner of the National Medal for Museums from the Institute of Museum and Library Service (IMLS) in the United States. LAHM was awarded the National Medal for its use of a historic home and archive to serve our local and global community - artists, neighbors, students and more. Facilitated by the opening of the new Armstrong Center, LAHM’s robust slate of programs include four pillars:
1. Legacy: Conserving and promoting the cultural and humanitarian Armstrong legacy.
2. Artistic Excellence: Featuring multidisciplinary artists to create innovative performances.
3. Education: Providing on-site, online and classroom experiences for K – 12 public school students and beyond.
4. Community: Programming for mutual learning and support which engages core constituencies in our Queens neighborhood, the jazz community, and the global community of Armstrong fans.
Louis Armstrong Center_Albert Vecerka
Preserving The Legacy
No one has lived in the landmarked historic home since the Armstrongs. All the furnishings, paintings, wallpaper, carpet, books, and keepsakes are their own. Walking into their home, it feels as if they just stepped out for a moment and could come back at any time. LAHM has offered 45-minute guided tours through the home since 2003. In 1994 the Armstrong Archives opened at Queens College library with the support of the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation. The core of the archives consisted of the contents of the Armstrongs’ home when they passed. From that core there are now over a dozen individual collections. The archives have been digitized since 2017 and the ongoing digital exhibit called That’s My Home was featured in the Washington Post. The Archives have had a significant effect on Armstrong scholarship, impacting books, documentaries, academic articles, Grammy-winning recordings, and more.
Artistic Excellence
The Armstrong Now Artist-in-Residence program provides established and emerging multidisciplinary artists with a platform to create new work inspired by the vast collection of artifacts in the Armstrong Archives. Artists-in-Residence spend time at the Museum for an intensive period of research and rehearsal, creating their new work based on thematic content drawn from the Archives. At the end of their residency, artists present a public sharing of the work at the Museum and additional performances may premiere in collaboration with partners throughout New York and beyond. In addition, Armstrong Now Signature performances are unique commissions, rooted in archival material, such as the Armstrong in Newport project which went on to feature at the Newport Jazz Festival or the Armstrong and Friends Big Band Experience which utilizes music charts found in the archives.
Education
In the 1980’s, before the museum was formalized as an organization, it produced its first program – a children’s concert called Pops is Tops! Over thirty years later that concert continues and has done so every year without ceasing. Thousands more experience the award-winning film online. After a recent donation of trumpets explicitly for this purpose, LAHM launched the Trumpet Learning Program – high-quality instruction equipping young musicians in a community where music instruction often ends in the 2nd grade, with the skills, confidence, and inspiration to explore the world of jazz. Over the past year, students progressed from beginners to intermediate players, with many showcasing their talents at community performances. A key component of our success has been our commitment to removing financial barriers. Students receive trumpets on loan, and we offer significantly reduced tuition for local participants.
Community
The Armstrongs loved their neighborhood and were involved in the daily life of their community. Through LAHM, we are continuing this legacy of engagement with an array of programming presented in partnership with community organizations.
The term justice arts refers to organizations exploring art forms with individuals who are currently incarcerated, formerly incarcerated and youth who are system affiliated. Louis Armstrong learned to play the trumpet while incarcerated in a youth detention center. The arts education program in detention led to a life-long career. In that legacy, LAHM’s justice arts initiatives include an immersive 8-week program developed in partnership with Re-entry Theatre of Harlem, integrating collage, theatre, and facilitated discussions. These sessions include staff-led interactions with archival audio, video and text. Collaborations with the Queens Public Library include curated experiences within correctional facilities. We also co-host a network of cultural organizations working with justice-impacted individuals convened in partnership with New Yorkers for Culture and the Arts.
The Corona Collection of Oral Histories. The Armstrongs truly “lived” in their neighborhood. The kids who lived around them have vivid first-hand accounts. We went looking for the kids depicted in our archival photographs. We found 15 individuals and recorded their memories of the Armstrongs and their relationship to the neighborhood. The Corona Collection of Oral Histories include video, audio, written, and animated stories, alongside supporting archival materials, and community gatherings. These histories will become part of our archives – the source materials that researchers use for future scholarship and artistic programs.
Global Community
The Global Ambassadors Program of the Louis Armstrong House Museum brings historians, artists, and young people across the globe in conversation with Armstrong’s dynamic legacy. The next endeavor is Armstrong in Ghana. In the 1950’s and 60’s, the height of the American civil rights movement, Louis Armstrong toured throughout the continent of Africa, including the Gold Coast as it transitioned out of British colonial control to become the independent country of Ghana. A multinational exhibition, accompanying performances and educational workshops will explore this legacy, premiering in 2026.
These programs, facilitated by the opening of the new Armstrong Center, constitute an expanded, 21st century approach to sharing the Armstrong legacy. In all of this work, we carry the spirit of those that have come before us, centered on Louis and Lucille. Their lives sit within a context. Their music comes out of a culture. We, the current stewards of that story, are utilizing the historic assets of LAHM to engage with these aspects of the Armstrong legacy in their present-day context for the communities we serve.