The Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona launched “That’s My Home,” a new online exhibition that shares with homebound citizens around the globe a glimpse into the jazz legend’s life at home in Queens, where he lived the last 40 years of his life.
The museum’s Research Collections Director Ricky Riccardi created an online portal documenting Armstrong’s life at home through archival footage, rare photographs, and priceless audio from Satchmo’s own private reel-to-reel tapes.
In the coming weeks, the site will add virtual tours of the Corona home, which is a national landmark, as well as livestreamed panel discussions.
“For 25 years, Queens College has proudly preserved the Louis Armstrong Research Collections and has opened its doors to anyone with interest in this monumental artist,” Queens College Assistant for Governmental Affairs and LAHM’s Acting Director Jeff Rosenstock said. “Today we celebrate the precious time Satchmo spent at home in Corona, Queens, as we spend time at home ourselves. We hope that we can all draw inspiration from Armstrong’s love for his neighborhood, his community, and New York, his adopted city.”
The Louis Armstrong House Research Collections constitutes the world’s largest archives for a single jazz musician. The core of the collections is artifacts and materials found in the Armstrong House after the passing of Armstrong his wife Lucille which includes 1,600 recordings, 650 home recorded reel-to-reel tapes in hand-decorated boxes, 86 scrapbooks, 5,000 photographs, 270 sets of band parts, 12 linear feet of papers, letters and manuscripts, five trumpets, 14 mouthpieces, 120 awards and plaques.
Check out the virtual exhibition here.
