40 North Shore Towers Courier n June 2016 When larger than life individuals inhabit a place, they never really leave. Their spirit wanders the rooms making sure everything is exactly the way they left it. And so it is with the Louis Armstrong House, which has become a museum. Louie and his fourth wife, Lucille, moved into the brick house at 107th Street in Corona, Queens in 1943. And though they could afford a far grander home, this is where they chose to stay until he died in l971 and she in l983. As Louie said, “We didn’t think we could be more relaxed and have better neighbors anyplace else.” However, Louis Armstrong, the most significant musician of the 20th century, started his life in the summer of 1901 under very different circumstances. He had a rough childhood, raised in one of the toughest neighborhoods in New Orleans, known as the “Battlefield.” Music was his savior, and by the time he was six, he was singing in a vocal quartet with his friends. At 12, he began playing the cornet and his relationship with the trumpet soon followed. He played on the streets where people tossed coins at him, which he picked up and put in his mouth. They said his mouth was his satchel. Before long, folks were calling him satchel mouth, eventually shortened to his world famous nickname, “Satchmo.” Considered one of the founding fathers of jazz, the style of music developed by African Americans in the beginning of the 20th century, where each instrument has its own function, he composed dozens of songs, was an accomplished actor and singer, wrote two autobiographies and entertained kings, queens and presidents. It is doubtful if any musician was loved more. Satchmo and Lucille lived a modest life in the house on 107th Street, which has become a New York City Landmark as well as a National Historic Landmark. It has been opened to the public since 2003, and with the original furniture; dazzling bathroom; turquoise and white family kitchen, where Lucille prepared Louie’s favorite meal, red beans and rice; photographs, records, tapes; and assorted books and memorabilia, including a portrait of Louie, painted by his good friend, Tony Bennet; we get a chance to look into the life of a humble man with a fifth-grade education, who became a world-famous American icon. In addition to the house there is a beautiful garden, where concerts and events are held in the summer. The museum is open every day except Monday. It is located at 34-56 107th Street, Corona For more information, call 718-478-8274 or go to www. louisarmstronghouse.org And All That Museum Beat By Roberta Graff Louis Armstrong
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