Houzz Tour: The King of Jazz in Queens
Louis Armstrong’s New York City home is glamorous, down-to-earth and waiting for your visit
Peter Fish
February 18, 2018
Houzz Contributor. Peter Fish is a San Francisco-based writer and editor happiest when writing about the outdoors, American history and historical architecture.
Houzz Contributor. Peter Fish is a San Francisco-based writer and editor happiest... More
There was his voice — gravel mixed with sweetest honey. There was his trumpet — soaring, wistful, exuberant. When Louis Armstrong put voice and horn together in a song, he could make you smile, make you dance and maybe make you fall in love.
Photos from Shore Fire Media except where noted; photo from the Louis Armstrong House Museum
Armstrong introduced that most American music, jazz, first to his nation and then to the world. In recordings like Sleepy Time Down South, Mack the Knife, Hello, Dolly! and What a Wonderful World, in musical collaborations with Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, in decades’ worth of shows at venues as varied as Harlem’s Cotton Club and Buckingham Palace, he proved that a boy born in abject poverty in segregated New Orleans could become a musical titan and an American icon. As contemporary jazz master Wynton Marsalis said of Armstrong, “More than any other musician’s, his sound carries the feeling and the meaning of jazz.”
In the Corona neighborhood of Queens, about 35 minutes from Manhattan, the beautifully restored Louis Armstrong House Museum lets you experience the lives of this American genius and his wife Lucille. Like Armstrong himself, the house is a mix of the simple and the glamorous — and is almost impossible not to love.
Armstrong introduced that most American music, jazz, first to his nation and then to the world. In recordings like Sleepy Time Down South, Mack the Knife, Hello, Dolly! and What a Wonderful World, in musical collaborations with Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, in decades’ worth of shows at venues as varied as Harlem’s Cotton Club and Buckingham Palace, he proved that a boy born in abject poverty in segregated New Orleans could become a musical titan and an American icon. As contemporary jazz master Wynton Marsalis said of Armstrong, “More than any other musician’s, his sound carries the feeling and the meaning of jazz.”
In the Corona neighborhood of Queens, about 35 minutes from Manhattan, the beautifully restored Louis Armstrong House Museum lets you experience the lives of this American genius and his wife Lucille. Like Armstrong himself, the house is a mix of the simple and the glamorous — and is almost impossible not to love.
Photo from the Louis Armstrong House Museum
‘We Stay Put’
Louis Armstrong didn’t buy this 1910-vintage, two-story house at 34-56 107th St., Queens. His fourth (and final) wife, Lucille, did, in 1943, shortly after they married. As a trumpeter and bandleader, Armstrong was on the road much of the year. Still, both he and Lucille realized they needed a home base.
She put a down payment on the 11-room, 3,000-square-foot, $16,000 house while he was on tour. As he recalled in Louis Armstrong, In His Own Words, when he returned to New York, he took a taxi out to Queens to see the home his wife had bought and thought it was too good to be true. “One look at that big fine house, and right away I said to the driver, ‘Aw man quit kidding and take me to the address that I’m looking for.’”
Louis’ love for this house and his working-class neighborhood would last the rest of his life. Later, as his fame and wealth increased, he and Lucille could have afforded something larger and grander. But Louis refused to budge. As he wrote in the “Our Neighborhood” recollection in the book, “We don’t think that could be more relaxed and have better neighbors any place else. So we stay put.”
‘We Stay Put’
Louis Armstrong didn’t buy this 1910-vintage, two-story house at 34-56 107th St., Queens. His fourth (and final) wife, Lucille, did, in 1943, shortly after they married. As a trumpeter and bandleader, Armstrong was on the road much of the year. Still, both he and Lucille realized they needed a home base.
She put a down payment on the 11-room, 3,000-square-foot, $16,000 house while he was on tour. As he recalled in Louis Armstrong, In His Own Words, when he returned to New York, he took a taxi out to Queens to see the home his wife had bought and thought it was too good to be true. “One look at that big fine house, and right away I said to the driver, ‘Aw man quit kidding and take me to the address that I’m looking for.’”
Louis’ love for this house and his working-class neighborhood would last the rest of his life. Later, as his fame and wealth increased, he and Lucille could have afforded something larger and grander. But Louis refused to budge. As he wrote in the “Our Neighborhood” recollection in the book, “We don’t think that could be more relaxed and have better neighbors any place else. So we stay put.”
Photo from the Louis Armstrong House Museum
“The house may not be the nicest looking front,” Louis Armstrong wrote in “Our Neighborhood.” But when visitors come inside, “they see a whole lot of comfort, happiness + the nicest things.”
Step into the Armstrong home and you see he’s right. Lucille, a former Cotton Club dancer and Queens native, had a sure eye for interior design. Working with Manhattan interior designer Morris Grossberg, she created a home more luxurious than it appeared from the street. In the midcentury modern living room, sea grass wallpaper (Lucille loved wallpaper) sets a serene mood. Cabinets showcase objets d’art that the Armstrongs collected on their world travels. And a Calvin Bailey oil portrait, based on a 1935 Vanity Fair photograph, shows Louis mopping his brow happily, trumpet in hand.
“The house may not be the nicest looking front,” Louis Armstrong wrote in “Our Neighborhood.” But when visitors come inside, “they see a whole lot of comfort, happiness + the nicest things.”
Step into the Armstrong home and you see he’s right. Lucille, a former Cotton Club dancer and Queens native, had a sure eye for interior design. Working with Manhattan interior designer Morris Grossberg, she created a home more luxurious than it appeared from the street. In the midcentury modern living room, sea grass wallpaper (Lucille loved wallpaper) sets a serene mood. Cabinets showcase objets d’art that the Armstrongs collected on their world travels. And a Calvin Bailey oil portrait, based on a 1935 Vanity Fair photograph, shows Louis mopping his brow happily, trumpet in hand.
Everyone’s Favorite Room
One look at this sleekly streamlined, brilliant aqua blue kitchen will show you why Armstrong museum guides say it’s everybody’s favorite room in the house. Lucille remodeled the kitchen in the late 1960s to be functional as well as stylish. There’s a double-oven Crown stove, custom-made — as a plaque attests — “For Mr. & Mrs. Louis Armstrong”; a built-in countertop NuTone blender; and a Sub-Zero refrigerator, paneled in turquoise to match the rest of the room. The lacquered cabinets are hung on piano hinges so they can open 180 degrees.
The Armstrongs needed a state-of-the-art kitchen because, as museum archivist Ricky Riccardi notes in his charming video guide to the house, “This is a man who loved to eat. If you look at a lot of his song titles, Cornet Chop Suey and Struttin’ With Some Barbecue, he always had food on the mind.”
One look at this sleekly streamlined, brilliant aqua blue kitchen will show you why Armstrong museum guides say it’s everybody’s favorite room in the house. Lucille remodeled the kitchen in the late 1960s to be functional as well as stylish. There’s a double-oven Crown stove, custom-made — as a plaque attests — “For Mr. & Mrs. Louis Armstrong”; a built-in countertop NuTone blender; and a Sub-Zero refrigerator, paneled in turquoise to match the rest of the room. The lacquered cabinets are hung on piano hinges so they can open 180 degrees.
The Armstrongs needed a state-of-the-art kitchen because, as museum archivist Ricky Riccardi notes in his charming video guide to the house, “This is a man who loved to eat. If you look at a lot of his song titles, Cornet Chop Suey and Struttin’ With Some Barbecue, he always had food on the mind.”
Satchmo’s Den
Lucille created Satchmo’s Den — Satchmo (from satchel mouth) was his nickname, for his famously wide smile — as her husband’s upstairs retreat. As a touring musician, Armstrong was away from home for as many as 300 days a year. But as he grew older, he spent more time at home and in this den, writing — he wrote two memoirs and numerous articles — and entertaining friends, many of them musicians. One of them painted the portrait of Louis that hangs here. It’s signed Benedetto — the artist is better known as singer Tony Bennett.
Also prominent is Armstrong’s large state-of-the-art Tandberg tape system, which dates from the late ’60s. Armstrong acquired his first tape recorder in 1950; from then on, his favorite hobby was making tapes of music and conversation with friends and family. As you tour the house, you’ll hear snippets of those conversations and Armstrong’s trumpet piped into the rooms.
Lucille created Satchmo’s Den — Satchmo (from satchel mouth) was his nickname, for his famously wide smile — as her husband’s upstairs retreat. As a touring musician, Armstrong was away from home for as many as 300 days a year. But as he grew older, he spent more time at home and in this den, writing — he wrote two memoirs and numerous articles — and entertaining friends, many of them musicians. One of them painted the portrait of Louis that hangs here. It’s signed Benedetto — the artist is better known as singer Tony Bennett.
Also prominent is Armstrong’s large state-of-the-art Tandberg tape system, which dates from the late ’60s. Armstrong acquired his first tape recorder in 1950; from then on, his favorite hobby was making tapes of music and conversation with friends and family. As you tour the house, you’ll hear snippets of those conversations and Armstrong’s trumpet piped into the rooms.
Lucille and Grossberg saved their greatest creative energies for the house’s two bathrooms. The downstairs bathroom is dazzlingly opulent: Its floor-to-ceiling mirrors, marble sink and floor, and gold-plated fixtures led it to be featured in a Time magazine article on celebrity bathrooms. The upstairs master bathroom, shown in the next photo, is more subdued, with silver foil wallpaper, and speakers that piped in music from the nearby den.
The master bedroom reflects both Louis and Lucille. He reveled in the king-size bed, while the Bible on the bedside table and a prayer nook (not shown) are testimony to Lucille’s strong Catholic faith.
Louis began to suffer from heart trouble in the 1960s, putting his health at risk by continuing to perform against the advice of his doctors. He died in his sleep, in this bedroom on July 6, 1971, a month shy of his 70th birthday. (Although Armstrong liked to say he was born on July 4, the true date was Aug. 4, 1901.)
Lucille continued to live in the house until her death in 1983. She arranged to leave the property to the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs so it could be opened as a museum; today the Louis Armstrong House Museum is managed by Queens College. Construction on a new $23 million educational center, across the street from the house, began earlier this year.
Louis began to suffer from heart trouble in the 1960s, putting his health at risk by continuing to perform against the advice of his doctors. He died in his sleep, in this bedroom on July 6, 1971, a month shy of his 70th birthday. (Although Armstrong liked to say he was born on July 4, the true date was Aug. 4, 1901.)
Lucille continued to live in the house until her death in 1983. She arranged to leave the property to the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs so it could be opened as a museum; today the Louis Armstrong House Museum is managed by Queens College. Construction on a new $23 million educational center, across the street from the house, began earlier this year.
Visiting the Louis Armstrong House
The Louis Armstrong House Museum, at 34-56 107th St., Queens, New York, is open for 40-minute guided tours ($10 adults, $7 children) daily except Mondays, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
The museum hosts numerous special events, among them its summer concert series. Called Hot Jazz and Cool Gardens, it takes place in the house’s Japanese garden, which was added by Lucille in the late 1960s. More info
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The Louis Armstrong House Museum, at 34-56 107th St., Queens, New York, is open for 40-minute guided tours ($10 adults, $7 children) daily except Mondays, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
The museum hosts numerous special events, among them its summer concert series. Called Hot Jazz and Cool Gardens, it takes place in the house’s Japanese garden, which was added by Lucille in the late 1960s. More info
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Almost fell over when I saw this. My husband & I live in Florida & visit our daughter & son-in-law in Queens regularly. We took ourselves on a “hike” to visit Louie Armstrong’s Home. So taken by his performances as a child & danced to “It’s a Wonderful World” at our son’s wedding. Loved the tour & excited to find pictures of this iconic home and man on Houzz. Thanks for the memories.
The living room looks cozy for a small circle of friends. Classic!
Oh my goodness! I loved Satchmo and had no idea his home was open to the public. Mrs. Armstrong had incredible taste, way ahead of the times. That décor still works today! Thank you, once again, Houzz for making me aware of yet another historic home worth visiting.