Another blue sky day, topping 30°. From Grand Central take the 7 train out of Manhattan to 103 St-Corona Plaza, Queens. Exit 103 (Roosevelt Ave.), walk two blocks turning onto 37th Ave, walk a further four blocks turning onto 107th. In a working class neighbourhood in Corona, the flight path into La Guardia directly overhead, stands the Louis Armstrong House.
As one of the most recognisable public figures of the 20th century, Louis Armstrong could have chosen to live in a swanky apartment overlooking Central Park or in a mansion out on Long Island. The Hamptons and the celebrity lifestyle held little appeal, instead, for one of the greatest jazz musicians of all, Corona was home.
The Louis Armstrong House is a place of pilgrimage. A guided tour, on the hour, attracts jazz fans from across the globe. On this pre-booked visit, a party of twelve, comprising Americans, Europeans and three Brits (one from London, two from Tyneside) assembled in the Louis Armstrong Center, a new facility located directly opposite the Armstrong House. Our tour guide escorted us across the street.
We walked through the front door of the house which was home to Louis Daniel Armstrong. Quite a moment! From the outside the Armstrong house looked much like any other on the street, once inside it was a different world. As Armstrong toured the world for something like 30 weeks a year, Lucille Armstrong (née Wilson) transformed their home into a glitzy, glittering palace. Chandeliers, china, gold-plate, wood-panelling, more Caesars Palace than humble Corona.
Armstrong's study houses the many reel-to-reel tapes which would subsequently become an audio archive of great interest to Armstrong scholars. We stood at the desk at which Pops worked, where he committed to tape hour upon hour of conversation and private thoughts. Half a century on, it's an invaluable day to day audio diary. Standing in Armstrong's bedroom, at the foot of the bed in which he died (6 July, 1971), was a moment to reflect. At the tour's end we gathered in the Armstrong garden, a peaceful, tranquil place on a beautiful Corona summer's day. Russell
I see trees of green,
red roses too.
I see them bloom, for me and you.
And I think to myself,
what a wonderful world
Louis Armstrong.
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