#381 The Wonderful Home of Louis Armstrong

The Bowery Boys: New York City History

Tom Meyers

Society & Culture, History, Documentary, Places & Travel

4.8 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 11 February 2022

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

New York City has an impressive collection of historic homes, but none as unique and or as joyful as the Louis Armstrong House and Museum, located in Corona, Queens. What other historic home in the United States has a gift shop in its garage, aqua blue kitchen cabinets, bathroom speakers behind silver wallpaper, mirrored bathrooms and chandeliers over the bed? Elvis Presley's Graceland perhaps comes close, but the Louis Armstrong House has a charming comfort and a genuine grace and modesty to it, befitting its legendary former occupants. Louis Armstrong is one of the most influential and most popular musicians in American history. Louis, like jazz itself, was born in New Orleans; in 1943, Armstrong moved to this house in Corona, thanks to the influence of his wife Lucille Armstrong, a former Cotton Club dancer and a fascinating personality in her own right. In this episode Greg charts Armstrong's path to international fame -- and then his journey to becoming a New Yorker. And he pays a visit to the house itself, a magnificent treasure on a quiet street in Queens. FEATURING audio of Louis and Lucille courtesy the Louis Armstrong House and Museum. And lots of music! Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

Transcript

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0:00.0	New York City has an extraordinary collection of historic homes, several dating back to
0:09.0	the city's colonial period.
0:11.4	Stately, majestic mansions graced with federal-style furnishings, recalling English or French influences.
0:19.6	It's all quite graceful, from Hamilton Grange to Gracie Mansion, from the Morris, Jumele
0:26.9	Mansion to the Merchants House.
0:30.1	These were the homes of great individuals who founded New York.
0:36.1	But there is another historic home, located in the Burrow of Queens, which presents a different
0:42.8	narrative of greatness.
0:45.3	From its blue lacquered kitchen cabinets evoking a jet-age future, to living room shelves filled
0:51.5	with exotic brick-a-brack from foreign lands.
0:55.1	From its chandelier in the bedroom, catching the reflections of light from the silver
0:59.5	mylar curtains, to a mirrored bathroom with gold features evoking the flamboyance of
1:05.5	Elvis Presley or Liberace.
1:08.5	What other historic home in America has 1960s state-of-the-art speakers behind silver
1:15.3	wallpaper or a cozy den decked out in real-to-reels and a secret archive of scrapbooks and audio
1:22.9	recordings?
1:24.7	Welcome to one of the most unique places in New York City, the home of one of the world's
1:31.1	greatest musicians and his wife who helped secure his legacy.
1:36.9	The Barry Boys episode 381.
1:51.0	Hi there, welcome to the Barry Boys.
1:52.7	This is Greg Young with this story of a music landmark in the heart of Queens, located
1:58.7	on what some might consider a quiet residential street.
	...

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