Tour of the Louis Armstrong House in New York

One of New York’s most underrated museums is the Louis Armstrong House Museum — the former home of the great jazz legend himself.

From a poor and troubled childhood in Louisiana to becoming a global superstar, Louis Armstrong was the first Black American to rise to national — and then international — fame.

In 1942, Armstrong became a permanent New York resident, and in 1943 he moved into his own house — where he would live until his death in 1971. After his wife’s passing in the late 1980s, the building was turned into a museum that now offers wonderful guided tours. The interior, though modest by modern standards, has been preserved almost exactly as it was in the mid-20th century.

Location

The house is located in the Corona neighborhood of Queens, about a 50-minute subway ride from Manhattan. Today, it’s far from a glamorous area — the neighborhood has changed a lot over the decades and is now one of the poorer parts of New York City.

That’s precisely what makes the trip so special: it’s a chance to see a side of New York that most tourists — and even locals — rarely experience.

The Man Behind the Music

During the tour, Armstrong is revealed not only as a brilliant musician, but also as a remarkable human being. Through these stories, you get to understand both the man and the city that shaped him.

Just recently, a brand-new Louis Armstrong Center opened right across the street from his historic home. It houses an archive of more than 60,000 items, so you can easily combine both experiences — the new museum and the historical house tour.