The Louis Armstrong House Museum, a staple of the community in Corora, Queens, in New York City, is being presented with a national medal from the Institute of Museum and Library Services this month. A timely honor says House Museum Executive Director Regina Bain.
“This was a special year. This was the opening of the new Armstrong Center right across the street from the historic house. It felt like the right time to try to go for this honor, for this medal. The museum, the historic house of Louis Armstrong, a national landmark, has been open for guided tours to the public since 2003. With the new opening of the Armstrong Center, we now have a 75 seat jazz club, the 60,000 piece archives, the largest of any jazz musician and an amazing exhibit curated by Jason Moran right across the street from the historic house.”
Bain says the house museum’s approach to community outreach has been guided by Louis Armstrong and his decades of work.
“Of course he was born in New Orleans, but he lived for 30 years on 107th Street in Corona, Queens. There's a sound clip that we get share on the tour of the house where he talks about the song What A Wonderful World. He talks about thinking about the people on his block and his community when he sings that song. Thinking about the kids that he saw grow up. We wanna be in that legacy. We do that by teaching kids trumpet. Louis Armstrong, there's a famous picture of him sitting on the steps of the historic house with some young folks, and they're learning trumpet. We do that now with an amazing donation of trumpets that we received. We are doing oral histories within the community of people who remember Louis Armstrong. We want to make sure to capture those stories. So it's everything from concerts to kids. That’s what community means to us.”
Bain says she’s grateful for the organizations and people that preserve music legacies like Louis Armstrong’s and other jazz legends.
“Jazz is America and we need, institutions like WBGO and IMLS to recognize that and keep it going. I'm thankful to our community, all of our supporters, and the folks on the block who come day to day. We appreciate you. This honor is because of you.”
Regina Bain Executive Director of the Louis Armstrong House Museum will attend the Institute of Museum and Library Services ceremony in Washington DC on July 30.