One of NYC's Best Under-the-radar Museums Is Expanding — and You Can Visit Starting Tomorrow

The Louis Armstrong House Museum's new building and performance venue opens on July 6 in Queens, New York.

One of New York City’s best under-the-radar attractions is celebrating its 80th anniversary with the opening a brand-new second building. On Thursday, July 6, the renowned Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona, Queens, will open The Louis Armstrong Center, across the street from the home-turned-museum where Louis and Lucille Armstrong lived for nearly 30 years. 

Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) was America’s first Black music icon, known for his smooth jazz and trumpet playing. Originally from New Orleans, he moved to Queens in 1943 with his wife, Lucille, who was a dancer at the Cotton Club. Lucille bought a home for them, which has welcomed guests Wynton Marsalis, Quincy Jones, Tony Bennett, Ron Howard, and Bette Midler through the years. When she passed away in 1983, Lucille willed the home to the City of New York.

“Lucille is the one who fought to have many schools and other places in this area named after Louis Armstrong; who fought to have [the home] designated as a national and New York historic landmark; who fought to have it preserved as a museum,” says Regina Bain, the executive director of the museum.

Related: 24 Places in NYC That New Yorkers Love to Visit

The spectacular home is like a time capsule of the 1960s, and both it and the Louis Armstrong archives were cared for by The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation and Queens College after Lucille’s death. The home has been open to the public for tours since 2003. The lot across the street was purchased decades ago under the leadership of longtime museum director Michael Cogswell, and now the new center is finally becoming a reality.

“It was always meant to be used for community, to continue the legacy and our evolution of thinking about who we are as a museum,” Bain says. “[Our mission] is to live within the legacy of Louis and Lucile Armstrong's values, and four pillars: artistic excellence, education, community, and the pillar of preserving the legacy.”

The new center, designed by Caples Jefferson Architects, will now be the starting point of any house visit. There, people can peruse a multimedia exhibition curated by award-winning pianist, composer, and Kennedy Center artistic director for jazz, Jason Moran, which includes displays from the 60,000-piece Louis Armstrong Archive (the world's largest for a jazz musician). The archive includes items like an engraved trumpet given to Armstrong by King George of England and rarely seen photos of him creating collage art. 

“[Visitors] will come into the doors of the new center and be greeted by a huge mural of Louis and Lucille in front of the pyramids in Egypt — they traveled to over 62 countries,” Bain says.

The National Historic Landmark house, which is still only viewable by tour, remains the same, filled with objects gathered from the Armstrongs’ world travels and retro furnishings and décor that are seen as ahead of their time — like the bright teal kitchen cabinets and blender built right into the countertop of the kitchen.

The new building also houses a 75-seat venue that will host performances, lectures, films, and educational experiences. The museum is also announcing the upcoming season of its Armstrong Now performance series, which will feature the creation and debut of new works by Esperanza Spalding, Amyra León, and Antonio Brown.

“His star shines bright worldwide, but especially here at his home in Corona, Queens,” Moran says. “I consider this one of the ‘wonders’ of the world, meaning, we have Lucille and Louis' magnificent home, and now a museum dedicated to his life and archive. To have these things for an African American musician of such stature is rare and will be celebrated forever."

For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.