Louis Armstrong House Museum

The Louis Armstrong House Museum (LAHM) is a historic house museum located in Corona, Queens, New York. The house was built in 1910 by Thomas Daly and designed by architect Robert W. Johnson. Louis Armstrong and his wife Lucille Wilson purchased the house in the early 1950s and lived there until his death in 1971.

The exterior of the house was originally clad in face brick masonry but was later re-clad with wood siding in the 1960s. After the discovery of termites, Lucille Armstrong decided to re-clad parts of the exterior with Garden State Brickface, which is still in place today. 

The house was given to the City of New York by Lucille Armstrong to create a museum focused on her husband. The Louis Armstrong House Museum was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976 and a New York City Landmark in 1988. The museum presents concerts and educational programs, and makes materials in its archives of writings, books, recordings, and memorabilia available to the public for research.

The Louis Armstrong House Museum is owned by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and administered by Queens College under a long-term license agreement. The museum is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Alliance of Museums, the Association of African American Museums, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The museum is also a constituent of the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College.

Our work on the Louis Armstrong House Museum included not only localized exterior repairs and select roof replacement, but also leak investigation. In 2022, the National Trust for Historic Preservation awarded $3 million in grants to this landmark along with 32 other sites and organizations through the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. Projects like these highlight the importance of ongoing maintenance and preservation efforts for historic buildings like the Louis Armstrong House Museum.