Louis Armstrong’s Wonderful World Was in Queens

A daily mix of stories about cities, city life, and our always evolving neighborhoods and skylines. [Curbed]( WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 street view [Louis Armstrong’s Wonderful World Was in Queens]( A museum to a cultural legend emphasizes his unpretentious life at home. Photo: Albert Vecerka/Esto Louis Armstrong didn’t just play a brass instrument; he made the whole world sound burnished. He had a rocky childhood in New Orleans and a voice like whiskey poured through gravel, but as a musician, he offset that roughness with a bright, pealing tone, a wirelike tautness and flexibility to his phrasing, and a precision-cast sense of rhythm. He also took pleasure in his life’s shiny rewards and possessed a blinding smile. That fondness for glister and glow animates the new Louis Armstrong Center, designed by Caples Jefferson and located on an otherwise ordinary residential street in Corona. You can’t miss it: Look for the wavy stretch that doesn’t quite strike the right jazzy balance between extroversion and cool. From outside, slender brass bands (get it?) segment the glass like bar lines on a fluttering sheet of music paper. The canopy above swells out where the wall pulls back, two musicians making way for each other’s solos. From the lobby, you peer through a curtain of brass mesh laminated between layers of glass. The view is a slice of plain Queens life, hazed and softened like a pleasant memory. [Continue reading »]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( The Latest [Donald Judd’s Soho in His Own Words The story behind 101 Spring Street.]( By Wendy Goodman [Zombie Renovations Are Coming Landlords are claiming that work completed decades ago is grounds to take a building out of rent regulation. What’s a tenant supposed to do?]( By Clio Chang [Bye, Bouclé Resale sites are flooded with bubbly, fuzzy couches and chairs. Are we experiencing textural fatigue?]( By Mia Mercado [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Read More From Curbed]( Introducing The City Desk, a weekly newsletter about New York. [Sign up to get it every Thursday](. [GET THE NEWSLETTER]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe]( | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2023, All rights reserved