Hurricane Ida has created havoc in New Orleans and one of the major casualties of the storm was The Karnofsky Tailor Shop and Residence, a historic jazz landmark. It was registered on the National Register of Historic Places.
The reason this location was listed was the fact that it was, as Pitchfork notes, the place where jazz legend Louis Armstrong worked and played his first instrument. Hurricane Ida completely destroyed the site.
Pitchfork adds that Armstrong considered the Karnofsky shop a second home. He frequently ate meals with the Karnofskys. Years later, Armstrong’s childhood friend Morris Karnofsky opened a record store that Armstrong frequented. Plans to renovate and restore the Karnofsky building and other New Orleans jazz landmarks were just announced in 2019.
Video posted to Twitter by Jack Royer, an anchor for WIAT-TV—a New Orleans television news station—shows the extent of the damage. Where the Karnofsky Tailor Shop and Residence once stood, a pile of rubble lies in its place. The building was rich with jazz history.
The store was opened in 1913 by the Karnofsky family. They hired Armstrong to work on their coal and junk wagons, but they also provided a second home for him. He would often eat meals with them, and they also loaned him money for his first cornet, helping to launch his career, according to National Park Service.
