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Armstrong Park/Congo Square
Website Description: The park is dedicated to one of the City’s most celebrated native sons and to the tradition of jazz in the City. The park is located in the Tremé neighborhood, birthplace of many of New Orleans’ most famous jazz musicians. The National Park Service has an active presence in the park.
Address: | 701 N. Rampart St. | Closed: | Open Every Day |
Phone: | – | Parking: | Paid Street Parking |
Neighborhood: | Tremé | Accessibility: | Yes |
Cost: | Free |
Our Take: Perhaps few places in the city symbolize the history of New Orleans as succinctly as Armstrong Park and Congo Square. Recognition of of New Orleans’ favorite son and this important physical location (Congo Square) came just recently. For our detailed discussion of the importance of this site, see below.
Further Info: It was not until after Louis Armstrong’s death that the city was finally able to pay proper tribute to the King of Jazz by opening the park in 1980. Truth be told, Armstrong’s relationship with his home town was strained and difficult because of Armstrong’s objections to the treatment of African Americans in the city of his birth. Further, national recognition of the importance of Congo Square as an 18th century enslaved dance and music origin site did not occur until 1993. To build Armstrong Park, parts of the Treme neighborhood were razed by city officials. Planners had previously constructed the I-10 highway through Treme in 1966 which devestated the neighborhood. Above is a recent photo of the highway that splits Treme and a photo of St. Charles that retains its “neutral ground” layout. For more information on Armstrong’s relationship with the city, see this article by Ricky Riccardi – director of research at the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens, New York.
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