A historical landmark in the birthplace of jazz was no match for Hurricane Ida.
Known as the “second home” of jazz legend Louis Armstrong, the Karnofsky Tailor Shop was found amongst the rubble in New Orleans after the storm tore through the region Sunday.
The storefront was more than a century old, opening in 1913 with a residence on top for the business’ namesake: the Karnofsky family. Armstrong moved in with the Jewish immigrant family at a young age, and the family also employed him.
The Karnofsky family also might’ve helped the jazz legend get his music career rolling. They loaned Armstrong the money that he’d later use to buy his first cornet, according to the National Park Service.
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The store, a piece of New Orleans’ rich jazz history and an entry on the National Register of Historic Places, now lies in shambles after the powerful hurricane.
The site was later home to the first record store in the city to sell jazz albums when Karnofsky son and Armstrong’s childhood friend Morris Karnofsky opened “Morris Music” at the location. It turned into a meeting place for musicians like Armstrong and others.
The Karnofsky Tailor Shop’s neighbor, Little Gem Saloon, was also damaged significantly in the storm.
The two sites made up a historically rich area for New Orleans’ extensive jazz history.
“There is probably no other block in America with buildings bearing so much significance to the history of our country’s great art form, jazz,” John Hasse, curator of American Music at the Smithsonian Institution, told NOLA.com in a 2011 article.
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The damage to New Orleans jazz landmarks is just a snippet of the widespread fallout of Ida around parts of Louisiana and Mississippi.
Snapped trees, flipped trucks, submerged cars and flooded streets were just some of the scenes that emerged Monday as daylight revealed Ida’s destruction.
Ida is tied for the fifth-strongest hurricane to ever hit the U.S. mainland and struck 16 years to the day after deadly Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
Follow Jay Cannon of USA TODAY on Twitter: @JayTCannon,
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Karnofsky shop in New Orleans destroyed by Hurricane Ida
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