Called “one of the most catastrophic hurricanes to ever make landfall in the United States,” Hurricane Ida did a number on three historic landmarks in New Orleans as the storm roared through the Crescent City in late August.
The Karnofsky Tailor Shop and Residence, a building with a rich history that once served as a second home for Louis Armstrong, was reduced to a pile of rubble. The shop was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Armstrong worked for the Karnofskys, a family of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, on their coal and junk wagons, tooting a small tin horn to let people know the wagon was approaching. He often ate meals with the family and developed a great love for Jewish food, especially matzo.
The five Karnofsky sons were his boyhood chums, and the family had a tremendous, warm influence on his life. They loaned him money to buy his first cornet on the condition that he work for them for another year, which he did. Although he was baptized a Roman Catholic, Armstrong was often photographed wearing the Star of David, which he wore throughout most of his adult life to honor the family that had shown him such kindness.
As an adult, son Morris Karnofsky opened the first jazz record store in New Orleans, which Armstrong would often visit whenever he returned to his home town.
Buddy Bolden Mural
Also gone is a mural on another building in the C
