New Orleans Jazz Museum
4.4(2.3K)google
4.0(104)yelp
JazzHistory
Overview
The New Orleans Jazz Museum is a music museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., dedicated to preserving and celebrating the history of jazz music. Originally a separate museum, the collection is now affiliated with the Louisiana State Museum. The New Orleans Jazz Museum is located in the Old U.S. Mint building on 400 Esplanade Avenue, bordering the historic French Quarter neighborhood.
Practical Info
Suggested Duration2-3.5 hours
Best TimeRecommended Tuesday through Saturday afternoons (1:30 PM - 4:30 PM). Housed within the monumental brick walls of the historic Old U.S. Mint, these hours present the quietest museum setting to examine Louis Armstrong's original cornet. Most notably, the second-floor performance hall regularly hosts world-class free live jazz concerts sponsored by the National Park Service.
Getting TherePerfectly positioned at 400 Esplanade Avenue where the French Quarter meets the Marigny. Drivers can often score timed metered spaces along the broad median of Esplanade Avenue. For transit, take the Riverfront Streetcar to its final French Market Station terminal; the historic three-story brick U.S. Mint building sits directly across the street.
Travel Tips
- Housed in the landmark Old U.S. Mint; adjacent curb zones are high-priority police tow targets, use the commercial garage arrays on Decatur Street.
- Closed Mondays; the gallery housing Louis Armstrong's original historic cornet enforces an absolute ban on digital camera flash photography.
- The 3rd-floor performance hall locks completely to general museum ticket holders during active live-recording sessions; check show times pre-arrival.
Reviews
Positive
- Housed inside the historic Old US Mint building at the birthplace of jazz, it proudly displays Louis Armstrong's very first cornet; a true holy grail for music lovers.
- Multimedia audio-visual curation is highly rich; slipping on high-fidelity headphones lets you deeply listen to the evolution of jazz genres, delivering immense musical depth.
- The ultimate highlight is the state-of-the-art third-floor performance theater hosting daily live concerts by veteran local artists, included for free with museum admission.
- Prime location right at the golden junction of the French Quarter and Frenchmen Street; it offers wide green lawns and easy parking, maintaining a quiet, professional aura.
Heads up
- Most deeper history segments and record descriptions rely on heavy text boards strictly in English, lacking multi-language digital guides and raising reading barriers for foreign guests.
- While music displays are stellar, sections on the historic minting machinery feel disjointed from the core jazz theme, using a traditional style that can seem dry for young children.
- The facility operates no internal lifestyle cafe; after standing to listen to extensive audio tracks, finding comfortable seating with backrests along corridors is tough.
- Sitting on the edge of the bustling Frenchmen Street nightlife strip, weekend evening exit traffic crashes into gridlocks, making driving out of the parking area tedious.