The storm flattened the former Karnofsky shop, whose owners hosted trumpeter Louis Armstrong in the early 1900s and even played a role in his musical career.
When Hurricane Ida hit the city Sunday, the storm knocked out power, flattened homes and turned streets into rivers. It also destroyed an old brick building downtown on South Rampart Street, just a few blocks from the French Quarter. The building hadn’t looked like much in recent years. It sat empty, marred by graffiti and surrounded by vacant lots. But it played a key role in the city’s history. In the early 1900s, it became a second home to Louis Armstrong — its tenants even helped launch his musical career — long before he became a jazz icon. Back then the building housed the Karnofsky Tailor Shop, run by a family of Jewish immigrants from eastern Europe.
