Historic Karnofsky Shop Collapses In New Orleans

As Hurricane Ida knocked out power for all of New Orleans, leaving behind a path of destruction in its wake, a historic building that once employed one of the city's most famous residents is no more.

The Karnofsky Shop, which employed hometown hero Louis Armstrong over a century ago before being turned into New Orleans' first jazz record store, collapsed as hurricane-force winds rocked the city Sunday night (August 29), per WWL-TV. Twitter user Laila Stuvik shared before and after photos of the demolished building.

"An entire building has just collapsed in New Orleans," said Stuvik, whose bio says she is a graduate student in New Orleans. "These pictures were taken less than 2 hours apart, the first at 5pm and the other at 6:50pm."

Check out the photos below.

OffBeat Magazine, which focuses on the music and culture of New Orleans, first reported the collapsed building housed the Karnofsky Shop, the business where Armstrong, a native of the city, was employed during the 1910s.

John McCusker, a journalist who advocated for the preservation and restoration of the historic Rampart Street shop, said Karnofsky is one of the reasons Armstrong loved music adding that the family even loaned him some money to get his first cornet.

"Louis said it was the Karnofskys that instilled the love of singing in his heart," said McCusker. "The family would feed him and they would eat dinner together and they would sing to get the children to sleep."