The following is from EtM Founder and Board Chairwoman, Eugenie Cowan.

“We at Exploring the Metropolis are pleased to learn that the National Jazz Museum of Harlem is achieving its dream of  a “permanent home” in a storefront on West 129^th, with  1,900 sq. feet “devoted to public space for exhibitions, educational programs, and of course live music.

In the mid 1990s, the City’s Economic Development Corporation commissioned Exploring the Metropolis to study the potential for Jazz Hall of Fame.  Ultimately, that single use was considered too narrow. The focus broadened to the potential of a “Cultural and Educational Tourism Center” on a City-owned site or in the then-empty Small’s Paradise building on 135^th Street  for both tourists and residents to explore Harlem and enjoy jazz there.

We applaud this new street-level home – a welcome and accessible addition to Harlem’s cultural scene that can offer more access to live music.”

Read more about the opening of the new National Jazz Museum of Harlem.