INNOVATORS Gold Award - New Orleans City Business

NONPROFIT
PHOTO BY FRANK AYMAMI
Jerome “PopAgee” Johnson, who plans to restore the Eagle Saloon as the New Orleans Music Hall of Fame to highlight the city’s jazz heritage, plays drums with Mervin “Kid Merv” Campbell.
New Orleans Music
Hall of Fame
Key innovation: turning building deemed “the birthplace
of jazz” into a museum to showcase New
Orleans’ jazz history
Where they’re based: New Orleans
Top executive: Jerome “PopAgee” Johnson, founder
and CEO
Year introduced: 1981, acquired 501(c)(3) nonprofit status
in 2002
2007 donations received: $700,000
MARKETING NEW ORLEANS as the birthplace of jazz
seems second nature, but restoring the history of that birth
on South Rampart Street is under way at the New Orleans
Music Hall of Fame.
Founder and CEO Jerome “PopAgee” Johnson plans to
restore the Eagle Saloon at 401 S. Rampart St. to its former
stature, recalling the early jazz days of such musical forefathers
as Louis Armstrong, Charles “Buddy” Bolden and Ferdinand
“Jelly Roll” Morton, who performed at the nightclub.
“Here we are the birthplace of jazz and have so little to
show for it,” Johnson said.
His vision extends beyond the address to include a family-friendly
tourist destination and a cultural district with
restaurants, theaters, concert halls and housing for musicians.
“This whole area is going to be incredible,” Johnson said.
“If you look beyond the parking lots, you can see what I’m
seeing.”
Johnson confesses a determination and vision for a project
he considers “anointed” but doesn’t take all of the credit
for work done.
“It was a lot of folks other than myself who realized the
importance of this building,” he said. “The whole world
loves jazz and the whole world loves New Orleans. This
building is where it all started.”
The Eagle Saloon was built in 1875 and is distinguished
by the Smithsonian American Art Museum as America’s
Birthplace of Jazz.
Johnson acquired the saloon in November 2007 and has
worked since then to secure development plans. In August,
he was looking to start accepting construction bids on the
work, having gotten the building plans approved.
The three-story building will comprise a living museum
on the first floor, exhibits focusing on historic musicians on
the second floor and a community hall on the third floor,
which also will accommodate special events.
Johnson plans to create an atmosphere allowing the
public to step back in time and see what Armstrong and his
contemporaries experienced, complete with characters in
period attire.
He hopes to eventually acquire additional property near
the saloon, including the old Karnofsky Pawn Shop and the
Iroquis Theater.
The lengthy process of bringing the project to fruition
has gained financial support from the state of Louisiana,
the city of New Orleans and the National Trust for
Historic Preservation, with Johnson investing his own
funds as well.
“It’s a very slow process,” he said. “A lot of this project
has been moved by me with personal money.”•
— Diana Chandler
New Orleans CityBusiness 47A