Preservation Hall

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Preservation Hall is a noted jazz performance hall located at 726 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It hosts nightly concerts featuring a rotating roster of bands. The bands of Preservation Hall typically perform jazz in the New Orleans style. Despite the fame of the institution, admittance is affordable ($10 as of May 2008). Because of limited seating, crowds typically begin lining up well in advance of a performance (no reservations are accepted), and the line is typically quite long, although sometimes musicians will play for those waiting in line.

The Preservation Hall building, closed during the day

1 History
- 1.1 History of the building
2 Further reading and references
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

Front door of the Preservation Hall

The origins of musical performances at Preservation Hall go back to the start of the 1960s and an art gallery run by local entrepreneur Larry Borenstein. Many older jazz musicians were then minimally employed, and Borenstein arranged for some of them to play for tips in the gallery to help draw in potential customers. More people started coming for the music than the art. Allan Jaffe took over running of the Hall, and made it into a famous institution in part by ignoring the then prevalent ideas of what was needed for a successful music business-- there was no dance floor, and no food or drinks were served, the focus being just on the music.

In addition to the French Quarter Hall, bands of New Orleans musicians tour the world under the Preservation Hall Jazz Band name.

In August of 2005, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina forced Preservation Hall to close for several months, although the building remained intact. The first post-Katrina performance at Preservation Hall took place on April 27-28, 2006, commemorating its 45th Anniversary.

[edit] History of the building

The building housing Preservation Hall, which survived the Great New Orleans Fire (1788) and also 1794, is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the Quarter. The building was built just five years after the oldest building in the Quarter (the Old Ursuline Convent at 112 Chartres Street, built in 1745). It was built in 1750 as a private residence. During the War of 1812, the building housed a tavern.