New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park will reopen Perseverance Hall in Louis Armstrong Park on June 18, 2011.  Perseverance Hall will remain open on Saturdays from 9:00 a. m. to 5:00 p. m. throughout the year and will be the new home for the park’s popular Music for All Ages program.

Music for All Ages, held every Saturday morning from 11:00 a. m. to noon, teaches young people the music and etiquette required to perform in a traditional New Orleans brass band.  Kids are invited to bring their own instruments and join a professional brass band for a hands-on workshop and performance of traditional New Orleans songs.

Exhibits in Perseverance Hall will highlight some of the diverse roots of jazz as well as provide a map of jazz neighborhoods.  “We are excited about reopening the first floor of Perseverance Hall to the public again” Superintendent Carol A. Clark said.  “Initially the hall will be opened on Saturdays, beginning June 18th.  Eventually the hours will be expanded as the area is staffed up and improvements are made.”

Located in Louis Armstrong Park and operated under a lease and partnership with the City of New Orleans, Perseverance Hall No. 4 is a historic building within the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park.  It was originally a Masonic Lodge built between 1819 and 1820, making it the oldest Masonic temple in Louisiana.  The area has been closed since Hurricane Katrina.

Historically, Perseverance Hall was used for dances, where African American jazz performers and bands reportedly played for black and white audiences.  Various organizations, both black and white, rented Perseverance Hall for dances, concerts, Monday night banquets, and recitals. Perseverance Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 2, 1973.

The New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park Complex includes two original structures: Perseverance Hall No. 4 and the Caretakers House, previously the home of radio station WWOZ. Also included are the Reimann and Rabassa Houses, moved to the site during the construction of the park.  The second floor of Perseverance Hall remains closed as do the entire Reimann, Rabassa and the Caretakers Houses.

New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park is managed by the National Park Service and tells the story of the people and places that helped shape the birth and development of jazz in New Orleans.  The park also features a visitor center located at 916 North Peters Street in the French Market, open Tuesday-Sunday 9:00 a. m. to 5:00 p. m. as well as a visitor contact station in the Old U.S. Mint.  Call 504-589-4841 or visit www.nps.gov/jazz for more information.