• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Heart of Louisiana Logo

The Heart of Louisiana

  • Staycations
  • Regions
    • New Orleans Region
    • Capital Region
    • Acadiana
    • Southwest Louisiana
    • Central Louisiana
    • Northshore
    • North Louisiana
    • Bayou Region
  • 60 Second Road Trips
  • TV Stories
  • Buy Photos
  • Recent Posts
  • Show Search
Hide Search
Home/New Orleans/Preservation Hall

Preservation Hall

When you step inside Preservation Hall, you can feel the old wooden floor sag beneath your feet.   And the room is dimly lit with walls that haven’t been painted in decades. There is something else that hasn’t changed – traditional New Orleans jazz music.

preservation hall sign hands above iron gate entrance to old building
Sign above the iron gate entrance to the French Quarter music venue

I’ve always known that this old music hall was the place to hear real New Orleans jazz.  And I have visited several times over the years.  But I did not know the story of why this place is here.   There is no better person to hear that story from than Ben Jaffe, the Hall’s Creative Director. Ben’s parents, Allan and Sandra Jaffe, a young married couple from Pennsylvania, wandered into this place back in 1961 while on an extended honeymoon.  Ben describes it as an artists salon, “There were artists upstairs, there were poets, there was a photographer who lived in the courtyard.”  And jazz musicians would also hang out and play in jam sessions.

old man in hat and young woman outside entrance to Preservation Hall
Jazz musician George Lewis and Sandra Jaffee at the Hall in 1965 (courtesy Preservation Hall Foundation)

a living history at preservation hall

Ben Jaffe says his parents had a passion for jazz.  And within a few days of their arrival, they were offered the opportunity to operate the gallery.  “How can you turn down an offer like that,” Jaffe explained.  “I wouldn’t just say once in a lifetime,” added Jaffe,” maybe a once ever moment.” That’s because the artists who were playing in the gallery in the early 1960’s were connected to the very beginnings of traditional New Orleans jazz.  “Many of the artists who played here were contemporaries of Jelly Roll Morton and King Oliver and Sam Morgan.  That’s unbelievable,” Jaffe explains, “that there was this unbroken connection to the birth of this incredible art form.”

Preservation Hall sign in front of entrance with visitors and couple
Sandra and Allan Jaffee in front of Preservation Hall (courtesy Preservation Hall Foundation)

Nothing has changed since the Jaffe’s began operating Preservation Hall as a performance venue for New Orleans jazz in 1961. “My parents were really concerned about providing a space for these musicians that had been forgotten or neglected, or hadn’t received the accolades they really deserved,” Jaffe said.  Just like his late father, Ben plays sousaphone and bass in the Hall’s jazz band. 

old paintings of jazz musicians hang on unpainted walls of Preservation Hall
Some of the original gallery paintings still hang on the walls of Preservation Hall

Jazz every night at preservation hall

Approximately 60 jazz musicians are associated with Preservation Hall.  They play in different band combinations on different days.  On the day I visit, the touring Preservation Hall Jazz Band is in town and playing four sets, each lasting 50 minutes.  The audience changes with each set.  It’s an intimate experience, with visitors sitting on old wooden benches, only a few feet from the performing jazz musicians.

trombone player wearing cap and vest in front of drummer at Preservation Hall
Trombonist Ronnell Johnson and drummer Walter Harris perform at Preservation Hall

Trombonist Ronnell Johnson’s personality is as big as his sound, as he slides his way through New Orleans jazz classics, providing a counter melody to the trumpet. “What we have here is infectious,” Johnson says.  “It’s a different spirit and a different soul that we have here in New Orleans that you can’t find anywhere else.” he adds.  And that is why the mission of Preservation Hall is so important. The goal is to preserve this unique form of jazz and to make sure it is passed on to younger players.

when the saints go marching in

Live performance at Preservation Hall, “When the Saints Go Marching In”

tradional jazz for a new generation

Preservation Hall routinely hosts field trips for young musicians.  And more recently, it has created an online resource for music teachers and students.  The Preservation Hall Foundation’s website provides detailed lesson plans for traditional New Orleans jazz music.  And students can watch video tutorials from jazz musicians, who share tips on how to play the music.  “This is ancestral information from generation to generation,” explains Ben Jaffe.  The musical curriculum is available free of charge to teachers and students around the world.

Preservation hall featured on tv

Watch this Heart of Louisiana TV Feature

getting to preservation hall

old building with doors and wooded shutters in French Quarter
Preservation Hall on St. Peter Street in New Orleans

Preservation Hall is located at 726 St. Peter Street in the middle of New Orleans French Quarter. For showtimes and ticket information, go to the venue’s website

726 St Peter, New Orleans, LA 70116

726 St Peter, New Orleans, LA 70116

More New Orleans Fun

Louis Armstrong's cornet in the Jazz Museum New Orleans

Birthplace of Jazz

    people sitting on bench playing congo drums in congo square in New Orleans

    Congo Square

      rust colored bridge in crescent park New Orleans

      Crescent Park

        Written by:
        Dave McNamara
        Published on:
        February 15, 2022
        Thoughts:
        No comments yet

        Categories: Featured, New Orleans

        Reader Interactions

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Heart of Louisiana logo

        Footer

        Copyright © 2025 Heart of Louisiana ยท Web Design

        • Facebook
        • Instagram
        • About Dave McNamara
        • Contact
        • Advertising Opportunities
        • Archives
        • Privacy Policy
        • Site Map
        We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Privacy policyOk