It’s hard to believe, but when it comes to landmarks from Louis Armstrong’s childhood and his teen years in New Orleans—the years where he learned to play and he formulated his wisdom, ideas, and the great humanity that drove him for the rest of his life—there is almost nothing left: just parking lots and ugly, mid-’60s, municipal, urban architecture.

Simply, this is a travesty and a blot on the city of New Orleans. Yes, these areas were ...