The Dew Drop Inn, a long-abandoned former nightclub and hotel that played host to countless acts in New Orleans’ golden age of rhythm and blues, will be transformed into a museum honoring the history of rock ‘n’ roll. The Louisiana legislature allocated $1 million to restore and transform the historic property located in Central City at 2836 LaSalle Street where such legendary musicians as Joe Turner, Ray Charles, Little Richard, Sam Cooke and Tina Turner performed from the late 1930s through the end of the 1960s.
The Dew Drop Inn, during its years of operation, was a breeding ground that saw jazz and R&B give birth to rock n’ roll. After the 1970s, however, the nightclub fell into increasing disrepair and was further damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In an initiative sponsored by Rep. Tanner Magee (R-Houma), the House approved HB 899 and will begin work to preserve the Dew Drop Inn and turn it into an educational facility. The bill has this to say about the project:
“The museum shall be a historical, cultural, scientific, and technological educational institution whose primary purpose shall be to research, collect, preserve, and present, as an educational resource, the music, recordings, pictures, documents, artifacts, objects of art, and the like that reflect the social, cultural, and economic history of rock and roll music in the state of Louisiana and in the Orleans Parish area in particular.”
The museum would operate under the Division of Culture, Recreation and Tourism with an independent board separate from the Louisiana State Museum system.
According to State Representative Tanner Magee, sponsor of the bill, as quoted in The Advocate, the museum will be modeled after the Stax Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. Magee posits that New Orleans is the city that truly deserves the title of the “birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll.” The plan for this project is to not only refurbish an historic part of New Orleans history, but to bring attention to the area around the museum as well. “The idea is to celebrate New Orlean’s contributions to rock n’ roll and bring in tourism dollars,” Magee said.
