American Jazz Museum

American Jazz and Negro Baseball Leagues Museums
January 24, 2015      by Colleen Juliff

On a sunny Saturday in late January, fifteen friends gathered for an enjoyable lunch at McCoy’s Public House in Westport. Thirteen ventured on to 18th American Jazz Museum and The Negro Baseball League Museum, both housed in the same building. After a short movie about the history of the area, our guide led us into the jazz museum and, using our friends to depict some jazz greats, gave us brief stories about their lives. We then explored the interactive area on our own listening to music, creating our own harmonies and melodies, and learning about various jazz musicians. Across the lobby, we followed a timeline of the Negro baseball leagues set up around a mini baseball diamond populated by life-size, bronze sculptures of famous players. There were also movies to watch and two areas set up to show a typical hotel room and a barber shop in the area.

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