Frommer's Review
The Old U.S. Mint, a Louisiana State Museum complex, houses exhibits on New Orleans jazz and on the city's Carnival celebrations. The first exhibit contains a comprehensive collection of pictures, musical instruments, and other artifacts connected with jazz greats -- Louis Armstrong's first trumpet is here. It tells of the development of the jazz tradition and New Orleans's place in that history. Across the hall is a stunning array of Carnival mementos from New Orleans and other communities across Louisiana -- from ornate Mardi Gras costumes to a street scene complete with maskers and a parade float.
Unfortunately, the Mint got hammered by Katrina. The roof peeled off, and part flew down the street, landing on the French Market, leaving giant pieces of copper dangling over that structure, and requiring a fork lift to remove them. Luckily, nothing important inside got wet, but the organization still needed to move everything out, thanks to a month without climate control, to reevaluate the state of the collection. Because they needed to redesign exhibits, not to mention renovate pretty much everything, the Mint will reopen at some point in 2008.
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