National Comedy Center opens in New York, inspired by late comedian Lucille Ball

JAMESTOWN, N.Y.» Comedian Billy Crystal asks the question in a video that welcomes visitors to the National Comedy Center.

“Everybody else has a place,” he says. “Why not us?”

It may be as good a reason as any for the construction of the hightech new center devoted to what has made people laugh from Vaudeville to now.

But there’s more to it. The nonprofit center in Jamestown was inspired by hometown hero, Lucille Ball, who envisioned a place where comedy would be celebrated as an art form. The city of about 30,000 people in the southwest corner of New York already is home to the annual Lucille Ball Comedy Festival and the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum.

“But it was always (Ball’s) preference that Jamestown become a destination for the celebration of all comedy in a way that would foster and inspire the next generation of artists,” says National Comedy Center Executive Director Journey Gunderson. “What we’ve done here is finally bring her vision to fruition.”

Located in a repurposed 1930 art-deco train station, the center is part museum, part hall of fame and part video arcade, keeping visitors smiling as they move through displays of comedic artifacts. There’s the “puffy shirt” from a 1993 “Seinfeld” episode and scripts from the 1960s “Dick Van Dyke Show” along with lively immersive exhibits that invite visitors to explore sound effects and props and make cartoons and memes.

The bravest can take the stage in “Comedy Karaoke,” trying out lines from Jeff Foxworthy or others, or sit at a game show-like set and try to crack up an opponent. But there also are plenty of chances to laugh at the pros in action. A clublike comedy lounge shows stand-up bits, and a movie theater has clips of classic scenes with celebrity commentary. A hologram theater initially will feature Jim Gaffigan’s evolution as a performer.