John Coltrane Home, Dix Hills, Long Island, NY

Back on Long Island again, this time in front of the home of renowned jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane.  Coltrane moved his wife and four children in 1964.  He lived here three years until he died of liver cancer in 1967.  His wife, Alice, lived in this home until 1973.  

This "Farm Ranch" house, built in 1952, is comprised of four bedrooms, a living room and a practice room above the garage.  There is also a recording studio in the basement, Coltrane Studios, where many demo recordings were made.  The practice room is credited as being the place where he composed the album "Love is Supreme."

The living room

The 3.4 acre plot and house were marked for demolition by developer Ash Agrawal in 2002 until a local historian by the name of Steve Fulgoni launched a campaign to save it in 2004.  By 2006,  the Town of Huntington purchased the house and was given to a local non-profit group known as "The Friends of the Coltrane Home." In 2007, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The house, which according to an article "Winter Threatens John Coltrane House" speaks of intensive repairs, which will cost close to one million dollars, but is still "miraculously intact". The article, published in 2009, is the most updated information that I can get on the house. 

Mr. Fulgoni, who sits on the Board of Directors of "The Friends" along with Coltrane family,  would like to turn the house into a museum where kids can learn more about John Coltrane and his music.  The picture of me sitting in the driveway was taken on July 4, 2010 and the gate was open at the time. 

If in the neighborhood, the house is located at 247 Candlewood Path in Dix Hills. 

As usual, I am including a few links:


Wikipedia article
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Coltrane_Home

The article "Winter Threatens John Coltrane Home" where I borrowed two pictures from.

http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2009/todays-news/winter-threatens-john-coltrane-house.html

New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/realestate/02lizo.html?ex=1354251600&en=d65615aa461a30be&ei=5089

the official John Coltrane site.  The link to the Dix Hills house does not seem to work and I wonder if the site has been taken down. 

http://www.johncoltrane.com/news.html

Town of Huntington article:

http://town.huntington.ny.us/newsdetails.cfm?id=1093