UPDATE!
August 7, 2023: Kliment Halsband Architects and Aaris Design Architects, both of Manhattan, have been hired to create a design plan for the Coltrane home. A $10 million fundraising campaign will kick off later this year to support the project. According to Marcella Goheen, Executive Director of The John and Alice Coltrane Home, Kliment Halsband will focus on the historic preservation aspect, and Aaris Design will work on the home’s interior design.
To read the full article, please click here.
UPDATE!
For news and ongoing updates please visit the John and Alice Coltrane Home website. The property is owned and stewarded in partnership by the Town of Huntington and the Friends of the John and Alice Coltrane Home, a nonprofit organization working with members of the Coltrane family and other stakeholders to achieve the sustainable long-term preservation of this important historic resource.
On October 9, 2018, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the John and Alice Coltrane Home a National Treasure—a significant milestone for the preservation of a wonderful historic and cultural resource in the Dix Hills suburbs. The National Trust will join in supporting ongoing work with the local community and the Coltrane family to assist the Friends of the Coltrane Home in realizing a shared vision for the Coltrane Home’s future use as a museum and historic site.
The John and Alice Coltrane Home is the nationally significant historic home that speaks strongly to the African American experience during the Civil rights era via the lives of two significant musician-composers. Originally built in 1952, this suburban tract house was purchased by the Coltranes in 1964 as a family home, and would be John Coltrane’s (1926–1967) last place of residence. Some of his most influential pieces were written here, including A Love Supreme (1965), considered by many to be his masterwork. Alice Coltrane also pursued creative activities in their Dix Hills home; her first album, A Monastic Trio (1968), and other works were recorded in the basement studio.
After Alice moved to California with her children in 1973, the house lost its association with the Coltranes and eventually fell into serious decline. Following a decade of vacancy, the property was rediscovered in 2003 with much of its Coltrane-era features intact. Threatened by demolition and redevelopment, the newly formed Friends of the Coltrane Home partnered with the Town of Huntington and other supporters to save the site. After the Town of Huntington purchased the property in 2006, the ownership of structure was given to the Friends of the Coltrane Home, while the town continues to own and maintain the land. In 2011, the John and Alice Coltrane Home was listed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places List.
The Friends have successfully repaired the structure and are pursuing plans and fundraising to interpret the site as a center for music education and the advancement of the Coltrane legacy.
STATUS: IMPROVED
• Grant funding for restoration awarded from New York State, preliminary restoration work underway.
• Planning for on-site exhibits, programs, training, and outreach to further the appreciation of American jazz and the Coltrane family’s legacy.
• Listed as one of America’s Most Endangered Historic Places in 2011 by National Trust for Historic Preservation.
• Guest contributor Kathleen Hennessy, a trustee of the Friends of the Coltrane Home, shares some exciting plans for the future of the Coltrane Home on Preservation Long Island’s blog: Educate and Elevate: The John and Alice Coltrane Home in Dix Hills
