In collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Friends of the Coltrane Home, NBW is currently developing a master plan proposal for the former residence of John and Alice Coltrane. In 1964, The Coltrane Family relocated from Queens, NYC to settle in Dix Hills, a bucolic hamlet 40 miles east of the city. The brick ranch-style house in which they settled, constructed in 1952, is surrounded by three and a half acres composed primarily of dense woodland along with areas of lawn and large canopy trees. It was in this house that John Coltrane composed ‘A Love Supreme’ and Alice recorded several significant albums of her career including ‘Journey In Satchidananda,’ ‘Ptah The El Daoud,’ and ‘The Monastic Trio.’After John’s passing in 1967, Alice and the children continued to reside at the family home in Dix Hills, before moving to California in 1972.
The mid-century structure, which was saved from demolition by determined community members and subsequently acquired by the Town of Huntington in November of 2005, is currently undergoing restoration; the interior will be programmed as a living representation of the Coltranes and a restored recording studio. Key goals for the plan are to provide a place of reflection that embodies the spirit and energy of the Coltrane legacy and to foster a welcoming environment for people of diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds. The project hopes to expand the ethos and dynamic of the Coltrane Home out into the landscape through serene, walkable paths, woodland gardens, and meditative seating areas.
Collaborators: The Coltrane Home, National Trust for Historic Preservation, African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund
