Source: Michael Ochs Archives / Getty
The Philadelphia his residence John Coltrane is to be restored under a new charity initiative.
On Tuesday (March 5), it was announced that the former Philadelphia home of the late jazz great John Coltrane would be the first to receive financial support through a new initiative called The Descendants and Family Stewardship. The program, created by African American Heritage Action Fund, will help transfer the house back to Coltrane's extended family from its current owner. The row house, located in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood east of Fairmount Park, was purchased by Coltrane in 1952 and was his primary residence as well as a place he first visited after returning from tours until his death in 1967. house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1999.
“These funds are very vital and much needed for any repairs and restorations. We certainly hope within the next few years to fully stabilize the house and the foundation,” said his son, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane. “We are all united in the mission of opening the house to the public and having it there in the community as something symbolic of what John Coltrane was able to do there, which is to be a beacon for the highest potential of creative success. ” The house had fallen into disrepair since it was last owned by a cousin, Mary Alexander, in 2004. Friends of the non-profit John and Alice Coltrane Home that oversees the Dix Hills, Long Island, Coltrane estate are also involved.
The African American Heritage Fund is a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation that began in 2017. According to its website, it has allocated $91 million to support 242 preservation projects nationwide. The fund, which has partnered with the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and philanthropist McKenzie Scott, was created to address the disparity of historic sites in the United States that center on Black Americans. To date, only 2% of the 95,000 registered sites have been classified as such.
“It is critically important as we grow the US historic preservation movement and promote the values of equality and inclusion that the future of this movement is preserved through the engagement and leadership of descendants and families,” said AACHF Executive Director Brent Leggs . “They are critical to the future of our work to expand the American narrative and build a true national identity that reflects America's diversity.”
