📍1511 N 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19121, USA
1952 – 1958“In 1952 I bought a three-storey brick row house at 1511 North 33rd Street in Strawberry Mansion, Philadelphia, facing Fairmount Park, for $5,416, using a GI loan from my navy service and my mother's savings. I had come to Philadelphia from High Point, North Carolina, as a teenager in 1943, after my father and grandfather died, and the city had become my home and my musical school. I lived there with my mother, Alice, my cousin Mary, who I wrote Cousin Mary for, and a childhood friend. In 1955 I married Naima, and she and her daughter moved in too. I practised for hours every day in the house, often falling asleep with my saxophone in my mouth. These were the years I played with Miles Davis, but I was struggling with heroin and drink, and in 1957 Miles fired me. That spring, I went upstairs at 33rd Street and quit, cold turkey, with my mother and Naima taking care of me. During that year, by the grace of God, I experienced a spiritual awakening, and I resolved to make my music a gift to the world. That summer I played with Thelonious Monk at the Five Spot, and learned more than I can say. In 1958 I moved to New York, but the house stayed in my family, and my cousin Mary lived there for many years. I went on to record Giant Steps and A Love Supreme. The house is now a National Historic Landmark, with a marker for me and my wife Alice, and it is being restored for my centenary, so young musicians in Strawberry Mansion can learn from the place where I changed my life.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today