John & Alice Coltrane Home

 John Coltrane was born in 1926. During the summer of 1943 he moved to Philadelphia and by early 1945 was working locally as a clarinet and alto saxophone player. Coltrane enlisted in the Navy that same summer. Returning home after a short service, he took advantage of the G.I. Bill’s education opportunities to pursue training at Ornstein School of Music. Philly’s jazz clubs were John’s oyster as he played almost every room in town.

By the end of the 50s, having put in years with Monk and Davis, Coltrane was more than ready to breakout as a bandleader and composer. 1959’s “Giant Steps”, his first album of all original compositions, was an astounding breakout work.

In 1961, he moved to Dix hills with his second wife Alice. It was in the attic of this home that John composed the American masterpiece “A Love Supreme.” Beyond the traditional family rooms, where their four children were raised, there were spaces for meditation, practicing, and a fully equipped recording studio where Alice made her landmark Impulse! Records albums. The Coltrane family lived at this home until 1973.

The mid-century ranch style house was constructed in 1952 on a 3.4-acre lot. In 2004, facing demolition, the structure was saved by a group of volunteers that became the Friends of the John and Alice Coltrane Home of Dix Hills, Inc. By 2005, The Town of Huntington purchased the property and transferred the deed to the Friends. The Home was listed on the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places in 2007. In 2011, it was listed as one of eleven “Most Endangered” places and in 2018 was deemed a “National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.”

The future plans for the John and Alice Coltrane Home are to make it a multifaceted space for immersion in history, education, creativity, and entertainment.

 

Source:

The John and Alice Coltrane Home, thecoltranehome.org/. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024

 

Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway

 In 1954, the New York State Department of Public Works proposed a six-lane, north-south expressway between the Wantagh State Parkway in Wantagh and NY 106 in Oyster Bay. 

The route of the expressway was defined by the department, and later amended by the New York State Department of Transportation as follows: Beginning at a point on the Wantagh State Parkway in the vicinity of the hamlet of Wantagh, thence running generally through or near the hamlets of Seaford, Bethpage and Plainview to a point on state highway nine thousand twenty-one (NY 106) south of the village of Oyster Bay.

The expressway was so divisive that it was met with protest in each of the communities it was to pass. Right-of-way acquisition began in 1958, and construction began one year later. The section between exit 14 (NY 25 / Jericho Turnpike) and exit 10 (Old Country Road) was completed in 1962. The next section, between exit 10 and exit 4 (Southern State Parkway) was completed in 1963. With the opening of the section between exit 4 and exit 1 (Merrick Road) in the fall of 1969, the entire 10.8-mile route of the expressway was completed at a cost of $49 million.

The southbound lanes are higher than the northbound lanes between exits 8 and 9. This was to be where the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway and the unbuilt portion of the Bethpage State Parkway were to connect. The southbound lanes of the Bethpage State Parkway were to have been in the median of NY 135 for about one-half mile before heading back southeast, while the northbound lanes of the parkway followed the northbound lanes of NY 135 along the right shoulder. This assumed that the Bethpage State Parkway would be upgraded to a four-lane divided parkway, which never happened.

There haven’t been many changes to the expressway since it was originally built. One big change was made to one of its major interchanges. The interchange between the Seaford-Oyster Bay and Long Island expressways, which was originally built between 1959 and 1961, was reconstructed with new flyover ramps and overpasses in 1997. 

When it was first built, NY 135 was known as the "Wantagh-Oyster Bay Expressway." In 1967, its name was changed to the "Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway" to avoid confusion with the parallel Wantagh State Parkway. On March 21, 2002, the highway was ceremonially named the "Ralph Marino Expressway" in honor of the longtime state senator.

Source:

“Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway.” Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway (NY 135), www.nycroads.com/roads/NY-135/. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.