On the corner of West 157th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York, sits a six-story masonry structure constructed in 1915 and built in the Late Gothic Revival style. This structure was home to none other than acclaimed composer and jazz musician Duke Ellington.
The ground floor of the building, a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, appears as a raised basement, with horizontal bands of stonework between its windows. The middle four floors are essentially identical, with some columns of window bays featuring decorative carved panels between the floors. Top-floor windows are set in peaked-arch openings and have more elaborate surrounds. The building is crowned by a parapet with stone turrets and projections.
When Ellington moved into apartment A4 in 1939, he was already a well-known musician with a national reputation. It was during his time here that he wrote several of his most important compositions.
Born Edward Kennedy Ellington in Washington, D.C., on April 29, 1899, he got the nickname “Duke” from a childhood friend for his fashionable clothing and his refined manners. He began to play the piano as a child, and his mother, who also played the instrument, oversaw his education. By age 17, Ellington was playing piano professionally and made a name for himself as a piano player and composer. He married his high school sweetheart Edna Thompson in 1918, and they had their son, Mercer Kennedy Ellington, one year later.
By 1923, he moved his family to New York and formed his own band, the Washingtonians, a year later. At the same time, the Harlem Renaissance had taken off, and it was during this time that Ellington rose to prominence. In 1927, his band gained a fanbase and secured an engagement at Harlem’s famous Cotton Club. During this time, he also split from his wife.
In 1928, Mildred Dixon became Ellington’s companion and managed his company. Three years later, he left the Cotton Club and began a series of extended tours, taking him to 65 countries, over the course of the remainder of his life. When Ellington reached his 60s, the honors started rolling in, and he was awarded 11 Grammy Awards, 17 honorary doctorates, his visage on postage stamps in Africa, France’s highest award—the Legion of Honour—and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969.
Ellington was a trailblazer in breaking down racial barriers in the music industry. He was one of the first African American musicians to achieve widespread success and recognition in the predominantly white world of jazz. In May 1974, Ellington died of lung cancer and pneumonia in New York City, with his last words being “Music is how I live, why I live, and how I will be remembered.”
His Harlem apartment building continues to operate as an active apartment complex and, therefore, is not accessible to the public. However, there is a monumental sculpture honoring Ellington located at Fifth Avenue and 110th Street, at the gateway to the Harlem neighborhood. The statue by Robert Graham was dedicated in 1997.