Duke Ellington's Washington Heights Home Made Official NYC Landmark

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A Washington Heights building with ties to legendary jazz musicians, including Duke Ellington, was designated a New York City landmark on Tuesday.

The building at 935 St. Nicholas Ave. on the corner of West 157th Street is a gothic revival style brick and limestone building designed in 1915.

It was also the longtime home of Edward Kennedy Ellington, better known as Duke Ellington, as well as Noble Lee Sissle — two pioneers of jazz music.

“The story of jazz is also the story of the Black community, who built tight-knit communities and cultural institutions in the face of racial discrimination," Landmarks Preservation Commissioner Chair Sarah Carroll said in a news release. "I’m proud that the Commission has chosen to honor this history and thrilled that these landmarks will be preserved for future generations to come.”

Ellington lived in the building with his family from 1939 to 1961, while Sissle resided in the building from 1950 to 1972.

During Ellington's time in the Washington Heights apartment, he wrote hit songs such as "Sophisticated Lady," "Satin Doll," and Don't Get Around Much Anymore."

Sissle, on the other hand, was the creator of the "first successful Broadway musical with an all-Black cast," and would go on to form his own orchestra. He was also dubbed the unofficial "Mayor of Harlem" during his time at West 157th Street.

“Duke Ellington and Noble Lee Sissle were innovators who not only transcended music, theater, and culture with their boundless creativity, but transformed American society as we know it," uptown Council member Shaun Abreu said in a news release. "I could not be more proud to commemorate them by landmarking one of the buildings where they explored and engineered new Black art forms."