Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images.
The Arkestral Institute of Sun Ra (aka Sun Ra House), has been added to the city's Register of Historic Places, Pitchfork reports and The FADER has confirmed. Its landmarking will ensure it is maintained to historic preservation standards and out of the hands of speculative developers long after its current owner — Arkestra leader Marshall Allen — joins Ra on the astral plane.
The Philadelphia Historical Commission unanimously voted to grant the building protected status on May 13, a year after Allen reported that a section of the house had collapsed. "Sun Ra was an extremely significant person in music history," the Commission wrote in a statement to The FADER. "He was a poet, author, composer, actor, philosopher, mystic, founder of the Afrofuturism movement. He was one of the most influential jazz musicians of the twentieth century. He’s also a Philadelphian. During the three decades since Sun Ra’s death, his influence and significance has come into clearer focus. His music and style continue to influence artists throughout the world."
Allen, who is 97 years old and still tours extensively, moved into the house with Ra in 1968. But he has a longer history with the three-story structure in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood, than Ra himself did. Allen's father was the property's previous owner and — legend has it — sold it to Ra for a dollar so the Arkestra would have a place to practice full time.
Full time was apparently not hyperbole at the Sun Ra house: The sonic space traveler is said to have run rehearsals at all hours of the night, holding the dozens of musicians in the group to rigorous standards, both in their music and their personal lives, and enforcing harsh consequences if said standards weren't met. Whether due to or in spite of Ra's impossible demands, the Arkestra is still going strong, and Sun Ra House has been the group's official headquarters for over half a century. In 2020, they released Swirling — their first album of the new millennium — which was nominated for the Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album award at the 2022 Grammys. Long-time band manager and baritone saxophonist Danny Ray Thompson and bassist Juini Booth both died within a year (on either side) of the record's arrival. Listen to it below.
