Posted on Sun, Jun. 26, 2005

Two childhood homes of jazz legend Charlie Parker still stand

Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Two boyhood homes of Kansas City jazz legend Charlie "Bird" Parker still exist, a local jazz scholar learned from the recently opened 1930 U.S. Census.

"It was like finding a diamond," said Chuck Haddix, who found the details, including the fact that 9-year-old Charlie and the rest of the Parker family didn't own a radio.

Haddix learned about the 1930 census information from Johnson County librarian Stuart Hines.

The census and school records showed that the family of the influential jazz saxophonist lived in Kansas City's Westport district for seven years between homes in Kansas City, Kan., and the 1500 block of Olive Street, not far from 18th and Vine.

The other two homes are long gone, but the Westport apartment is still there, Haddix learned.

Haddix also learned from British jazz scholar Llew Walker that another apartment where the Parker family lived is nearby.

"This is so much different than the story told before." Haddix said. "I drove over to the house and stood there with my mouth open, knowing that this was where Charlie Parker had lived."

The house at 109 W. 34th St. that the Parkers listed on the census - now owned by an Illinois bank - is in disrepair, with trash inside.

But Haddix hopes it can be maintained.

"I don't want it to be torn down," he said. "The world needs to know about this."

The other apartment building where the Parkers lived, at 3527 Wyandotte St., was close to demolition when it was bought by a family in 2000.

Both could qualify for the National Register of Historic Places, said Kansas City historian Jane Flynn.

"We just think it's wonderful," said Paul Lerner, director of development at the American Jazz Museum at 18th and Vine.

In Westport, the Parkers lived in a mostly white neighborhood.

"He played in integrated bands and was very comfortable in the white world," Haddix said. "I think it's because of growing up where he did. So much of what has been written about Parker has been sensationalized and turned into myth. ... I think this really changes my perspective on Bird."

---

Information from: The Kansas City Star