[Dixielandjazz] House Where Hoagy Carmichael Lived Gets New Life

[Robert Ringwald]

House Where Hoagy Carmichael Lived Gets New Life
by Rod Spaw
Bloomington (Indiana) Herald-Times, May 27, 2014
Tafsir Awal wasn't looking for a piece of Bloomington history when he spotted a listing
for a fire-damaged home on an online auction website. He was just looking for an
investment opportunity in the town where he had attended college and had visited
regularly since his graduation in 2004.
It was only after his company, Monsoon Properties LLC, had won the auction that the
Indiana University alumnus learned of the role the house might have played in the
creation of an important entry in the Great American Songbook, "Stardust."
There is general consensus that the song's composer, Hoagy Carmichael, probably lived
in the home while he was a student at Indiana University and/or shortly thereafter,
in the 1920s. That he might have worked on his most famous song there is more a matter
of speculation, supported primarily by an inscription on the back of a photo of the
house found in the IU Archives which reads: "Washington Street, Bloomington house
where 'Stardust' was born first."
For neighbors of the property at 536 S. Washington St., the main question last October
when Awal and his business partner, Ahad Bhai, acquired the home was not its historic
significance, but its present condition. A fire several months earlier had destroyed
much of the roof and the second floor, parts of which fell all the way through to
the basement. A blue tarp draped over what was left of the roof had shredded in spring
rains, and what hadn't been burned was soaked in water. Graffiti decorated the front
porch, and plywood was tacked over the first floor windows to prevent entry.
One day last week, Awal stopped by the home to check on the progress of restoration
under the direction of Dave Noggle Builders. Work was largely finished on the first
and second floors.
Fresh paint gave the home that "new" smell. There was no hint of graffiti anywhere
on the exterior, which had been returned as much as possible to its original condition.
The interior also was unchanged from its layout at the time of the fire. However,
there were new appliances in the kitchen and new fixtures in both the upstairs and
downstairs bathrooms. Five bedrooms awaited new occupants. Awal said the property
should be ready to put on the rental market by mid-June.
Contractor Dave Noggle smiled when asked about the challenging restoration.
"We actually built backwards," he said. "We started with the roof and built our way
down."
Photos:
http://www.tmnews.com/house-where-hoagy-carmichael-lived-gets-new-life/article_8b0b8b3d-ad53-51ca-9e0e-0975038c7c5d.html
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-Bob Ringwald K6YBV
www.ringwald.com
916/ 806-9551

"I always thought that record would stand until it was broken."
-- Lawrence Peter (Yogi) Berra