5 Historic Homes of Musical Icons That No Longer Exist

Behind all the musical icons we know and love today are the historic homes that gave them shelter while they discovered music, wrote some of their most famous songs, and established the artistic careers that would eventually turn these unassuming houses into bona fide cultural landmarks.

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Sadly, not all of these homes have survived as long as their former residents’ musical legacies. Natural disasters, real estate development, and unfortunate accidents have destroyed the former homes of these five musical icons.

David Bowie – Haddon Hall, Beckenham, U.K.

In the early 1970s, David Bowie lived in Beckenham’s Haddon Hall with his wife, Angie, and various other musicians. The eccentric bunch lived in the first-floor apartment of the massive Victorian building. It was there that Bowie began writing the songs that would later make up his December 1971 album, Hunky Dory.

Decades later, real estate developers demolished the grand home that butted up against a London park and golf course, replacing the stately mansion with apartment buildings. (Interestingly, this house is also where a young Boy George would sit outside to see if he could catch a glimpse of his idol.)

AC/DC – Burleigh Street, Sydney, Australia

The childhood home of Malcolm, Angus, and George Young saw plenty of musical history from its vantage point at 4 Burleigh Street in Burwood, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. George was the guitarist for the Easybeats, a band so popular in the late 1960s that hundreds of girls stormed the residence after a magazine revealed their address.

This home also saw the formation of AC/DC by Malcolm and Angus in 1973. By 1978, the Young family had moved out, and in 1985, it became a brothel. In December 2024, a real estate developer demolished the home, unaware of its connection to the iconic band.

The Doors’ Robby Krieger – Pacific Palisades, CA

The devastating Palisades Fire began tearing through the historic southern California neighborhood in early January 2025. Countless musicians, actors, and other industry members’ homes were destroyed or badly damaged. Sadly, that included the childhood home of the Doors’ guitarist, Robby Krieger. Krieger wrote the band’s hit single, “Light My Fire,” in the living room of his parents’ home in the late 1960s.

Clausio and Kathleen Boltiansky owned the home on Alma Real Drive for over two decades when the wildfire ravaged the historic house and the homes surrounding it. Krieger’s childhood home was one of thousands of structures the Palisades Fire destroyed.

Louis Armstrong – New Orleans, LA

Famed jazz singer and trumpeter Louis Armstrong often referred to the Karnofsky Tailor Shop and Residence in New Orleans, Louisiana, as his second home. A young Armstrong began working for the Karnofskys, whom he credited with instilling “the love of singing in his heart,” per Smithsonian Magazine.

Armstrong often shared meals with the family, even singing songs to help the Kanofskys’ young children fall asleep. The shop is also where Armstrong bought his first instrument, a cornet (similar to a trumpet), on loan from the family. Hurricane Ida winds averaging 150 miles per hour tore the building apart in 2021.

Jimi Hendrix – Seattle, WA

Jimi Hendrix lived in a 900-square-foot home in Seattle, Washington’s Central Area neighborhood from the age of 10 to 13. During this time, Hendrix taught himself how to play the theme song to Peter Gunn on a ukulele with one string. This, of course, would develop into his love of guitar that would turn him into an international rockstar.

The home’s owner at the time of its demolition, Peter Sikov, tried to get the city to save it. However, these efforts fell flat, with local residents calling it an “eyesore” and a “fairly ugly structure on a major arterial.” The city demolished the building in 2009.

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