Hendrix's childhood home demolished

SEATTLE, April 1 (UPI) -- A Jimi Hendrix fan says he couldn't save the Renton, Wash., home where the late rocker lived between the ages of 10 and 13 so he's saving parts of it.

Hendrix died in 1970 a the age of 27 after he apparently choked on his own vomit after taking sleeping pills and drinking alcohol.

The Seattle Times reported the demolition of his former home took place Monday despite the efforts of Seattle real-estate investor Pete Sikov, who fought for years to have the dilapidated, century-old building recognized for its place in music history, but couldn't cement a deal to fix it up and open it to the public as planned.

Instead, portions of the house like the bathtub and back door have been put into storage where Sikov said the remains of the home "awaits the future."

"This is where he first discovered music," Charles R. Cross, author of the acclaimed Hendrix biography "Room Full of Mirrors," told the newspaper.

"It's all a shame; too bad no city body stepped up to the plate to save the place Jimi lived in. Let's be blunt: he's the most famous guy to ever be born in the city of Seattle."

Hendrix's brother Leon told the Times the musician played a ukulele with one string or used a broom as a pretend guitar when they were kids in the old 900-square-foot house.

"A real guitar in them days was in the far distant future," Leon Hendrix recalled. "He'd imitate Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry ... . I loved that house."