Nina Simone's childhood home restored in North Carolina
The childhood home of legendary singer and pianist Nina Simone in Tryon, North Carolina, has been fully restored, preservationists announced, after a nearly decade-long effort to save the property from demolition. The 650-square-foot, three-room clapboard house, where Simone lived from 1933 to 1937, will serve as a historic site celebrating her early life and artistic beginnings, though it is not yet open to the public.
The restoration was completed with support from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and Daydream Therapy, LLC, a collective of artists including Adam Pendleton, Ellen Gallagher, Julie Mehretu, and Rashid Johnson, who purchased the home in 2016. Brent Leggs, executive director of the Action Fund, called the project “an essential landmark in our nation’s artistic and cultural landscape,” while Simone’s brother, Dr. Samuel Waymon, emphasized that preserving the home safeguards the music, discipline, and discovery of her talent. Simone, a classically trained pianist who became a trailblazing voice of the civil rights movement, fused jazz, soul, and blues into music that challenged injustice. The restoration is part of a broader national effort to protect Black cultural heritage sites, alongside projects honoring figures like Emmett Till and Satchel Paige. Officials are now planning future programming and cultural tourism initiatives for the Tryon site.
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