Ray Charles' Childhood Home Open to Visitors
By Margaret Foster | Online Only | Feb. 4, 2010
Ray Charles (1930-2004) grew up in the tiny town of Greenville, Fla., 40 miles from Tallahassee. By 2005, his childhood home was in danger of collapse.
"It was very dilapidated, falling down," says Justina Cone, a member of the all-volunteer Greenville Heritage Committee. "It looked beyond hope."
But one of Charles' childhood friends did have hope. Elesta Pritchett, now the mayor of Greenville, pop. 837, was determined to save the 900-square-foot structure.
"It was just something that I really wanted to do," Pritchett says. "I knew, with the help of others, it could be done."
The town purchased the house in 2006 and two years later won a $48,000 historic preservation grant from the state of Florida. Last September, on what would have been Charles' 79th birthday, the town formally dedicated the house as a museum.
"It was a great day for me," Pritchett says of the Sept. 23 dedication. "I can see in my mind what it looked like then. … It looks exactly [like it did in the 1930s]."
Pritchett also worked to erect a bronze statue of Charles in the town park, and several of the performer's relatives attended an unveiling ceremony in 2006—"a big day for Greenville," Cone says.
The town continues to collect items from the 1930s to furnish the interiors of the Ray Charles Childhood Home, which is currently open by appointment only. Pritchett hopes it will be accessible on a more regular schedule starting this spring.
"When people find out that he's from Greenville, they come from all over; it's amazing," says Jim Parrish, special projects consultant for the town, who helped obtain the state grant. "He came from the depths of poverty in the segregated South."
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Comments
Submitted by money maker at: March 16, 2010
That's the same house in the movie the same one when he feel in the washer mashine that's how he got pine
Submitted by vybxctfkjhfgv at: March 9, 2010
this is not helping me
Submitted by Bert Godfrey at: February 10, 2010
I visited the home during the Christmas holidays. It was quite interesting, especially the hand prime pump restored in the back yard, I also revisited the monument in the park. Alberta Wells Godfrey Immediate Past Chair Miami-Dade Division of Historic Preservation
Submitted by Let's_Play_Two at: February 9, 2010
Thanks! I will add the Ray Charles home to my Florida sites to see that include the Mary McLeod Bethune and Howard Thurman homes in Daytona and Carter-Paramore High School in Quincy.
Submitted by trails2legacies at: February 9, 2010
Congratulations and continued success on this mission!!! Glad the crabs didn't overturn the barrel and you were able to connect the dots to economic development. Miles Davis' childhood home is similarly situated in a city needing economic development...East St. Louis, IL. It's a vision thing, right? I salute Pritchett! Stay the course, lady.
Submitted by fdlester at: February 9, 2010
Thank you, Greenville! Your work on Ray Charles' house puts us all on notice that great talent can come from simple beginnings! Hope we can visit sometime!
Submitted by lloyd at: February 9, 2010
This is great.....will visit soon Gary L. Smith, Member, NTHP
Submitted by Ashanti at: February 9, 2010
Who is the organization working for the restoration? Are there educational programs planned for the site?