Little Richard's childhood house has a new home. Crews moved it from Fifth Avenue to Craft Avenue Tuesday morning. Yvonne Thomas saw the entire move unfold and spoke to people in Pleasant Hill who are excited about the changes in their community.
People in Pleasant Hill are calling this a day of reckoning. “This effort began a long time ago and it's finally coming to fruition. We're very excited about this move,” said Adrian Harmon. “It is a great day for the history and the culture which is our city, our community, and our county,” said Gary Wheat.
This 800-square foot structure was the childhood home of our local music legend Little Richard. “The Godfather, the originator of rock and roll,” said Representative James Beverly with The Macon-Bibb Community Enhancement Authority.
The Historic Richard Penniman House made a one-mile trek from 5th Avenue to Craft Avenue around 10 a.m. Tuesday morning to start a new beginning for this community. “The community has been in a relentless pursuit of justice,” said Rep. Beverly. “Justice that was taken away from us back in the 1960s when a federal highway ran through Pleasant Hill.” “That past is still strong for a lot of people in this community,” said Harmon. “This use to be a very affluent neighborhood, with teachers and educators.”
And as this historic home travels across the interstate that split this community, many here say this move is a sign of their community moving forward. “For something like this to happen and see great improvements, we are very happy that things are moving now. Progress is everything,” said Harmon.
Now that the home is locked in place, this community's new goal is to turn this home into a resource center to preserve the history of Pleasant Hill. “We're very happy about being a part of that venture,” said Harmon.
The home was moved as part of the I-75 and I-16 expansion project. The Pleasant Hill Mitigation project will add two new parks in this community and to build 17 new homes