MACON, Ga. — The Little Richard House in Macon's Pleasant Hill neighborhood remains closed after Macon-Bibb County stopped funding it last month.
That's according to our partners at the Murphy Center for Collaborative Journalism. The county, Georgia Department of Transportation, and the Macon-Bibb County Enhancement Authority all put in work to restore the childhood home of the music icon. The authority is currently responsible for managing it.
2013: Leaders announce plans to move the home
Macon and Bibb County leaders announced plans in 2013 to move the home of Little Richard Penniman because it stood in the way of the I-16/I-75 improvement project.
2016: Move officially approved
Macon-Bibb County commissioners officially approved moving the home from 5th Avenue to its current site on Craft Street.
2017: Moving begins
Trucks moved the house piece-by-piece to the current spot, across the street from the Pleasant Hill community garden.
2018: Budget shortfalls threaten renovation
Macon-Bibb County cut funding to the Macon-Bibb Community Enhancement Authority's project because of county money problems. Instead of the requested $96,000, the county cut the budget to $10,000. Commissioners voted the next month to give the authority another $90,000 for the project.
2019: Little Richard House officially opens
The house opened to the public in March 2019 after the authority finished renovating it. At the opening ceremony, officials said it was supposed to be a place for the Pleasant Hill neighborhood to gather.
Since then, the house has been open for people to come in and learn about Little Richard and his music.
2024: No more funding
The Macon Newsroom reports Macon-Bibb County stopped funding the house last month because the authority didn't complete an audit to show the county where their money was going. County records say the authority also never returned extra money to the county, as required by their agreement.
The enhancement authority says they can't afford the audit. Its interim executive director, Latisha Woods, said they closed the center because they didn't have "verbal or written commitments or assurances of what the future was supposed to look like."
Mayor Lester Miller says the county hopes the authority will get the audits done and open the house again. He added the county will take steps to make sure it remains an option for Pleasant Hill neighbors.