Preservation plans for the childhood home of one of Western North Carolina’s most celebrated natives, Nina Simone, could be unveiled this summer.
The 650-square-foot house is located in Tryon, where the music legend was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in 1933. Simone, who died in 2003, made her mark on the music scene in the 50s and 60s with her deep, forceful voice, and a repertoire that included a mix of jazz, blues and folk music.
She died in 2003 and over the years, an effort has been underway in her hometown to honor her legacy; a statue was erected, the local history museum created an exhibit about her life, and residents in the town worked to preserve her childhood home. In 2017 that effort got a big boost when four artists from New York boughtthe small wooden house. Soon after it was named a national treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Fundraising, work to stabilize the house, and lots of discussions about its future have been underway ever since.
BPR’s Helen Chickering got an update from Brent Leggs, Senior Vice President with the Trust and Executive Director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.
HC; I think the question on the minds of many, have you figured out the plans for Nina Simone's home?
BL: I think part of what I want listeners to understand is that preservation takes time. We’ve engaged the local community of residents. We've engaged the artists who own the property. We've engaged statewide and national preservationists and others in helping to generate ideas for how best to interpret and program the site. And some of those ideas includes an educational space so that people can learn about Nina Simone's life and legacy. Some of the other ideas include activating the house for artist reflection and inspiration, but also having offsite an arts residency program connected to artist engagement. And then some of the other ideas is to leverage digital engagement and technology because we realize most people will never have the opportunity to visit Tryon And so we want to bring this history and place to them through providing digital access.
HC: Is there a, a timeline when you hope to have an announcement about what it might be or what are the next steps going forward?
BL: Yeah, so our, we have two priority next steps. One is to finalize our stewardship plan. In essence, it's a roadmap to define how you preserve a historic building and landscape, how you kind of implement programming and public education, and how you manage and operate that historic site. And so we are, we hope to have that work complete by end of summer. And our goal is to begin construction this fall.
HC: I want to circle back to your comment. Preservation takes time along with meeting with the artist, the Tryon community and the others you've mentioned as you gather ideas and input, much of your work has been around protecting the home.
BL: When we first got engaged, our primary goal was to protect Nina Simone's childhood home in perpetuity, and we've checked that box by collaborating with Preservation North Carolina, who now holds the preservation easement that ensures that this three room house will stand forever to tell a unique American story. We approach our work again with the understanding that we protect a place so that we can buy time for his future preservation. And I'm glad that we are now getting to the point where we will have the stewardship plan complete, that we'll be launching construction. And I'm excited that in 2024 we'll begin to activate the site for public access and celebration.
HC: Well, it will be exciting to see what this amazing effort reveals. It struck me when I first covered this story that this iconic voice, the name known around the world, belonged to a North Carolina native by another name who grew up right here in Western North Carolina. And that you're able to preserve this place that represents so much of that story - that many people don't know.
BL: That's so true. The preservation of a childhood home provides a lens into the contours of her upbringing in the Jim Crow South. It helps to exemplify the beauty oof childhood and family. And, it was the beginning of where she would become her own activist and would begin to discover the piano and her talent for art music. There's so much beauty embodied in this historic sight and within the community of Tryon. It's exciting that for some, that didn't realize that Nina Simone was from their own community, that we have the opportunity to help them to have, a greater sense of pride about Tryon civic identity. And then we also have the opportunity of introducing to a national audience the importance of preserving historic buildings that might appear to be standing without history and meaning. And when you begin to pull back the layers, you discover that history happened here, that this vernacular architecture when layered with culture and memory is of national significance.
So, so our goal is not to create a house museum, but to create a more transcendent and cultural space where students, visitors, artists, activists, and others can sit inside the house, draw from the embodied culture and legacy that sits within the walls and in the landscape, and then go to other places, both in Tryon and nationwide to create new works of art to consider how they can use their lives to advance social justice, equity, and inclusion. It will be an intimate space where we harness the power of historic preservation and Nina Simone's legacy to really inspire new generation of leaders.
Construction is slated to begin this fall, with a possible opening next year. A benefit gala at the Pace Gallery in New York City is now planned for May 20. Tennis legend Venus Williams with artist Adam Pendleton one of the home’s owners are co-curating.
