In 2017, four artists paid $95,000 to save Nina Simone’s childhood home from demolition; eight years later, a nearly $850,000 rehabilitation restored the three-room North Carolina house
Nina Simone’s 650 sq ft childhood home in Tryon, North Carolina, has been restored after sitting vacant and severely decayed for more than two decades. The three-room house, where the legendary musician and civil rights activist lived with her family from 1933, was bought for $95,000 in 2017 by four Black artists. Its rehabilitation was completed last year, after nearly $850,000 was spent on materials, construction and engineering.According to The Guardian, the restored home is now painted white, while parts of its original structure have been retained. A piece of the home’s original rust-brown varnish has been placed in a shadow box on a mint-blue wall. A small section of the original Great Depression-era linoleum has also been preserved on the restored wooden floor.For Simone’s younger brother, Samuel Waymon, returning to the house after its restoration brought back memories of his childhood. The 81-year-old composer remembered playing organ inside the home and cooking with his mother on the potbelly stove. He was also happy to see a large tree from his childhood still standing in the yard.“It does conjure up wonderful tears of joy in my heart and in my eyes when I stand in that house, on the porch, going into the rooms where the stove is, and I’m saying, ‘Wow, this is actually real. The house is restored.’ It’s like time travel,” Waymon said.
Artists come together to protect Simone’s home
The house came to the attention of contemporary artist Adam Pendleton in 2016 after a museum curator told him that it was for sale. Pendleton initially thought about finding someone else who could protect the property, but later decided to take action himself.He then approached fellow artists Rashid Johnson, Julie Mehretu and Ellen Gallagher. The four formed the collective Daydream Therapy LLC and bought the house in 2017.Pendleton said the group wanted to protect a place connected to Simone’s life and contribution to American culture. He recalled thinking when he first walked through the property after buying it- “This is where it all started for Nina, in this humble home.”The group later worked with the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund (AACHAF), which developed a preservation strategy for the property.
The work included repairing the entryways and walls, evening out the floors and adding an accessible ramp (National Trust for Historic Preservation photo)
Restoring the 650 sq ft house
The restoration team used an old family photograph and research into early 20th-century African American homes in North Carolina to understand how the house originally looked. They also examined materials from the foundation and roof for clues while developing the restoration plan.The work included repairing the entryways and walls, evening out the floors and adding an accessible ramp. The aim was to improve the house while retaining its basic structure and connection to its past.In 2020, the AACHAF created a preservation easement for the property. The legal agreement restricts future changes to the site and prevents its demolition. Preservation North Carolina will oversee the historic protection of the home.The complete rehabilitation, which began in June 2024, was finished last year with the project involing nearly $850,000 in materials, construction and engineering costs.
Home expected to open to public soon
The AACHAF is now working with a consulting team and the Tryon community on a long-term management and programming plan for the property. The home is projected to open to the public for tourism in 2027.The group also hopes to develop a cultural district around the house. Future plans include working with St Luke’s CME Church, where Simone’s mother, Kate Waymon, preached, to involve the surrounding East Side neighbourhood in programming.Pendleton has said he wants the house to become a place where artists can work with intention, including writing music or performing in the town. The project also received support from the Mellon and Tejemos foundations.For Waymon, however, the significance of the restoration remains deeply personal. He said the decision to preserve the house allowed visitors to experience the place where his sister spent part of her childhood.The restored home will also remain connected to Simone’s music. Waymon is releasing a new duet with his sister in January 2026 for the song “Love Me or Leave Me”. Simone’s voice was recorded in 1957, while Waymon added his part decades later.
