Little Richard’s Boyhood Home to Be Restored

Hits like Tutti Frutti and Good Golly Miss Molly made Little Richard a household name, and now a group in Macon is planning on restoring his favorite childhood home.

Richard Penniman grew up in Macon’s Pleasant Hill neighborhood during the 1930’s and 1940’s.  In the 1960’s Interstate 75 was built, and divided the neighborhood in half.  More than 50 years later, the Georgia Department of Transportation is planning to expand it again.

Peter Givens, the president of Pleasant Hill’s Neighborhood Improvement group says he’s reached a deal with the federal highway administration to use money for the expansion project to restore the Pleasant Hill Neighborhood.  The mitigation plan includes moving 22 structurally-sound properties to Craft Street and restoring them.  Little Richards’ home will serve as a museum, and be called the neighborhood resource center.

GDOT has not released a timeline for the plan or given an estimate of how much it would cost.  Givens hopes to have a timeline drawn in the next six months.