Little Richard Penniman house to be moved, renovated for I-16/I-75 interchange construction

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The Georgia Department of Transportation is moving and renovating the Little Richard Penniman house as part of its I-16/I-75 split fix.

“Little Richard grew up in Pleasant Hill. He had at least 6 homes in a 3 block radius,” said Jamie Weatherford, Co-Founder of Rock Candy Tours.

In 1540 Fifth Avenue to be exact.

His father owners a club in the neighborhood.

He was shot while working one night.

“At the time Little Richard only lived about 50, 60 yards away so he actually could have heard the gunshot that killed his father. So not only did Little Richard grow up here, but his family endured both ups and downs within the Pleasant Hill community,” said Weatherford.

GDOT is going to be fixing the interstate that runs next to the Pleasant Hill neighborhood.

The department will need additional property from that area.

“The Georgia Department of Transportation is spending about $11 million on projects that the neighborhood identified and said, if you’ve got to do this to us, at the very least, do [this] to help off set the damage,” explained Macon-Bibb Mayor Robert Reichert.

The neighborhood asked GDOT to move Little Richard’s house and turn it into a community resource center.

“It needs and deserves to be protected. It needs and deserves our attention and rehabilitation,” said Mayor Reichert.

The Fifth Avenue home is where Little Richard lived when he recorded Tutti Frutti.

“Tutti Frutti is one of the most important songs in the creation of rock and roll. It was the inspiration for a lot of musicians particularly in Macon, Georgia afterwards,” said Weatherford.

GDOT will cover the cost to move and fix up the house.

A Macon-Bibb County committee has approved to maintain the home once it’s renovated.

Full commission will vote on that motion at its next meeting.

Little Richard’s house will be moved to the other side of the interstate on Craft Street.

The move is expected to happen in 90 days.

Construction on the interstate should start in the fall.

GDOT will also be building 25 houses in the Pleasant Hill neighborhood over the next six years.