Nina Simone’s Childhood Home Restored

Significant step in preserving African American cultural heritage and honoring Simone’s legacy as a legendary musician and civil rights activist.

The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund at the National Trust for Historic Preservation has completed the full rehabilitation of the humble, three-room clapboard house in Tryon, NC.

This project began in 2017 when the Action Fund partnered with artists Adam Pendleton, Ellen Gallagher, Julie Mehretu, and Rashid Johnson, who collectively purchased the home, saving it from the threat of demolition.

While the house is restored, it’s not yet open to the public. Now comes the next chapter: shaping the stories and experiences visitors will encounter, and working hand-in-hand with the Tryon community to ready the home for its reopening.

The home will serve as a historic place to inspire visitors and artists, authentically showcasing where Simone grew up and grew into her artistic voice. While it will not be reopened as a traditional house museum, furnished with her or her family’s belongings, the rehabilitation honors the period and character of the space.

Originally built in the early 1900s, the 650-square foot, three-room clapboard house where Simone (née Eunice Waymon) was born and lived from 1933-1937 had fallen into disrepair and was threatened by demolition until it was purchased in 2016 by Daydream Therapy, LLC—a collective of Pendleton, Gallager, Mehretu, and Johnson.

The Action Fund’s engagement with the site began in 2017 in the role of lead partner with the artists alongside Simone’s brother Dr. Samuel Waymon, Tryon’s East Side neighborhood residents; St. Luke CME Church, where Simone’s mother was a minister; and a team of construction, architectural, and philanthropic partners.

“Preservation is an expression of what we choose to honor, and Nina Simone’s childhood home is an essential landmark in our nation’s artistic and cultural landscape,” said Brent Leggs, executive director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and strategic advisor to the CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

“The restoration of her home affirms her rightful place in the American story—one defined by brilliance, resilience, and the power of art to shape our collective conscience. We share this moment with a coalition of national and local partners, who together dedicated their expertise and resources to safeguard this site of extraordinary significance to our nation.”

The Action Fund helped ensure Simone’s home was officially protected in perpetuity via a preservation easement in September 2020. In 2023, the Action Fund partnered with tennis champion and philanthropist Venus Williams and artist Adam Pendleton to co-curate an auction and fundraising gala dedicated to the project hosted by Pace Gallery in New York. With additional investment from the Mellon and Tejemos foundations, the funds raised supported the comprehensive renovation and restoration efforts that began in June 2024.

For more information about the project, please visit savingplaces.org/ninasimone.