Singer Nina Simone’s birthplace to be preserved
This Dec. 5, 1968 file photo shows jazz singer Nina Simone in London. Image: AP Photo, File
TRYON, N.C. (AP) — The dilapidated wooden cottage in North Carolina that was the birthplace of singer and civil rights activist Nina Simone now has the protection of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
This undated handout photo made available by Nancy Pierce shows the birthplace of jazz singer Nina Simone in Tryon, NC. Image: Nancy Pierce via AP
This undated handout photo made available by Nancy Pierce shows the interior room of the home of jazz singer Nina Simone in Tryon, NC. Image: Nancy Pierce via AP
The trust said in a news release Tuesday that it will develop and find a new use for the house in Tryon where Simone was born in 1933. Last year, four African-American artists purchased the home.
National Trust President and Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Meeks says the trust will work with the home’s new owners and the community to honor Simone’s contributions to society and to “inspire new generations of artists and activists.”
The three-room, 660-square-foot (60-square-meter) home went on the market in 2016.
Simone’s original name was Eunice Waymon. She died in 2003 at the age of 70. NVG
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