(Picture of Muhammad Ali’s boyhood home from the Courier-Journal.)
The Courier-Journal is reporting that Muhammad Ali’s boyhood home in West Louisville is now for sale:
Two “for sale” signs have popped up in the front yard of the small white house on Grand Avenue where boxing great Muhammad Ali — known in those days as Cassius Clay — grew in western Louisville.
The home, which was recognized as Ali’s boyhood home with a historical marker in May, is described by the plaque as the place “where young Clay’s values were instilled.”
The sale price of the house was not listed on the for sale signs and a message left at the number listed was not returned. The Jefferson County Property Valuation Administration values the property at $23,260.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said Sunday that it is too early to know what role the city might have as the house is sold, but he plans to be involved in the process in some way. He even hinted at the possibility that the home could be transformed into more of a tourist attraction.
“I would hope that we would find some reasonable way to make (the house) a part of our history here where people can visit more formally than they do right now,” he said. “The city would be interested in making sure that it falls into the right hands and there’s a partnership there in some way.”
Sounds like a bargain, that despite the home’s historical significance, it needs some work. Here’s hoping that, if it ends up being bought by a private party, the proper renovations will be carried out and, at some point, it could help drive tourism to an otherwise-overlooked part of the city.
UPDATE, 8/28/2012: The Courier-Journal has published an updated story on the Ali Home, with some interesting new details. First, apparently Ali’s family isn’t interested in buying the home:
The 1920 one-story at 3302 Grand Ave. in western Louisville, appraised at $23,260, is in such bad condition that “we probably would not be interested in buying it,” said Lonnie Ali, the wife of the three-time heavyweight boxing champion.
“It would be nice if someone were interested,” she said in an interview Tuesday, adding that she feared that any hint of the family being a potential buyer would drive up the price. “It is going to be a very important piece of real estate for Louisville and as a tourist attraction.”
According to the Ali Center, an anonymous donor is interested, but with no more information to divulge. Additionally, check out the last sale price of the house, from 1998:
The house, which was last sold in 1998 for $2,500, is owned by a Southern Indiana couple, Steve and Kassandra Stephenson, according the Jefferson County PVA website. Their asking price couldn’t be determined.
