Memphis, Tennessee: Abandoned Birthplace of Aretha Franklin
RoadsideAmerica.com Team Field Report
- Address:
- 406 Lucy Ave., Memphis, TN
- Directions:
- South of downtown. I-40 exits 1B or 1C. Drive south on Hwy 1/Danny Thomas Blvd for two miles, then continue straight south onto Wellington St. for about another mile. Turn right onto Cambridge Ave., then first right onto Sardis St., then first right onto Lucy Ave. You'll see two houses with brick column porches on the left; Aretha's house is the next one, the run-down third house, on the left.
- Hours:
- Unofficial. Local health policies may affect hours and access.
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Birthplace of The Queen of Soul: an abandoned house in a tree-lined but poor part of town. She last visited in 1995.
Roadsideamerica.com Report... [02/06/2014]Visitor Tips and News About Abandoned Birthplace of Aretha Franklin
Reports and tips from RoadsideAmerica.com visitors and Roadside America mobile tipsters. Some tips may not be verified. Submit your own tip.
9-22-18.
[Sue Smith, 10/01/2018]
I recommend highly. People have assumptions that perhaps "lower income" areas equal a bad thing. Not true. Couldn't have been more friendly here.
[Tracy, 08/02/2015]The house itself is currently decrepit, but the neighbors waved a friendly hello to us from nearby porches.
It's off the beaten path, but I thought it was a must-see to pay my R-E-S-P-E-C-T s to a living legend's birthplace.
[Cindy Sims, 07/05/2014]Nearby Offbeat Places
Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Memphis, TN - 1 mi.
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In the days following Aretha Franklin's death on Aug. 16, 2018, fans of the "Queen of Soul" paid their respects at and on her abandoned birthplace house in Memphis.