The pink house where Muhammad Ali grew up dreaming of boxing fame—and where hundreds of fans gathered for an emotional send-off as his funeral procession passed by decades later—is for sale. The two-bedroom, one-bathroom house in Louisville was converted into a museum that offered a glimpse into the formative years of the boxing champion known worldwide as "The Greatest." The house went on the market Tuesday, along with two neighboring homes: One was turned into a welcome center and gift shop, while the other was meant to become a short-term rental. The owners are asking $1.5 million for the three properties, per the AP. Finding a buyer willing to maintain Ali's childhood home as a museum would be "the best possible result," co-owner George Bochetto said.
"This is a part of Americana," said Bochetto, a former Pennsylvania state boxing commissioner. "And it needs to be treated and respected as such." The museum opened shortly before Ali's 2016 death. Bochetto and his business partner renovated the house to how it looked when Ali—then Cassius Clay—lived there with his parents and younger brother. "You walk into this house ... you're going back to 1955, and you're going to be in the middle of the Clay family home," Bochetto told the AP in 2016. Using old photos, the developers replicated the home's furnishings, appliances, artwork, and even its pink exterior from Ali's days there.
Las Vegas real estate investor Jared Weiss bought the Ali childhood house—then rundown and vacant—in 2012 for $70,000, with plans to restore it. Three years later, Weiss formed a partnership with Bochetto, who acquired a half-interest in the project. Both were avid fans of Ali, and they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the restoration project. Despite its high-profile debut, the museum ran into financial troubles and closed after less than two years. As efforts to reopen the childhood museum languished, offers to move the 1,200-square-foot house to Las Vegas, Philadelphia, and even Saudi Arabia were turned down, Bochetto said. Now, Bochetto said he's hoping they'll find a buyer with the "marketing and operational know-how" to make the museum a success. More here.
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