New homeowners just got a sweet deal on a legendary house in Detroit after snagging late music legend Aretha Franklin‘s childhood home for $355,000.
Records show the sale closed Wednesday, July 26, 2023, to buyers who purchased the home for less than the initial asking price, TMZ reports, of $379,000.
The three-story home in Detroit’s historic La Salle Gardens comes with six bedrooms, five bathrooms, and 6,000 square feet of living space. A spacious front yard and backyard surround the brick-covered foundation of the home. There are fireplaces and hardwood floors throughout as well as space to fit another bedroom.
The late “Queen of Soul” lived in the home from ages 5 to 18 and had fond memories from her time in the dwelling. In 2011, Franklin revisited the home and recalled her days growing up in Detroit. Franklin shared a special bond with the home and owned it despite not living in it for years.
The “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.” singer was actually born in a tiny wooden home in Memphis in 1942, but left the city when she was just two years old. In 2017, the Memphis Mayor’s office made a bid to preserve the home and turn it into a landmark, according to Architectural Digest.
Franklin’s family moved to New York from Memphis. In 1947, her father, Reverend Clarence Franklin, became pastor of the New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit and moved his family of five to Michigan.
In 1952, eight days before Aretha’s 10th birthday, her mother died. At age 12, she started singing in her father’s church and would join him on the road, singing gospel in his caravan shows. By the time she turned 18 in 1960, Franklin was ready to pursue a singing career and the rest is history. Franklin died in 2018.
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