Cole Porter's Indiana boyhood home up for sale again

PERU, Ind. (AP) - Cole Porter was one of America's most famous composers, known for his hit Broadway songs and big-city suavity.

But the man who became famous for his cosmopolitan lifestyle and catchy tunes such as "I've Got You Under My Skin," ''Anything Goes," and the score to multiple musicals like "Kiss Me Kate," was born in the small town of Peru in 1891.

And now, the house where he was raised and wrote some of his first songs is up for sale - again.

Ole Olsen Memorial Theatre, the nonprofit performance group which owns the property, listed the home at 19 S. Huntington St. earlier this year, including all the period furniture, antiques and décor that furnish the house.

The move marks the second time the group has put the property on the market since purchasing the home in 2004 through a county tax sale. At the time, the house had fallen into disrepair and was being used as a meth lab before it was shut down by police.

Ole Olsen spent the next three years renovating the property and converting it into an inn and museum dedicated to Porter. The rehabilitation was funded by grants and donations and included a new roof, restored windows and siding, and updated heating, plumbing and electrical systems.

The group furnished the inn with antiques and painted the house the same sunny color it wore when the Porter family lived there until the early 1900s.

But in 2010, the nonprofit put the home up for sale for $250,000. Officials at the time said maintaining the house had become too expensive and time-consuming for a group made up entirely of volunteers.

The house sat on the market until 2013, when Ole Olsen member John Kirk agreed to lease-to-own the property from the group and run it as the Cole Porter Inn, which houses three guest rooms decorated with themes from Porter's music.

Now, Kirk has stopped leasing the property, but has agreed to continue running the inn and curating the museum.

Ole Olsen President Alan Myers said that puts the nonprofit back in the same position it was in 2010, when it couldn't afford to keep up the property.

"As a small theater group, we just don't have enough volunteers to maintain it and keep it up," he said. "It's about cash flow and us maintaining it the way it needs to be maintained. If we could do that and keep it, we would."

The big difference about the sale this time around, though, is there are no covenants attached to the house, which ensured that it would not be torn down.

Myers said Ole Olsen is now willing to sell to any buyer, but preference would be given to someone who would keep it as an inn dedicated to Porter.

"We're hopeful that someone has a genuine interest in Cole Porter and his birthplace, and they keep it as a historical site," he said. "On the flip side, we know if someone buys it, they can do pretty much anything they want with it. They could tear it down if they wanted to."

The other big difference about the sale this time is the price. The nonprofit is asking $129,000. That's reduced from the original $139,500 asking price.

Ole Olsen board member Jim Walker, who was instrumental in buying and restoring the property when he served as the mayor of Peru, said when they asked for $250,000 in 2010, the house was still in tip-top shape from the remodel a few years earlier.

Since then, parts of the home have become in need of repair. Walker said the most pressing issue is the crumbling, peeling exterior paint.

"When the price was higher, there was nothing to do to the house," he said. "Right now, we know it needs a paint job. It's a building that needs a little love and care, and we've reduced the price to reflect that."

Walker said before putting the house on the market, Ole Olsen approached local residents they thought might be interested in buying it. When that didn't gain traction, the group advertised the property in New York City and Chicago in an attempt to attract a collector or preservationist who would keep it an inn dedicated to Porter.

Now, the property is open to any buyer willing to pay. Walker said they have received phone calls expressing interest, and there are currently a couple of people actively looking into purchasing the home.

Myers said if the property does sell, Ole Olsen plans to put the money toward building a new theater on land the group owns near its current performance venue - the restored train depot at the corner of Broadway and Canal streets.

"Our main focus now is the theater," he said. "We're trying to save enough money to build a new theater."

And although the fate of the inn is now up in the air, the nonprofit is hopeful someone with a passion for Cole Porter and his music will come along and continue to operate the property as a tribute to one of America's most prolific composers.

"We can't read the future," Walker said. "We know there are no guarantees that it's going to stay this way, and we can't put stipulations on it, saying it must stay the Cole Porter Inn for 100 years. You hate to see it go, but I understand we can't continue on the way we have been. We have to do something.

"Our hope is that somebody does buy it and can take it to another level," Walker said.

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Source: Kokomo Tribune

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Information from: Kokomo Tribune, http://www.ktonline.com