Little Richard’s boyhood home to be moved

MACON, Ga. — Officials in Georgia have decided to move the boyhood home of Little Richard to spare it from a highway construction project.

Macon Mayor Robert Reichert made the announcement Friday. WMAZ-TV reports that the 80-year-old singer is receiving an honorary degree on Saturday from Mercer University.

Born Richard Wayne Penniman, Little Richard grew up in Macon’s Pleasant Hill community. That’s a neighborhood that was later divided by the construction of Interstate 75.

The “Tutti Frutti” singer’s boyhood home faced possible demolition to make room for a planned expansion of the interchange where I-75 meets Interstate 16 to Savannah.

City officials said the home will be relocated to a lot near the Pleasant Hill community garden. At its new location, the house will be used as a neighborhood resource center.