Journalist and Nirvana fan Jamie Dunkle has launched a crowdfunding campaign to buy the Aberdeen, Washington childhood home of Kurt Cobain so she can turn it into a museum.
Dunkle is attempting to raise $700,000 via GoFundMe.com for the home, which was listed on the market last fall via Cobain’s mother at $500,000 (see details here); the additional funds are pegged to secure the singer’s personal effects as artifacts for the project.
“We want to turn Kurt Cobain's childhood home into a museum,” wrote Dunkle. “We're making sure this house is memorialized by us fans so it doesn't end up in the clutches of capitalist greed. This museum will reflect the anti-commercialism spirit of Nirvana.”
The journalist shot a quick video tour in the home, giving fans a look at Cobain’s bedroom.
“We only had a few minutes in the house to take video and photos,” said Dunkle. “It's not edited, it's not fancy, but it's real. And that's how we want the house to remain. Ideally, it will contain actual donated items from his life. That part is still in negotiation. Right now we need to get the house to make sure it's preserved.”
The 4-bedroom, 1 bath, 1,522 square foot bungalow is located at 1210 E 1 Street in Aberdeen. Cobain lived in the home from when he was a few months old until he was nine, when his parents separated, and then again from age 16 until about 20.
The home is located in a quiet residential neighborhood three blocks from the park that Aberdeen has dedicated as the Kurt Cobain Memorial Park. The garage is where Cobain and Krist Novoselic practiced when they first got a band together in the late 1980s. Kurt left his mark, quite literally, in his upstairs bedroom on the walls, including some artwork drawn directly on the walls and a hole in one wall where he punched it as a teen, almost breaking his hand.
Dunkle launched the crowdfunding campaign on March 2; at press time, she had raised $200.
You can read more and help the cause by donating at GoFundMe.com.
On April 10, Nirvana will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with KISS, Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, Cat Stevens and Linda Ronstadt.
See also:
Nirvana singer’s hometown celebrates first annual Kurt Cobain Day
Nirvana: Courtney Love says Rock Hall induction will be awkward
Annual Kurt Cobain Day declared in Nirvana singer’s hometown
Nirvana: Video of band’s final Los Angeles concert surfaces
Search Nirvana at hennemusic