Last week, the house in Aberdeen, Washington where NIRVANA icon Kurt Cobain lived from 1968 to 1984, was officially approved for inclusion on Washington state’s Department Of Archaeology And Historic Preservation’s “Heritage Register” of culturally important buildings. The home’s current co-owner, Lee Bacon, told Rolling Stone that he is almost finished recreating the house and returning it to its vintage era, with plans to open it up next spring for the occasional private tour. “Our goal is to make the house a tribute project to Kurt‘s early life and career, with museum detail,” he said. “The next chapter is how to make that happen.”
Bacon and his wife Danielle bought the house from the Cobain family in April 2018 for $190,000. The Bacons have spent the last three years working with the family through a meticulous ongoing period restoration that aligns with Kurt‘s life. Today the home includes furnishings, photographs, audio recordings and videos which document the events, funny stories and memorable moments of Kurt‘s life and career.
The house served as Cobain‘s childhood home during his formative years. It was here that the young blue-eyed, blond-haired, energetic young boy with unusual artistic skills and a widely creative imagination garnered his passion for music. The house gave Cobain a place to practice and experiment with a variety of musical instruments, giving Cobain the pivotal groundwork for his later mastery of songwriting, singing, and playing guitar for NIRVANA.
Today, Kurt‘s childhood home is still largely preserved and contains many family artifacts of the era. The home receives regular domestic and international fan visits looking to capture a photograph of the exterior of the home and see where Cobain spent his life growing up. Visiting fans share frequently the interest in seeing the home become a museum where fans have a place to feel connected.
The four-bedroom, 1,500-square-foot bungalow was originally put on the market for $500,000 in 2013 before the place was re-listed for $400,000 in March 2015, and had its price slashed to $329,000 in August 2015, $299,000 in April 2017 and $225,000 in October 2017.
Despite a park named after Cobain and a statue erected in 2014, NIRVANA biographer Charles R. Cross told The Pulse Of Radio several years ago that he didn’t think Aberdeen had done enough to honor its most famous resident. “Kurt‘s the most famous person that was ever born in Aberdeen and maybe the most famous person that’ll ever be born, and the city has done almost nothing to honor him,” he said. “The city is kind of waking up to it. Aberdeen is a city that has really struggled economically for six decades, and if they could boost their tourism just a bit, I think it would help everybody involved.”
