Muddy Waters' former Chicago home to be turned into community center and blues museum

The Muddy Waters MOJO Museum - a project that seeks to turn the blues legend's former Chicago house into a community cultural center - has been given a $50,000 grant to begin renovations through the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.

Spearheaded by Waters' great-granddaughter Chandra Cooper, the community center will include a museum dedicated to Muddy Waters and the blues, a recording studio, a small venue, and a community garden.

Waters purchased the house on 4339 S. Lake Park Avenue in the North Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago in 1954, living there for 20 years and using the space primarily for rehearsal. The property was declared unsafe by the Department of Buildings in 2013, but Cooper says the grant will give the project a much-needed boost.

“It was so significant to get this grant money from the trust, because it’s really saving this house from any more deterioration,” she told the Hyde Park Herald. The project is expected to take around two years to complete.

For more information, or to make a donation to the project, head to the MOJO Museum's website.