Published: November 17, 2007 10:33 pm         

Keeping his memory alive

Volunteers help to restore Cole Porter birthplace

By MELISSA SORIA

Pharos-Tribune lifestyle writer



PERU — Before 2003, the home that sits on the corner of South Huntington and Third streets that is known as Cole Porter’s birthplace was nothing more than a gathering place for drug users and individuals who had nowhere to sleep. In December of that year, police officers discovered a clandestine methamphetamine lab in one of the apartments. The lab was destroyed and the property was turned over to the City of Peru.

In 2004, Peru Mayor Jim Walker met with Joey Cole Kubesch, a Peru native whose family is related to the Porters and whose father at one time tried to purchase the home and turn it into a museum.

Walker told Kubesch about his plans of restoring the home to what it was when Porter lived there. Composer and musician, Cole Porter, was born in the home on June 9, 1891. He lived there until he was 14.

Kubesch couldn’t wait to get the project started and fulfill what was her late father’s dream.

The house was in shambles when Kubesch and several volunteers began renovating it. It had been rented out to tenants who hadn’t taken care of it. Garbage filled every corner of the home. Three Dumpsters were filled with human and animal waste, Kubesch said.

There were several other problems with the home. Kubesch had to get donors to pay back taxes. The home had no heat, water or plumbing because the pipes had burst. It was painted a dull, pale gray on the outside.

With the help of dozens of volunteers and $200,000 in grants and donations, the home is now almost finished three years later. A new roof was constructed. The aluminum siding was stripped. Layers of wallpaper were removed. It was painted a pale yellow that is reminiscent of the time period when Porter lived in the home.

Holes in a door from BB gun shots were covered with lyrics from “In the Still of the Night.”

Original doors and mirrors in the home survived and were restored.

Renovations are still taking place. The home will eventually become a museum and bed and breakfast.

Porter began playing the piano when he was 6. At 14, he left Indiana to attend Worcester Academy in Massachusetts.

In the 1930s, there were seven Cole Porter musicals on Broadway. “Kiss Me Kate” and “Anything Goes” are considered to be Porter’s most successful musicals. He died in 1964 and he and his wife, Linda Lee Thomas, were buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Peru.

The exact spot where Porter was born is now the Cole Porter Suite, which is completed. Another area that is finished is the Anything Goes Suite. Both suites are upstairs.

The Anything Goes Suite is decorated in bold colors. The bathroom in the suite is decorated in Porter’s three favorite colors: red, white and black. Cole Porter’s star on the Walk of Fame and old records hang on the walls. In the entranceway, Porter poses on the front cover of TV and Radio magazine. A piano keyboard is painted on the floor along the edge of the carpet in the living room.

The Night and Day Suite is still being renovated downstairs. Each suite includes a kitchen, bedroom, living room, bathroom and sun room. The home has a total of 23 rooms.

The home is divided into two sections. The front section of the home will feature a museum. Currently, a piano greets visitors when they walk into the museum. It has several pieces of music by Porter on top of it and on the wall above there is a photo of the original Broadway musical, “Kiss Me Kate,” donated by Patricia Morrison who played Lilli. She recently visited the home and performed songs from the musical.

The restoration has been a project that has garnered help from volunteers not only from Miami County, but all over Indiana.

Peru resident Bev Starbuck helped decorate the suites, Helen Sauer of Peru sewed curtains for the home, Arletta Reich of Kokomo painted the walls and Patty Sparks of Muncie painted musically-inspired murals. Kubesch said a friend of hers from Ohio, who is a woodworker, even made several trips to the home to help.

Local businesses have donated materials and residents have provided hours and hours of labor. Most of the decorations and furnishings have also been donated.

“Everything just fell into place,” Kubesch said.

Kubesch said the house still needs $30,000 to $40,000 in renovations.

“We need all kinds of help to get it finished,” she said.

For now, people can take tours of the home by making an appointment with the Miami County Chamber of Commerce.

Alycia Babcock, Chamber of Commerce tourism coordinator, said the home is unique for Miami County.

“People come from all over the U.S. to see what we’ve got,” she said. “Cole Porter sort of has a cult following. He had such a diverse lifestyle, which made him an interesting person.”

Kubesch said individuals have come from as far as Paris, Australia and London to see the home. The house was recently featured in the Cole Porter Summer Fest last June.

Kubesch said she was working in the Cole Porter Suite one day in the winter of 2005 when she looked out the window and saw reflections of light that looked like rainbows she and her father referred to as “sundogs.”

“That’s a big thing we shared,” she said.

She said she believed that was a sign of approval from her father that she had done a good job.

“When he showed me those sundogs, I realized, ‘Yeah, I know he’s proud,’” she said. “That was my sign.”

Melissa Soria may be reached at 574-732-5143 or melissa.soria@pharostribune.com



On the net:

www.coleporterbirthplace.com



Call the Miami County Chamber of Commerce to make an appointment to tour the home at 765-472-1923. A $5 donation is requested.



To donate:

Send to Cole Porter Birthplace Restoration, payable to Ole Olsen Memorial Theatre, Inc., 154 S. Broadway, Peru, IN 46970.