By KEN de la BASTIDE
PERU — The last use of the two-story wooden frame house in downtown Peru was a meth lab, but that all changed with Friday’s dedication of the birthplace of legendary composer Cole Porter.
Several hundred people gathered outside the restored house where Porter was born on June 9, 1891. It is where Porter learned to play the piano and violin and wrote his first song, to his mother, Kate.
The efforts of the volunteers to restore the house was recognized by Parade Magazine as one of 10 locations honored as a place where history happened.
Lee Kravitz, editor-in-chief for Parade, said a few years ago he was walking along 110th Street in Manhattan and noticed a plaque on a building that said George Gershwin composed “Rhapsody in Blue” in the building.
“Something great happened here, I told my children,” Kravitz said. “I realized there were places all over America that were unknown or neglected that had contributed to our culture.”
Parade Magazine asked people across the United States to nominate sites. Kravitz said 2,500 locations were nominated and Porter’s birthplace was among the top 10.
“Through a historic effort, this has come to be the place it is today,” Kravitz said in presenting a plaque to Joey Kubesch, a cousin of Porter’s.
“From meth lab to magic,” Peru Mayor Jim Walker said. “The last use of the house was a meth lab, it took the efforts of many people to restore Cole Porter’s birthplace.”
Kubesch said her father attempted to acquire the birthplace for 20 years and convert it into a museum.
“It is an honor to have this tribute to Cole and the city,” she said.
The birthplace contains three six-room suites that can be rented and has a museum in the front of the house. The suites are decorated with pictures from Porter’s career and recordings of his songs.
The museum was filled with the songs of Porter’s music when New York entertainer Mark Nadler sat at the piano to play a few of Porter’s better known works.
Among those attending the dedication was Patricia Morrison who played the role of Kate in the Broadway musical written by Porter “Kiss Me Kate.”
Peru resident Mary Shaffer said she grew up down the street from the Porter house, but didn’t know its significance at the time.
“I learned it after we moved to Main Street and when I was walking one day noticed the plague in the yard,” Shaffer said. “It was awful, it was not a good thing.”
Shaffer said she is really happy the house has been restored and said her favorite Porter song was “Night and Day.”
Chicago resident Richard Milczarek made five trips to Peru to help with the restoration effort.
“I did anything they needed me to do,” he said. “I did mostly exterior work. There were 70 years of paint on the house and I know every color.
“This was a labor of love,” Milczarek said of the restoration.
Peru resident Jerry Butler said he used to deliver newspapers to the house as a youngster.
“I knew the Porter family for quite a while,” Butler said. “Until you’ve heard his music, you don’t realize how great a composer he was.”
