The Owens-Rogers Museum was the home of Lela Rogers and birthplace of Ginger Rogers. See more information at www.owensrogersmuseum.com.
This is the official Facebook page for the Ginger Rogers' Birthplace preservation project. We plan to restore this historic 1906 house to its original appearance, improve the landscaping, install a fence, replace the sidewalks with paver bricks, and add off street parking and a small addition for restrooms and tickets/gifts. We plan to have the house open for tours and maybe even a guest house.
If you would like to help please visit our website at www.thegingerhouse.org for more information how you can buy a brick to help.
We are looking for items Ginger Rogers owned or wore, and memorabilia for the museum.
UPDATE: The house is located in Independence MO about 1/2 mile from the Truman Library and one block off of 24 hwy. So far, the city has been amenable to the plan, but we have a long way to go until the project is finished and open to the public. We started working on the house on March 10. The foundation needed serious repair first, then the floors had to be raised up slowly to get them back to their original location. This caused cracking and damage to the plaster walls that will now need to be fixed. The chimney was just rebuilt to its original design and a flue liner installed for the furnace and water heater.
All of the stone foundation and chimney work is being done by HearthMasters, Inc. Next, we have to build a new floor in kitchen because drops over 3". That is going to be a major task. I will keep everyone informed of the progress. We are not allowing anyone on the property during construction for liability reasons.
At this point we are estimating that it will cost about $30,000 for repairs to the house, and about $75,000 to 100,000 for the exterior ground work, parking lot out of pavers, sidewalks out of pavers, landscaping, and a building or addition for restrooms and ticket/gift shop.
Several people are kindly gifting memorabilia to the museum and for that we are very grateful.
Three Trails Cottages, LLC
Reviews, get directions and information Owens-Rogers Museum: Birthplace of Ginger Rogers Independence, MO.
