A Detroit house that was the home of Rosa Parks in the late 1950s was recently demolished, but pieces, including the facade, were salvaged and shipped to an artist in Germany.
A Detroit house that was the home of Rosa Parks in the late 1950s was recently demolished, but pieces, including the facade, were salvaged and shipped to an artist in Germany.
Ryan Mendoza, who originally hails from Pennsylvania and lives in Berlin, says he isn’t the ideal caretaker of the legacy, but he was the best, if not only, option to save the home from becoming a total loss.
Rhea McCauley, Parks’ niece and owner of the badly deteriorated house, had tried for years to raise money for its restoration, but came up short.
Finally, faced with a demolition notice from the city, she reached out to Mendoza, who is known for his other works involving house-based installations, notes the Detroit Free Press.
Mendoza isn’t yet sure what he’s going to do with the Parks’ home, but recently told The Guardian, “The Tate Modern might be a good place to discuss the state of American affairs with this house as its centrepiece, but I feel eventually the Rosa Parks’ house should be rebuilt on the lawn in front of the White House.”
