July 22, 2009
In Cleveland, Ohio, the home that famous poet Langston Hughes grew up in is for sale. The two and a half story home was recently foreclosed upon and is now the property of Wells Fargo bank. The wood-frame house sits on the city’s east side and was sold in February at a sheriff’s auction for $16,667.
Wells Fargo bank plans to put the historically significant building back onto the housing market. Though Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri and lived in Lincoln, Illinois during his early childhood, he spent most of his teenage years in the Cleveland house. Around 1917, the young Hughes saw his first work published in Cleveland Central High School’s school magazine.
The poems of Hughes portray black life in early America. He died in 1967 in Harlem, New York. His final residence has landmark status and is visited by tourists every year. Many wonder if this will be the fate of his childhood home, as well.
