The 6,000-square-foot complex in Pittsburgh's Hill District reopened in August 2022, standing as a tangible monument to playwright August Wilson. It was once a crumbling structure, but now it functions as a vibrant community hub. Denzel Washington spearheaded a $5 million fundraising push in September 2018 to save the building, which had been rotting since the early 2000s.
The actor, who directed the 2016 film adaptation of Wilson's Fences, didn't act alone. Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry each pledged $1 million to the cause, joined by Shonda Rhimes, Spike Lee, and Samuel L. Jackson. Before the Hollywood money arrived, Wilson's nephew Paul Ellis had purchased the Bedford Avenue property shortly before the playwright died in 2005. Ellis partnered with architect Rob Pfaffmann to form the Daisy Wilson Artist Community, a nonprofit tasked with keeping the history alive.
The road to reopening was rocky. The house received historic landmark status in 2008, but emergency stabilization dragged on from 2010 to 2016. The pandemic then stalled the original 2020 target. The final structure merges the original 1840s house with an 1880s expansion and a modern addition featuring elevators for accessibility.
Inside, the upstairs apartment remains frozen in time. Restorers used recollections from Wilson's sister to replicate the wallpaper and installed vintage kitchen appliances. They even found shoes hidden inside the walls, likely left for good luck. Wilson wanted this place to be useful, not just a museum. So the center includes four artist studios, two rotating galleries, and a rooftop terrace overlooking the city skyline.
Visitors can now walk through the rooms where Wilson wrote his way into the canon. An outdoor theatre sits in a landscaped garden, ready for productions of his American Century Cycle. The project ensures the Hill District's cultural backbone remains intact for future generations of artists.