{"nrhp_refnum":"92001530","name":"Rainey, Gertrude Ma Pridgett, House","other_names":["Ma Rainey House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"805 5th Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Columbus","county":"Muscogee County","state":"GA","lat":32.46122539400005,"lon":-84.98656463899994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-11-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Black","Social History","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story frame Craftsman-style house at 805 5th Avenue in Columbus, Muscogee County, Georgia, bought in 1920 for the mother of blues singer Gertrude \"Ma\" Rainey and enlarged around 1920 with a second floor.","why_significant":"It is the only surviving home associated with Ma Rainey, the Columbus-born \"Mother of the Blues,\" who lived here from 1935 until her death in 1939. The nomination argues for national significance under Criterion B because of her role as a pioneering blues performer, recording artist, songwriter and her own booking agent. It also cites her importance in black history and women's history.","narrative":"This two-story frame house at 805 5th Avenue in Columbus, Georgia, is the only known surviving home tied to Gertrude \"Ma\" Rainey, the Columbus-born singer called the \"Mother of the Blues.\" She bought the property for her mother in 1920, and the house was doubled in size around that time by adding a second floor. It has a side-hall plan, painted weatherboard siding, exposed rafter eaves and a two-story front porch with brick lower columns. Rainey toured nationally and recorded 92 songs for Paramount between 1923 and 1928, writing about 38 of them. She also ran her own booking agency, a rarity in the 1920s. After her mother's death in 1935 and the decline of her career, she returned to this house and lived here until she died in 1939. Her brother stayed until 1975. The City of Columbus purchased the house in 1991 and began restoring it as a museum.","period_of_significance":"1920-1939","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Late 19th-Early 20th Century American Movements: Bungalow/Craftsman","criteria":["B"],"status_note":"The exterior has been stabilized and rehabilitated, and interior rehabilitation is ongoing to turn the house into a museum; the City of Columbus bought it in 1991.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:43.507667-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/92001530.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92001530/440e9dc17f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92001530/440e9dc17f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Katyrw","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Columbus_ma_rainey_house.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Katyrw</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Columbus_ma_rainey_house.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93209126","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q134440136"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/muscogee-county/rainey-gertrude-ma-pridgett-house-92001530/"}