Visiting Michael Jacksons Childhood Home

Who still takes the back roads and finds those unexpected gems off the highway?

My dad’s always been that guy. He loves watching how things have changed over the years. Yesterday, on our way to Midway Airport to pick up my mom, traffic rerouted us off the main road… and we found ourselves here.

Michael Jackson’s childhood home at 2300 Jackson St. in Gary, Indiana, from 1950 to 1969.

Not exactly the kind of stop my dad enjoys. The area’s pretty run-down and described as “isolated and risky.”

My dad may have said multiple times: “If I’d known we were coming this way, I’d have brought my .380.”

Meanwhile, I’m sitting there in my “I Survived the 80s, This is Nothing” shirt, thinking… how badass is this?

I didn’t linger like paparazzi for selfies, but I had to jump out and see it. Hard to believe 11 members of the Jackson family once lived in that small 672-square-foot bungalow with only two bedrooms.

In the chapter “The Safety Dance” in my book, I share my story of getting lost after seeing MJ in concert in 1984. My theory was that he was out driving around scoping out his old stomping grounds & hometown. Finally getting to see where he grew up felt like a full-circle moment after that epic run-in with him out in the streets that night after his concert.

That’s the thing about taking the back roads. Sometimes they take you somewhere you didn’t expect, but it was actually meant to be. 😉