George Harrison’s pre-Beatlemania hideaway in Illinois goes up for sale
Before Beatlemania captivated America, George Harrison made an unassuming visit to Benton, Illinois, in September 1963, staying with his sister’s family.
The quiet trip, just months before The Beatles’ seismic U.S. debut, offered a rare glimpse into the ordinary life of a musician on the brink of global fame.
During his stay, the Briton embraced small-town American life: he went camping, jammed with locals, enjoyed roller-skate-delivered root beer, bought records, and even purchased a new guitar.
Four months later, Benton residents, along with 73 million others, watched him on The Ed Sullivan Show, marking the start of the British Invasion.
Now, the house where Harrison and his brother Peter lodged in Benton, 100 miles southeast of St. Louis, is up for sale.
This news has prompted concern among Beatles fans, mindful of the property’s precarious past. In 1995, the residence at 113 McCann Street faced demolition but was ultimately saved by activists, including Harrison’s sister, Louise Harrison Caldwell.
Previously known for hosting the state’s last public hanging in 1928, Benton, population 6,700, was built on Southern Illinois’ rich veins of coal. Louise Caldwell moved to town when her husband, a mining engineer, got a job in what was then a thriving industry.
The house they chose is a five-bedroom bungalow built in 1935 with a brick facade across its wide front porch.
In the mid-1990s, a state agency bought the house from a subsequent owner with plans to flatten it for parking. Mega-fan Robert Bartel of Springfield, a Beatles author and documentarian, alerted the media and Fab Four loyalists.
Local investors repurchased it from the state and opened the Hard Day’s Nite Bed and Breakfast, featuring the couch Harrison traded guitar licks on and stacks of other loaned Beatles memorabilia, including a bevy from Bartel.
The bed-and-breakfast closed in 2010. Benton resident Grady Adams has since operated it as regular bed-and-bath apartments but now wants to sell, listing it for $105,000. Brian Calcaterra, Benton’s director of economic development, suggested the city draft an ordinance to protect the house from demolition by a new owner, but Benton Mayor Lee Messersmith said the city council has not discussed the matter.
“Of course, if it doesn’t get demo’d, I would prefer that,” Adams said.
Whether there’s interest — or energy — to return the McCann Street house to its Beatles glory is up for debate.
Jim Kirkpatrick of Creal Springs, author of Before He Was Fab, a recollection of Harrison’s visit which has been optioned for a movie, has had at least one encouraging conversation with someone considering purchase.
