Muhammad Ali’s boyhood home attraction closes in Kentucky

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The owners who bought and restored Muhammad Ali’s boyhood home in the boxer’s hometown of Louisville are closing the tourist attraction.

The modest shotgun home where Ali was known as Cassius Clay opened as a museum-style attraction just days before the boxer’s death in June 2016.

Co-owner George Bochetto told The Courier-Journal on Friday that the owners decided to close the museum and lay off a handful of employees this week.

The owners released a statement in May that the home was in financial trouble and they had hoped for assistance from the city of Louisville. Bochetto, a Philadelphia lawyer and boxing enthusiast, and Las Vegas real estate investor Jared Weiss spent more than $300,000 on purchases and renovations.

Bochetto told the newspaper he was considering offers to move the house out of Louisville to a different city.