Bill Clinton's Arkansas upbringing and accent were once a core part of his campaign in the 1990s, but the former president's childhood home is not nearly as key to American presidential memory as Monticello or even the Tudor-style Queens, N.Y., home belonging to former President Donald Trump's parents.
Known as the Birnbaum-Shubetz House, the 3,708-square-foot home in Hot Springs, Ark., was where Clinton moved with his mother and stepfather at the age of eight in 1954. He lived there until the family moved to a larger home in Hot Springs in 1961.
The Encyclopedia of Arkansas has described 1011 Park Avenue as the place where Clinton "exchanged his previous career goals in the fields of either music or medicine for the goal of a public service career."
The Birnbaum-Shubetz House was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 but was largely kept shuttered from prying eyes. For decades, the owners maintained a quiet profile as well as a large "no tours" sign in front of the property.
This Is How Much You'll Pay To Live In Bill Clinton's Childhood Home
This changed when, in 2021, local Realtor Chris Rix bought 1011 Park Avenue and decided to restore it for tours as a "service for the community."
"The husband declined in health and passed away, and his wife had a life estate," Rix told Realtor.com of the former owners. "It ended up being stuck in a trust, so I petitioned the court to buy the property. There were vagrants living in the home at the time. I was looking to protect the home from further destruction."
Two years later, the six-bedroom house is once again back on the market. With an asking price of $345,000, it is significantly above the $177,226 that one would pay for an average single-family home in the state but very low compared to what the Clinton family would come to own later in life -- in 1991, Bill and Hillary Clinton purchased their famous Dutch Colonial home in Chappaqua, New York for $1.7 million.
The Birnbaum-Shubetz House sits on just under an acre of land (horses stables are also included) atop the North Hot Springs Park Uptown national park. It was built in 1896 but converted from the original Queen Anne to the Tudor Revival style in 1938.
A Historic Home Can Be A Big Financial Responsibility
Six bedrooms make the property quite spacious for something built at that time but the place needs significant modernizing updates and repairs while working on something on the National Register of Historic Places would come with both limits to what one can do and certain tax credits.
On the other hand, it can also be a business opportunity for someone who can invest in turning it into a guided tourist destination -- former presidential homes usually become more popular either during the presidency or after enough time has passed for it to enter history.
In the meantime, Rix has been doing some of the flooring and paint work himself to get the house ready for sale. He also plans to add two more kitchens before handing it over to whoever decides to buy it.
"The town is really excited for the project," he told Realtor.com. "[...] I just want to be a good custodian, or make sure the home goes to someone who wants to preserve its history."
