George Harrison Once Stayed at This Illinois Home—Now It Can Be Yours
George Harrison Once Stayed at This Illinois Home—Now It Can Be Yours
AC ShickSat, April 18, 2026 at 2:48 AM UTC
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Before the Beatles were selling out stadiums, guitarist George Harrison visited his sister in Benton, Illinois, in September 1963. He stayed with her in her 5-bedroom bungalow. It’s now listed for sale for $105,000.
Beatles fans are afraid this special home at 113 McCann Street will be torn down by new owners.
Grady Adams, the property’s current owner, was renting it out as apartments, but he has decided to sell. “Of course, if it doesn’t get demo’d, I would prefer that,” Adams told The (AP).
But this isn’t the first time the house has been in jeopardy.
In 1995, a state agency purchased the house with plans to use the land for parking.
Beatles fan, author and documentarian, Robert Bartel, brought attention to the demolition. With the help of other enthusiasts, including Harrison’s sister, Louise Harrison Caldwell, they saved the home.
Local investors acquired the land and opened the well-named Hard Day’s Nite Bed and Breakfast. It featured Beatles collectibles, including the couch that Harrison used when he played his guitar. The bed-and-breakfast eventually closed in 2010.
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For now, the future of the home is uncertain.
According to the AP, Brian Calcaterra, Benton’s director of economic development, proposed that the city draft an ordinance to prevent new owners from demolishing the home. Mayor Lee Messersmith said the city council has not reviewed the subject.
While the property has been saved once, Benton business owner and historian, Robert Rea, isn’t sure the results will be the same this time around.
“When we did this (in 1995), the world went crazy because they thought, ‘George is going to come, he’s going to save the house,’” Rea told the AP. “And I’m just being honest with you, maybe I’m missing it or something, but that momentum is not here.”
While in Benton back in 1963, George Harrison bought the same guitar as bandmate John Lennon, a Rickenbacker 425. He used it to record “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” This guitar sold at auction for $675,000 in 2014.
Just a few months after Harrison’s trip to Southern Illinois, he performed with the rest of the Fab Four on “The Ed Sullivan Show” to a whopping 73 million viewers. This was the Beatles’ U.S. debut and the beginning of Beatlemania.
Harrison, who died in 2001, never did return to Benton, but his time there was one of his last moments of anonymity.
This story was originally published by Parade on Apr 18, 2026, where it first appeared in the Celebs section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
