Michael Joseph Jackson, the King of Pop, was born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, a steel town just 25 miles southeast of Chicago. He was the eighth of ten children born into the Jackson family, a working-class African-American household that lived in a small two-bedroom house at 2300 Jackson Street—a name that coincidentally matched the family’s surname.
The modest home, built in 1949, offered just 672 square feet of living space and had no garage. It was situated on a 100 by 50-foot lot and cost only $8,500 when purchased by Joe and Katherine Jackson in 1950. Despite its size, this tiny house once accommodated all eleven members of the Jackson family—a feat that seems almost unimaginable today.
Biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli recounts that Michael once said, “You could take five steps from the front door and you’d be out the back. It was really no bigger than a garage.” There was one bathroom and two bedrooms: Joe and Katherine shared one, while the Jackson boys shared a triple bunk bed in the other. The girls slept on a pull-out couch in the living room, and when the youngest, Randy, was born, he had to sleep on a second couch.
Growing up in Gary was not easy. The neighborhood was a tough, working-class African-American community. Jermaine Jackson recalls a moment from his childhood when he and Michael, then only four years old, looked out the window at festively decorated homes during Christmas. Their own house had no decorations—no lights, no tree—because the family were Jehovah’s Witnesses. “We felt it was the only one in Gary, Indiana,” Jermaine wrote in his memoir.
In 1969, Motown Records relocated Joe and the Jackson 5—including a young Michael—to Los Angeles. By December of that year, the rest of the family joined them in California. They moved into a Mediterranean-style house in West Hollywood, with a living room reportedly twice the size of their entire former home in Gary.
Gary itself, once dubbed “The City of the Century,” thrived during the early 20th century thanks to the steel industry. Joe Jackson worked in the steel mills before the Jackson 5 found fame. However, as the steel industry declined in the 1960s, so did the city. By 2015, nearly 20% of the properties in Gary were vacant, and its population had dropped from 178,000 at its peak to around 78,000.
Michael returned to his hometown on June 11, 2003. During the visit, he was honored at City Hall and received the key to the city. He said it was his first return since the age of nine. He also stopped by the family’s old home, where he met with relatives and was welcomed by more than 1,000 fans. “We rehearsed, rehearsed, and rehearsed all the time,” he said while reminiscing about the early days with his brothers.
Today, the house at 2300 Jackson Street remains largely unchanged and has become a popular tourist destination, especially after Michael’s sudden death in 2009. Shortly afterward, a marble plaque honoring him was placed in the yard but mysteriously removed in 2013.
Property records reveal the house may still be tied to the Jackson family. The listed owner is the Anthony Otis Whitehead Trust, whose address matches that of Brian Oxman, a former Jackson family lawyer. Meanwhile, local leaders, including Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson, continue working on the “Jackson Street of Dreams” initiative, which aims to turn the home next door into a museum gift shop and revitalize the surrounding neighborhood.
Michael Jackson’s story is one of remarkable transformation—from a tiny, crowded home in Gary to international superstardom. His humble beginnings remain a point of fascination and inspiration for fans around the world.
