The Pensacola home thought to be where the iconoclast
rocker and poet was conceived in 1943 is still on the auction block despite a
flurry of interest at an estate sale held Saturday.
By the end of the day, none of the eight bids for the
house even came close to the price that Jim Morrison's second cousin, Bruce
Morrison III, set for the house that has been in his family since 1932.
He wouldn't disclose his bottom line for selling. But,
on Monday, he said of the bids: "I got none worth a damn."
He hoped the rocker connection would have sent bids
breaking through his minimum amount.
After all, fans flock to his cousin's grave site in
Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, making it one of the city's most-visited
tourist attractions. In July 1971, Jim Morrison died in Paris at the age of 27
of an alleged heroin overdose.
The house's close proximity to downtown Pensacola, just
a block off Palafox Street, would be perfect for a restaurant, a bed and
breakfast or a Morrison Hotel with a rock 'n' roll theme, Bruce Morrison III
said.
With its history as a 1920s speakeasy, a bar also would
be fitting, he said.
Despite the lack of viable bids, Morrison said the
house was swarming Saturday after word spread about the auction of the home's
contents, including a number of antiques.
Many people crowded into the basement where Jim's
parents, Rear Adm. George Stephen and Clara Virginia Morrison, lived in an
apartment when George was in Naval flight school in Pensacola in 1943.
According to family stories, that's where Jim
Morrison's life began.
Donna Moore of Ellis & Moore Pensacola Estate Sale
liquidators was overwhelmed by the number of people who showed up on Saturday
looking for mementos.
"There were a lot of Jim Morrison fans," she said. "I
was walking from upstairs to downstairs constantly, and so many people were
taking photos. We heard some people say they just wanted to see the house Jim
Morrison was conceived in."
Two people in their late 60s, about the age Jim
Morrison would be now, approached Moore telling stories of playing with Jim when
he visited as a child.
"One lady came in and said; 'Where is Jim Morrison's
stuff? I need to buy that stuff,' " Moore said.
None of Jim Morrison's personal belongings were in the
house.
But if Bruce Morrison sells the house, he plans to
throw in a video, showing Jim's mother, Clara, holding Bruce as a baby while
walking around the backyard of the house. She was pregnant with Jim at the
time.