"Marian: The Philadelphia Story" on view at Marian Anderson Museum & Historical Society through Nov.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The Marian Anderson Museum recently reopened its doors after more than four years of rebuilding and renovations and there's a new exhibition to welcome visitors back.

"Marian: The Philadelphia Story" explores the late singer's life.

Jillian Pirtle, who serves as the CEO of the Marian Anderson Museum & Historical Society, says the exhibition tells Anderson's tragedies and triumphs "through the lenses of Philadelphia's eyes."

It's on view at the famous contralto's house, just restored after water damage.

"The home itself was built in 1857," says Pirtle.

The Philadelphia-born Anderson purchased the house in 1924. Pirtle says she was just coming off her first tour experience when she bought it.

"It was the first true home that she and her mother and her two siblings had," she says.

There are photos and artifacts from her early years, like her original birth certificate record and baby's first shoes.

"And each floor that you see you will get this wonderful bit of history," she says.

A room upstairs is dedicated to her mother, as well as the late Blanche Burton-Lyles who founded the museum in 1995. Pirtle says Burton-Lyles was "Marian Anderson's protégé" and became a "world-famous classical concert pianist."

You can see some of the gowns Anderson wore for performances.

"She called them 'her uniform,'" says Pirtle. "Marian Anderson was a phenomenon. She was a once-in-a-century voice."

Pirtle says though Anderson was billed as a contralto, she "could go from baritone to first soprano" with her vocal range.

"She wanted to use her voice to express herself," she says. "Breaking barriers, using her voice for change."

Pirtle says she performed at the Academy of Music "when African Americans weren't allowed through the front door."

But she's most known for her outdoor concert at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939.

"If she could do anything that would help push the conversation forward of equality, she would lift and lend her voice to do so," she says. "It's a story that you can't miss."

"Marian: The Philadelphia Story" is on view through November at the Marian Anderson Museum & Historical Society.

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