Original Gibson Plant turned into a Hard Rock Hotel

[HemiBeers]

Local news today that the original Kalamazoo Gibson plant is being bastardized into another Hard Rock tourist trap.

 

https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2021/03/hard-rock-brand-hotel-coming-to-kalamazoos-historical-gibson-guitar-manufacturing-site.html

 

This plant currently houses Heritage Guitar, but that's likely going away. What's really amusing is that this plant is in the worst part of town and not on any major street. Instead of letting the old building die a graceful death, let's whore out it's history for all it's worth. This is the birthplace of Alex's classic white 355 he got in the 70s.

[RushFanForever]

I remember a few years ago reading here about the Hard Rock Cafe in Toronto that closed.

 

I guess some close and there's new ones that open.

[zepphead]

I remember a few years ago reading here about the Hard Rock Cafe in Toronto that closed.

 

I guess some close and there's new ones that open.

It's all about the bucks with HR.

 

A lot of years back they opened one in Belfast.

a) It was still during the troubles and not everyone wanted to be in Belfast (certainly not tourists.)

b) It wasn't in a place that had particularly good footfall.

It didn't last long.

Ironically, now that things have settled here, Belfast is opening up big time for tourists and during normal times it has become a popular stop off for cruise ships. Hard Rock would coin it!!

Edited March 2, 2021 by zepphead

[JohnRogers]

Instead of letting the old building die a graceful death

Yeah, investment and repurposing...what a stupid idea. :eyeroll:

[Maverick]

As far as I know, Heritage Guitars is not folding up and going away. I'm not sure of the exact history, but perhaps this one building was the original Gibson factory, but Heritage runs their operations out of the larger second facility that was built to handle the increase in demand that Gibson experienced sometime last century.

 

At some point, Gibson moved manufacturing to Tennessee, Memphis and Nashville. A number of their luthiers didn't want to move, and they founded Heritage guitars, which have been going strong ever since. Not at the level of production of Gibson or Fender, but they make really good instruments.

[Maverick]

So I looked into the history, and I'm not seeing a second Kalamazoo factory. This is interesting. Let me see if I can find out anything about Heritage.

[HemiBeers]

So I looked into the history, and I'm not seeing a second Kalamazoo factory. This is interesting. Let me see if I can find out anything about Heritage.

 

The founders of Heritage sold to a real estate development company called Plaza Corp a couple of years ago. The founders originally worked for Gibson and were at the point of retiring. Plaza Corp did some renovations in the plant and continued to manufacture Heritage. But I find it hard to believe that they plan to keep a manufacturing plant and a hotel within the same site.

 

Plaza Corp has bought up all the real estate in Kalamazoo and turns them into brew pubs and overpriced condos. The local joke is they want to rename the town Plazamazoo. Plaza has no interest in keeping Heritage going as an entity...they just wanted another site for a brewpub.

 

I sit in my new office and see the latest Plaza bastard child building that just opened as a hotel. f***ers took our parking lot. Occupancy looks realllllly light since they opened.

Edited March 2, 2021 by HemiBeers

[pjbear05]

So I looked into the history, and I'm not seeing a second Kalamazoo factory. This is interesting. Let me see if I can find out anything about Heritage.

Plaza Corp has bought up all the real estate in Kalamazoo and turns them into brew pubs and overpriced condos. The local joke is they want to rename the town Plazamazoo. Plaza has no interest in keeping Heritage going as an entity...they just wanted another site for a brewpub.

Brewpubs, bwahaha. I'll stick with the Eccentric, fcuk u very much.