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Joe Jackson endorses family museum proposal
July 23, 2008
From: http://www.post-trib.com/news/1069545,gjackson.article
By Jon Seidel Post-Tribune staff writer
GARY -- Joe Jackson, father of Michael and Janet Jackson, came home for the first time in several years Tuesday and he gave his blessing to the latest plan to build a museum honoring him and his famous family.
It's an idea that Mayor Rudy Clay concedes is in its earliest stages and one that has yet to be approved by any other members of the Jackson family.
"My goal is to have them all approve it," Joel Rodriguez, a special assistant to the mayor, said.
Jackson is the patriarch of the legendary Jackson 5 band, which auditioned for Motown Records 40 years ago today. The family grew up in a small home at 2300 Jackson St. in Gary.
Jackson's visit began at City Hall, where he participated in a roundtable discussion with Clay and announced his support for a Jackson Family museum.
"It's a great pleasure for me to be here and see all of this going on," Jackson said.
David Loeb of Illinois-based Land Partners LLC and Chuck Hamburg of Chicago-based Creative Hospitality Associates are among the developers planning the museum. Hamburg is also a professor at Roosevelt University in Chicago.
Rodriguez said their museum would be built on a five-acre parcel at 2600 Grant St., on land owned by the city near Interstate 80/94 and the former County Market grocery store.
Clay said he wouldn't give the land to the developers for free, but Rodriguez said it might be worthwhile for the city to consider a donation. "This is something that the city of Gary definitely needs," Rodriguez said.
The idea of a Jackson Family museum has been tossed around in Gary before. In the 1990s, a group led by then-Mayor Thomas Barnes said every member of the Jackson Family but Michael agreed in principle to co-sponsor an entertainment center and museum.
That project, which would have been located at Interstates 65 and 94, died after former Mayor Scott King took office.
Standing outside Dusties Southern Style Buffet on Tuesday, Jackson said the city doesn't need the approval of any of his children to build the museum.
"I'm Joe Jackson," he said. "I don't need them to approve anything."
Loeb said Joe Jackson's support will be crucial to the new museum plan, but he said several decisions need to be made in the next few months. No date, he said, has been set for groundbreaking or completion.
"We've got a lot to do in a short period of time," Loeb said.
Rodriguez also said the city hasn't verified that Loeb and Hamburg have the necessary funding to build such a museum.
"They're private investors," Loeb said of the people financing the project. "That's all I'm going to tell you."
Sketches of the proposed building include a theater and an outdoor LED screen facing I-80/94. There is also talk of moving the Jacksons' former home from 2300 Jackson St. to the site of the museum.
Joe Jackson, who is promoting his new reality show, stood outside that home Tuesday. He helped the mayor unveil an honorary street sign naming 23rd Avenue "2300 Jackson Street" and Jackson Street "Jackson Family Boulevard."
Cameras were rolling during the event, and a producer for Jackson's show "Meet Joe Jackson" said video from his visit to Gary might be included in an episode.
Clay declared Tuesday "Joe Jackson Day," and he gave Jackson a key to the city.
"This key will open the door to the Jackson Museum," Clay said.
Contact Jon Seidel at 881-3148 or jseidel@post-trib.com. Comment on this story at www.post-trib.com.
July 23, 2008
From: http://www.post-trib.com/news/1069545,gjackson.article
By Jon Seidel Post-Tribune staff writer
GARY -- Joe Jackson, father of Michael and Janet Jackson, came home for the first time in several years Tuesday and he gave his blessing to the latest plan to build a museum honoring him and his famous family.
It's an idea that Mayor Rudy Clay concedes is in its earliest stages and one that has yet to be approved by any other members of the Jackson family.
"My goal is to have them all approve it," Joel Rodriguez, a special assistant to the mayor, said.
Jackson is the patriarch of the legendary Jackson 5 band, which auditioned for Motown Records 40 years ago today. The family grew up in a small home at 2300 Jackson St. in Gary.
Jackson's visit began at City Hall, where he participated in a roundtable discussion with Clay and announced his support for a Jackson Family museum.
"It's a great pleasure for me to be here and see all of this going on," Jackson said.
David Loeb of Illinois-based Land Partners LLC and Chuck Hamburg of Chicago-based Creative Hospitality Associates are among the developers planning the museum. Hamburg is also a professor at Roosevelt University in Chicago.
Rodriguez said their museum would be built on a five-acre parcel at 2600 Grant St., on land owned by the city near Interstate 80/94 and the former County Market grocery store.
Clay said he wouldn't give the land to the developers for free, but Rodriguez said it might be worthwhile for the city to consider a donation. "This is something that the city of Gary definitely needs," Rodriguez said.
The idea of a Jackson Family museum has been tossed around in Gary before. In the 1990s, a group led by then-Mayor Thomas Barnes said every member of the Jackson Family but Michael agreed in principle to co-sponsor an entertainment center and museum.
That project, which would have been located at Interstates 65 and 94, died after former Mayor Scott King took office.
Standing outside Dusties Southern Style Buffet on Tuesday, Jackson said the city doesn't need the approval of any of his children to build the museum.
"I'm Joe Jackson," he said. "I don't need them to approve anything."
Loeb said Joe Jackson's support will be crucial to the new museum plan, but he said several decisions need to be made in the next few months. No date, he said, has been set for groundbreaking or completion.
"We've got a lot to do in a short period of time," Loeb said.
Rodriguez also said the city hasn't verified that Loeb and Hamburg have the necessary funding to build such a museum.
"They're private investors," Loeb said of the people financing the project. "That's all I'm going to tell you."
Sketches of the proposed building include a theater and an outdoor LED screen facing I-80/94. There is also talk of moving the Jacksons' former home from 2300 Jackson St. to the site of the museum.
Joe Jackson, who is promoting his new reality show, stood outside that home Tuesday. He helped the mayor unveil an honorary street sign naming 23rd Avenue "2300 Jackson Street" and Jackson Street "Jackson Family Boulevard."
Cameras were rolling during the event, and a producer for Jackson's show "Meet Joe Jackson" said video from his visit to Gary might be included in an episode.
Clay declared Tuesday "Joe Jackson Day," and he gave Jackson a key to the city.
"This key will open the door to the Jackson Museum," Clay said.
Contact Jon Seidel at 881-3148 or jseidel@post-trib.com. Comment on this story at www.post-trib.com.
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