With the Hard Rock Casino opened in Gary, Indiana containing a section of casino dedicated to the Jackson Family with items from the members of the family, did you know that back in the 90’s, there were plans to open a huge Jackson’s museum?
But it could have been something much bigger and grandiose!
In 1995, The Jackson family contacted the Gary city officials about a project that would have re-imagined the city with a Graceland-like project!
“The Jackson family called us to say they’d like to do this huge endeavor in the city of Gary, for the city of Gary,” recalled Hughes, a city councilman at the time.
“I just got a call from the Jacksons,” former Gary Mayor Thomas Barnes told Hughes on that unforgettable day. “They want to do something amazing for our community.”
In December 1995, a contingent of city officials went to the Jackson family home in Los Angeles to discuss and explore the project. It is said to be a 232-acre development at the intersection of Interstate 94 and Interstate 65, tabbed to cost between $2 billion and $5 billion, and would feature a sprawling Jacksons-branded theme park, a performance arts center, and Jackson 5 family museum, among other amenities in different phases. The project would have been privately funded by corporate investors, not by city taxpayers or the Jackson family and a non-profit foundation, named the 6594 Foundation, was also to be created to give back a percentage of revenue to the local community.
“We had signatures of every Jackson family member except for Michael. This was all done with his blessing,” and official recall.
Michael Jackson was on tour at the time of the meetings but family members reassured that he gave his blessing to the project. This might explain why all the members of the Jackson family kept all the items they had including Michael’s and Janet’s which she recently sold all in Auction via Julien’s last week!
The first wing of the Jackson Five museum would feature the family’s entire home that’s still located at 2300 Jackson St. “We had the rights to move it and relocate it, All of the legal rights were taken care of.”
But in 1996, the new mayor of Gary, Mayor Scott King then rejected the proposal. Local news papers headlined “New Mayor tells Jackson Family to beat it”
In 1996, Jermaine and Janet Jackson wrote their own editorial in support of the project. In another story, the Jackson family’s attorney stated the political climate in Gary prevented the project from becoming a reality. “Political feuding and personal egos” were blamed for its demise.
The then City official Chuck Hughes shared is feelings: “The perception about the Jackson family was that they didn’t care about the city of Gary. That’s just plain wrong. They cared. They tried. They got a bum rap, Am I pleased with the new Hard Rock casino that’s here? Yeah, of course. But can I help thinking about what could have been here? No, I can’t.”
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune
