KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM/FM) — It looks like a run down old factory, but 225 Parsons Street in Kalamazoo holds a place in rock and roll history, a legacy that could make it major attraction.
The Gibson Guitar plant is 100 years old this week. It was opened to the public this weekend.
Andy Wenzel with Plazacorp said they want to refurbish it, put in a restaurant, a recording studio, a concert venue and a museum. They want to make it a destination.
Chuck Berry duck-walked with a Gibson and B.B. King’s “Lucille” was a Gibson. A few years later Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Steve Winwood, John Mellenkamp, Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent, Peter Frampton and others stopped by the plant because they all wanted the guitar their heroes played and occasionally needed them repaired.
Plazacorp is still putting together financing for the project.
The factory is currently the home of Heritage Guitar.
