King Records building slated for demo

[DeeInKY]

Controversy in the Cincinnati suburb of Evanston between the current owners who want to tear down the building and those who want to see it preserved to save the legacy...http://www.wlwt.com/news/supporters...ing-records-building-from-demolition/34385072

 

[DeeInKY]

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2017/02/25/fight-preserve-king-records-legacy/97696596/

Good news for now. The demolition has been delayed until August. The above article is interesting reading if you have a little time.

 

[Rudy]

That sort of hits home for me.

I was just looking at some local recording studios last week, and of all of them, only Motown's Hitsville USA seems to have survived, and as a museum. When Motown abandoned their block of houses on W. Grand Blvd., they briefly moved to a high-rise on Woodward Ave. (the Donovan building). This is Hitsville USA (the two joined houses on the right); the vacant lot plus the houses to the left were also part of the Motown label, housing various offices.



The Donovan Building was unoccupied since 1974 and demolished in 2006 to serve as a gravel parking lot for the Super Bowl.

United Sound Systems was stated for demolition; it has been saved, and the building freshened up with some cleaning and new windows (and the name still attached to the building). It reopened early in 2015 and is both a museum and a working studio. Many big names recorded there throughout the decades.

The only drawback is that United is literally overlooking Interstate 94, and the long-range plan to widen that ancient stretch of freeway goes right through United's property. (The parking garage at right is on the other side of the freeway.)

 

[DeeInKY]

I'm hoping the building can be saved. I think a museum would draw visitors. Motown and Sun are both interesting facilities that seem to be popular with visitors. Maybe folks aren't as cognizant of the history of King and its associated labels, but it's a good story.

 

[Rudy]

I find all of those studio and record label histories fascinating. I had a cousin in the biz, so that sparked my interest over the years.