After our day trip to Indiana Dunes State Park, the Marathon Pundit family decided to visit the former Michael Jackson home at 2300 Jackson Street in Gary.The King of Pop had died ten days earlier, but as you can see in the picture, the home is still a shrine.
It was 9:30pm when he parked--a block away from the home--Jackson Street is cordoned off from 23rd Street to 24th Street--a police car with flashing siren lights was parked on the corner of 23rd and Jackson.
We were there for about twenty minutes, for the most part there were always about a dozen people on the lawn--the grass is dead, no doubt crushed to death by Jackson mourners.
The mourners we saw were predominately African American, like Gary itself, but it looked like one of every four of them were white.
The scene was quite respectful. Most just walked up to the police tape guarding the home, stared, and took pictures.
Only one person showed emotion--a fifty-ish man who repeatedly uttered, "We miss you Michael...We miss you."
Across Jackson Street was a souvenir stand selling T-shirts and CDs.
On the political front, Gary Mayor Rudy Clay has been promoting 2300 Jackson as a Graceland type tourist destination.
If they'll come for the King of Rock and Roll, they'll do the same for the King of Pop, he reasons.
Uh, no.
Mark Kiesling of the Times of Northwest Indiana explains:
Graceland has always been an attraction. The house at 2300 Jackson St. in Gary has been an eyesore for years. I can imagine people shelling out good money to get the first bus away from it.
Memphis has experienced a renaissance of its Beale Street area, once rundown but now a thriving night-life district with blues clubs, bars and restaurants.
Looking for Gary's entertainment district? Let me know how that turns out for you.
Gary for the most part is blighted, but the city has two casinos and a couple of minor league sports teams, but those pursuits take place on the northern end of Gary, far away from 2300 Jackson.
I've been to Memphis, but not Graceland, but from what I've heard, the mansion is located in an affluent area, and it's a big home--well, it is a mansion.
The Jackson home is tiny, not much bigger than Elvis' birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi--which I have visited.
If Gary is going to proceed with their Jackson temple, Tupelo is the model to use. But if a visitors center, gift shop, and a parking lot are going to be built, that will mean tearing down homes.
Or the house could be moved to the once bustling main drag of Gary, Broadway. But the home won't be at 2300 Jackson Street anymore.
UPDATE July 7: According to TrogloPundit, there is a Michael Jackson sighting group. Is he really dead? I didn't see him in Gary two nights ago, but then again, once his family left Northwest Indiana, he didn't spend much time in the steel hub.
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Does anyone live at that address,
ReplyDeleteor is the house vacant?
Not anymore. I'm not sure who owns it, but a Jackson cousin is the caretaker.
ReplyDeleteWhich end of Gary is 2300 Jackson Street located? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteSouthern end of town. Not too far from Gary's main street, Broadway.
ReplyDeleteThe family never even lived at 2300,it was for the song only
ReplyDelete