I searched the boards and was surprised to see the news might not have made it here, yet. The iconic Longaberger headquarters in Newark, Ohio is on the market!
Employees have all moved to a different company facility and the basket sets empty, just waiting for your exciting company to relocate to a building that enjoys worldwide recognition! OK, I’m not the chamber of commerce, back taxes are owed to the city, and the structure itself is beginning to look a little shabby.
But what an opportunity for the right business! Really though, I’d hate to see this place just disappear from southeastern Ohio. Its prospects are grim, unless, of course, some company needs a multi-story. The building was a dream of a true dreamer, a man who was proud of the fact he never went to college, yet gave millions to my alma mater.
Interested parties can search CBS.com or You Tube for a CBS News Sunday Morning profile on the property and its (short?) history.
Well, what would you expect from a place called “Newark”?
Actually, if they removed the handles, the rest of the building isn’t that far out of line for modern architecture. A non-basket related company could use it readily enough.
I own a company that manufactures red & white checked tablecloths and am looking for a new office location for our international headquarters. I don’t suppose anyone has heard of any buildings for sale or lease?
Kind of sad, actually. Longaberger used to own the nicest golf course in Ohio, which I was lucky enough to play once last year. It’s just down the road from that basket. They gave up ownership of that. And now they’re moving out of the basket building. I wonder about the stability of the company.
I was thinking the same thing. Lose the handles and you have an interesting piece of architecture. If a new owner wanted to move it even farther from “basket” to “architecture” they could change a few of the superficial details (like the faux rivets on the upper edge) and maybe give it a new paint job.
On the other hand, part of me hopes it will be acquired by whoever makes Peeps and they can turn it into an Easter basket by adding more stuff to the roof. It’s one of the few ways to make it worse.
I went to The Ohio State University in the mid 90’s and met a few friends that lived way out in the boonies outside newark and and had to drive past those abominable eyesores (both newark, and the basket) every time i went to visit them. A smouldering crater would be a vast improvement.
