Hotels

Gary, IN is cooking up plans to build a Michael Jackson hotel, a museum and a performing arts center in the Jackson family’s hometown, as part of ‘The Jackson Family Project’ aimed at honoring the King of Pop’s legacy. 

Michael Jackson at White House & Gary Mayor Rudy Clay in front of Jackson home

Michael Jackson was born on Aug 20, 1958 in Gary, and the family lived at their home on 2300 Jackson St until 1971, at which time they moved to Los Angeles to further the musical career of the Jackson 5 group.

Joe Jackson – Michael Jackson’s father, accompanied by Rudy Clay – Mayor of the town of Gary, IN – was in Las Vegas late last month, meeting with investors and partners for the hotel and museum project, according to a statement by Brendan Theater Corp. 

The town of Gary is in a race with Las Vegas and Santa Barbara in a bid to be labeled as Michael Jackson’s Graceland (or Neverland…). Gary is his place of birth and upbringing, Santa Barbara has Neverland – which is where MJ would have spent all his time, if it was up to him, and Sin City was his last home and one of the places he liked the most. 

In fact, before he died, Michael Jackson apparently had plans to build a 50-ft tall Transformer-meets-MJ-lookalike Robot  moving around at the entrance of a hotel and casino to be built in the Nevada Desert. It would have been the last word in extravagance for Las Vegas hotels  in a town famed for its shocking extravagance.

A robotic hotel doesn’t seem very likely now, but Vegas-based Colony Capital – which owns Neverland, has indicated that it might ship Neverland, piece by piece, to Las Vegas. A Michael Jackson themed hotel/casino in Vegas would most likely be housed inside a replica of the Neverland Ranch.

Michael Jackson White House photo -public domain; Jackson home in Gary photo by jessicareeder; Rudy Clay photo by ChicagoGeek