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In Newark, Ohio, you can admire one of the most amazing buildings in the world.
A majestic building that almost faithfully replicates a picnic basket, with its handles.
The Big Basket Building was inaugurated in 1997 by the American Longaberger, a company specializing in the production of handcrafted maple wood baskets. The architecture, truly unique of its kind, takes the form of the Medium Market Basket, which is the company’s best-selling product. The dimensions, however, are 150 times larger than the original!
The building, which cost about 30 million dollars, was, until 2016, the official headquarters of the company. The various offices have been located on the 7 floors. On the top, however, there are two huge steel handles.
After a period of crisis and a sharp decline in profits, the company has decided to transfer all employees to the New York office.
Just a month after the bankruptcy auction, Steve Coon managed to buy the building for 1.2 million dollars (well below the request and, above all, the purchase price).
The basic idea would be to transform the building into a real luxury hotel. To the delight of the residents who, by now, consider the Big Basket Building a real point of reference. The symbol of the city.
Because, as many people think around here, a basket … is forever!
The building, which cost about 30 million dollars, was, until 2016, the official headquarters of the company. The various offices have been located on the 7 floors. On the top, however, there are two huge steel handles.
After a period of crisis and a sharp decline in profits, the company has decided to transfer all employees to the New York office.
Just a month after the bankruptcy auction, Steve Coon managed to buy the building for 1.2 million dollars (well below the request and, above all, the purchase price).
The basic idea would be to transform the building into a real luxury hotel. To the delight of the residents who, by now, consider the Big Basket Building a real point of reference. The symbol of the city.
Because, as many people think around here, a basket … is forever!
PRACTICAL INFO
HOW TO GET TO THE BIG BASKETBALL BUILDING
The building is located at 1500 E Main St., Newark, OH 43055, along the OH-16 road, and just over 4 km from downtown. And Main Street is a long thoroughfare that runs right through Newark. You just have to cover it for a long time to reach your destination. The travel time, by car, is about 7 minutes.WHAT TO DO AND SEE
After closing, some guided tours (with the participation of Longaberger employees) were organized inside the building.
Maybe, you might be lucky enough, that you, to take part.
In any case, the building has a particular architecture. It won’t be aesthetically beautiful and, alone, it’s certainly not worth a trip to Newark. If you find yourself in the area, however, don’t miss the opportunity to let yourself be immortalized in front of this huge basket!
