The Motown Museum's $75M expansion aims to honor Detroit's musical legacy

The museum should enjoy the same level of promotion as other landmarks in the United States, former Motown music arranger Paul Riser Sr., comparing the seminal label's potential to a tourist mecca in New York City.

“The city can really benefit by further marketing this whole concept here,” Riser said. “We need to see more pageantry of Motown. Every time I think Motown, I think Times Square.”

Cities across the U.S. have for years promoted musical heritage as a selling point to attract business conventions, exhibitions and tourists. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame attracts 500,000 people each year to Cleveland, while Nashville’s music history and attractions tied to country, gospel and other genres bring in about 17 million people annually.

The Motown Museum says it logs more than 100,000 visitors each year and is expecting at least 325,000 visitors per year after the expansion opens.

“Motown for many, many decades has been just a magical source of pride and inspiration,” said Robin Terry, Motown Museum chair and chief executive. “Visitors come to the little house that’s Hitsville USA — what used to be the headquarters of Motown — just to touch the magical space where so many of their musical icons … got their start.”

Motown, uniquely Detroit

Motown was founded in 1959 by Berry Gordy in one of the three homes on West Grand Boulevard just north of downtown Detroit, that currently house the Motown Museum.

Just a year later, The Marvelettes’ “Please Mr. Postman” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Hits like “I Heard it Through the Grapevine,” “Baby Love,” “My Girl” and “The Tracks of My Tears” soon sent the Motown sound around the globe.

Gordy moved the label to Los Angeles in 1972 and sold it to MCA Records in 1988. His late sister, Esther Gordy Edwards, founded the museum in 1985.

The 40,000 square foot (3,716 square meter) expansion is being constructed around the original Hitsville USA house and will feature a theater, a recording studio, retail space and a cafe, as well as immersive exhibits and a searchable back catalog of music and interviews.

“The expansion is so iconic and unique for Detroit,” said Riser, who joined Motown at age 17 and won a Grammy in 1973 for best R&B instrumental performance on The Temptations' “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone.”

“I would hope to see the legacies and the historical content preserved,” Riser said. “It’s OK to having buildings … but if we don’t keep the legacies of these people who built this masterpiece, keep them in mind, we’ve lost something.”

Marketing music history

The Motown Museum is a must-see for international and domestic visitors, according to Jennifer Ollinger, senior director of tourism for Visit Detroit. The Michigan city clawed its way back from bankruptcy in 2014 and has seen something of a revival in recent years.

Motown is part of the pitch to businesses considering Detroit for conventions, conferences and other large gatherings, Ollinger said.

“We are the only place in the world that can claim Motown music as our own,” Ollinger said.

In Cleveland, rock 'n' roll is a pillar of the Ohio city's brand, said Emily Lauer, vice president of Public Relations and Communications at Destination Cleveland.

“Out-of-town visitors and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame are very important for Cleveland,” Lauer said. “They are likely to stay overnight and spend money on hotel rooms, in our restaurants and in our stores. They get to see Cleveland and that strengthens the likelihood to come back.”

Nashville's vibrant music scene, encompassing country, gospel and the storied Grand Ole Opry, brings in tourist revenue totaling more than $11 billion annually.

Deana Ivey, president and chief executive of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp., said music has been the main reason tourists visit Nashville for three decades. The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development agrees.

“We’re the second fastest growing state in America and we’ve done that without a beach or casinos,” department commissioner Mark Ezell said. “Music is our draw to Tennessee.”

Williams is as member of AP's Race & Ethnicity team.