JMie
Guests
I've just returned from my vacation to the United States, where my two friends and I attended the KISS FM MJ party on a boat in NYC :dancin: and Spike Lee's party in Brooklyn :dancin::dancin
and met with Memefan :huggy and then visited Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Motown museum in Detroit and Michael's childhood town Gary, Indiana. I thought I'd share my experience for those who haven't been there, but would like to know some details and see the photos
Unfortunately, visitors are not allowed to take photos in the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame museum, so the only photo I took was of a very special guitar displayed at the very entrance of the building. I was so excited to see that guitar that it took me some time to notice it was standing on a sequin glove! lol
The museum itself was amazing. It was very interesting to learn more about the music history and see all the memorabilia from different legendary artists, but the most interesting of all for me was the display with Michael's costumes. My friends and I spent there almost half an hour, I think. We stayed so long that we even got noticed by security and a security lady came up there and stood nearby watching us. lol But we were behaving very well, didn't touch anything (even though we wanted to so very much!! :wild: ). We just couldn't walk away, the rest of the museum stopped existing althogether.
The display consisted of Michael's "Billie Jean" costume from the Dangerous Tour, his 1984 Grammy awards jacket, the Bad video costume, the Thriller video zombie jacket, the Thriller werewolf mask from Dangerous and HIStory tours, his Grammy award for the album of the year (Thriller) and a stage costume from 1971.
I was really surprised to see that the Billie Jean pants and the Bad costume were made of wool. I guess it was easier to dance in clothes made of this material. But I was really surpised because these costumes never looked like wool to me! And seeing the complete Billie Jean costume was amazing, we could not tear ourselves away! We wanted to kiss those loafers! :wub: But sadly the security lady was watching so we couldn't, haha.
Michael also had a big presence in the "video killed the radio star" display about the evolution of music videos. And of course he was a part of the inductees exposition.
Overall, I enjoyed the museum very much and I think everyone who has a chance should go and see that wonderful Billie Jean costume! :wub::wub::wub:
***
After Cleveland we drove to Detroit to see Motown museum. I have to confess, when I saw the Motown sign, my hands and legs began to shake! It was hard to conceive that there I was at the place where it all began. It was an amazing feeling...
We weren't allowed to take photos in that museum either Oh well... The tour around the museum, Berry Gordy's apartment and the studio was very interesting. They had the Jackson 5 display there with lots of photos and singles hanging on the walls and several Michael's costumes including this one:
They also had Michael's glove and hat from his Billie Jean performance in Motown 25, which he donated to the museum in 1988. Seeing them made me cry...
We also went to the studio where all the Motown artists (including Michael, Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder) recorded their songs. It was an amazing feeling being there. In the end our tour guide made us stand in two lines - women in one line and men in the other line - in front of each other. And at first women sang "Stop In The Name Of Love" shaking hips like the Supremes, lol and then men sang "My Girl" dancing like the Temptations. It was so much fun! :clapping:
And after that our guide asked us if we could moonwalk (we told him we fans in the beginning of the tour), and my friend who can, moonwalked across the studio floor and the guide told her, "You've just moonwalked on the same spot where Michael himself danced 40 years ago" and it was such a powerful moment, my friend almost fainted right there.
It was truly wonderful to be there. We learned a lot about Motown history and I advise everyone to go there as well if you can and haven't been there yet.
***
Our final destination was Gary, Indiana. I had mixed feelings about going there. On one hand, I was very scared for some reason, and on the other, I couldn't wait to finally be there and see Michael's childhood home.
From what I saw there, Gary is a very poor town. And I think after seeing what life is like in that place I now understand Michael better. Not that I didn't understand him before, of course I did. But now I think I got to see a bit of what he had to experience as a child and got to feel at least a tiny part of it, if it makes sense at all.. It's like he sings "look within your heart, then ask have you seen my childhood".. And now I got a glimpse of his childhood.
Jackson street is so small and unnoticable that we missed it at first.
Only later we noticed a sign towards Michael's home
The Jacksons' house is in the very end of the street and after the renovation they did earlier this year it stands out. It's surrounded by a fence, but the whole place is so tiny that you can see everything.
I can't describe what I felt when I saw that house. It's something beyond words...
This is the backyard:
We spent there almost an hour, I think. Probably even longer. Some other people arrived, took photos and left. And we just stayed there in silence for some time.. we didn't want to leave that special place..
And this is what the other side of the street looks like.
Later we decided to find other Michael related places in Gary. And the first place we found was Roosevelt High School where the Jackson 5 won their first singing contest with the song "My Girl". Rebbie, Jackie and Tito graduated from this school.
We also tried to find Garnett Elementary school where Michael went and where he sang on stage for the first time ("Climb Every Mountain) when he was 5 years old. I knew the school was closed long ago, but we hoped the building was still there. After walking in the neighbourhood for some time and failing to find anything that resembled a school building, we saw some other school and decided to ask there. People there were very kind! :wub: The security guy said he didn't know of a Garnett school, but he took us inside to ask the teachers "who know everything there is to know about schools in this town", he said. And they did! They said, "Oh, it's the school Michael Jackson used to go to!" And we said, "Yes, yes! That's why we are looking for it!" The security guy laughed and said, "You should have told me you were looking for Michael's school! Of course, I know where it is, I just don't remember its name!" One of the teachers had an hour off and she was very kind to show us the way to the school in her car. It turned out we passed Garnett school several times but didn't realise it was it because now it is occupied by some church.
It's really close to Michael's house and Roosevelt high school. And on the other side of the road there's a playgroud. I guess it's the playground Michael talked about in his interviews when he spoke about seeing kids playing and wanting to join them, but he couldn't because he had to rehearse.
In this photo, Michael's house is behind those white houses. And that dark building in the distance is Roosevelt high school.
We saw a couple of other places in Gary. This is Mr. Lucky's Lounge, where the Jackson 5 used to perform. Now the building is closed and I read the current owner expressed the wish to sell bricks from the walls to those who want some more Jackson 5 memorabilia. lol We didn't buy any bricks!
Here's JW Kingdom Hall. I don't know whether it's the same one Katherine and the kids used to go to or if it was rebuilt though. We just saw it and decided to take a photo just in case
This is Gordon Keith's house. Gordon Keith used to run Steeltown records, and the Jackson 5 used to rehearse in the basement of his house. When we were there taking photos some eager neighbour tried to get us into that house to see the basement, but no one was home. the whole thing was really embarrassing because he kept banging on their door. We were asking him to stop because we didn't want to intrude, but he refused to give up. He looked like he was high on something, to be honest. :smilerolleyes:
The final point of our tour was the Steel company Joe used to work at. We went there just for laughs. And boy, laughs we got! We parked near the entrance and got out of the car to take some photos for the entrance and the words "US Steel Company" but suddenly we were surrounded by three police officers! We didn't even see them, they appeared out of nowhere, really great job on their part! :clapping: We had no idea it was not allowed to take photos there, and they asked us to erase everything. They also told us to show them our IDs and asked what we were even doing there in the first place. I said that we were visiting Michael Jackson related places and this was the place where his father Joe used to work. They were speechless. lol I don't think a lot of MJ fans go to see the plant. Anyway, the whole police experience was kind of funny and we all had a huge laugh about it. They were being really nice and even showed their concern for our safety in Gary, saying that it was a very dangerous place and we should leave this town asap. We promised them we were leaving for Chicago, and we did exactly that.
But I didn't delete one photo of the plant. Do you think US Steel Corp will sue me if I post it? I hope not!
and met with Memefan :huggy and then visited Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Motown museum in Detroit and Michael's childhood town Gary, Indiana. I thought I'd share my experience for those who haven't been there, but would like to know some details and see the photos Unfortunately, visitors are not allowed to take photos in the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame museum, so the only photo I took was of a very special guitar displayed at the very entrance of the building. I was so excited to see that guitar that it took me some time to notice it was standing on a sequin glove! lol
The museum itself was amazing. It was very interesting to learn more about the music history and see all the memorabilia from different legendary artists, but the most interesting of all for me was the display with Michael's costumes. My friends and I spent there almost half an hour, I think. We stayed so long that we even got noticed by security and a security lady came up there and stood nearby watching us. lol But we were behaving very well, didn't touch anything (even though we wanted to so very much!! :wild: ). We just couldn't walk away, the rest of the museum stopped existing althogether.
The display consisted of Michael's "Billie Jean" costume from the Dangerous Tour, his 1984 Grammy awards jacket, the Bad video costume, the Thriller video zombie jacket, the Thriller werewolf mask from Dangerous and HIStory tours, his Grammy award for the album of the year (Thriller) and a stage costume from 1971.
I was really surprised to see that the Billie Jean pants and the Bad costume were made of wool. I guess it was easier to dance in clothes made of this material. But I was really surpised because these costumes never looked like wool to me! And seeing the complete Billie Jean costume was amazing, we could not tear ourselves away! We wanted to kiss those loafers! :wub: But sadly the security lady was watching so we couldn't, haha.
Michael also had a big presence in the "video killed the radio star" display about the evolution of music videos. And of course he was a part of the inductees exposition.
Overall, I enjoyed the museum very much and I think everyone who has a chance should go and see that wonderful Billie Jean costume! :wub::wub::wub:
***
After Cleveland we drove to Detroit to see Motown museum. I have to confess, when I saw the Motown sign, my hands and legs began to shake! It was hard to conceive that there I was at the place where it all began. It was an amazing feeling...
We weren't allowed to take photos in that museum either
Oh well... The tour around the museum, Berry Gordy's apartment and the studio was very interesting. They had the Jackson 5 display there with lots of photos and singles hanging on the walls and several Michael's costumes including this one:
They also had Michael's glove and hat from his Billie Jean performance in Motown 25, which he donated to the museum in 1988. Seeing them made me cry...
We also went to the studio where all the Motown artists (including Michael, Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder) recorded their songs. It was an amazing feeling being there. In the end our tour guide made us stand in two lines - women in one line and men in the other line - in front of each other. And at first women sang "Stop In The Name Of Love" shaking hips like the Supremes, lol and then men sang "My Girl" dancing like the Temptations. It was so much fun! :clapping:
And after that our guide asked us if we could moonwalk (we told him we fans in the beginning of the tour), and my friend who can, moonwalked across the studio floor and the guide told her, "You've just moonwalked on the same spot where Michael himself danced 40 years ago" and it was such a powerful moment, my friend almost fainted right there.
It was truly wonderful to be there. We learned a lot about Motown history and I advise everyone to go there as well if you can and haven't been there yet.
***
Our final destination was Gary, Indiana. I had mixed feelings about going there. On one hand, I was very scared for some reason, and on the other, I couldn't wait to finally be there and see Michael's childhood home.
From what I saw there, Gary is a very poor town. And I think after seeing what life is like in that place I now understand Michael better. Not that I didn't understand him before, of course I did. But now I think I got to see a bit of what he had to experience as a child and got to feel at least a tiny part of it, if it makes sense at all.. It's like he sings "look within your heart, then ask have you seen my childhood".. And now I got a glimpse of his childhood.
Jackson street is so small and unnoticable that we missed it at first.
Only later we noticed a sign towards Michael's home
The Jacksons' house is in the very end of the street and after the renovation they did earlier this year it stands out. It's surrounded by a fence, but the whole place is so tiny that you can see everything.
I can't describe what I felt when I saw that house. It's something beyond words...
This is the backyard:
We spent there almost an hour, I think. Probably even longer. Some other people arrived, took photos and left. And we just stayed there in silence for some time.. we didn't want to leave that special place..
And this is what the other side of the street looks like.
Later we decided to find other Michael related places in Gary. And the first place we found was Roosevelt High School where the Jackson 5 won their first singing contest with the song "My Girl". Rebbie, Jackie and Tito graduated from this school.
We also tried to find Garnett Elementary school where Michael went and where he sang on stage for the first time ("Climb Every Mountain) when he was 5 years old. I knew the school was closed long ago, but we hoped the building was still there. After walking in the neighbourhood for some time and failing to find anything that resembled a school building, we saw some other school and decided to ask there. People there were very kind! :wub: The security guy said he didn't know of a Garnett school, but he took us inside to ask the teachers "who know everything there is to know about schools in this town", he said. And they did! They said, "Oh, it's the school Michael Jackson used to go to!" And we said, "Yes, yes! That's why we are looking for it!" The security guy laughed and said, "You should have told me you were looking for Michael's school! Of course, I know where it is, I just don't remember its name!" One of the teachers had an hour off and she was very kind to show us the way to the school in her car. It turned out we passed Garnett school several times but didn't realise it was it because now it is occupied by some church.
It's really close to Michael's house and Roosevelt high school. And on the other side of the road there's a playgroud. I guess it's the playground Michael talked about in his interviews when he spoke about seeing kids playing and wanting to join them, but he couldn't because he had to rehearse.
In this photo, Michael's house is behind those white houses. And that dark building in the distance is Roosevelt high school.
We saw a couple of other places in Gary. This is Mr. Lucky's Lounge, where the Jackson 5 used to perform. Now the building is closed and I read the current owner expressed the wish to sell bricks from the walls to those who want some more Jackson 5 memorabilia. lol We didn't buy any bricks!
Here's JW Kingdom Hall. I don't know whether it's the same one Katherine and the kids used to go to or if it was rebuilt though. We just saw it and decided to take a photo just in case
This is Gordon Keith's house. Gordon Keith used to run Steeltown records, and the Jackson 5 used to rehearse in the basement of his house. When we were there taking photos some eager neighbour tried to get us into that house to see the basement, but no one was home. the whole thing was really embarrassing because he kept banging on their door. We were asking him to stop because we didn't want to intrude, but he refused to give up. He looked like he was high on something, to be honest. :smilerolleyes:
The final point of our tour was the Steel company Joe used to work at. We went there just for laughs. And boy, laughs we got! We parked near the entrance and got out of the car to take some photos for the entrance and the words "US Steel Company" but suddenly we were surrounded by three police officers! We didn't even see them, they appeared out of nowhere, really great job on their part! :clapping: We had no idea it was not allowed to take photos there, and they asked us to erase everything. They also told us to show them our IDs and asked what we were even doing there in the first place. I said that we were visiting Michael Jackson related places and this was the place where his father Joe used to work. They were speechless. lol I don't think a lot of MJ fans go to see the plant. Anyway, the whole police experience was kind of funny and we all had a huge laugh about it. They were being really nice and even showed their concern for our safety in Gary, saying that it was a very dangerous place and we should leave this town asap. We promised them we were leaving for Chicago, and we did exactly that.
But I didn't delete one photo of the plant. Do you think US Steel Corp will sue me if I post it? I hope not!
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