Monday, July 8, 2024

Halls of fame for rhythm and blues, gospel music and more still hoping for physical homes


The New Jersey Hall of Fame just opened a physical location for visitors to learn more about the Garden State’s most important citizens. But many other organizations are still trying to open brick-and-mortar hall-of-fame museums for their passions.
What follows is a few that have announced locations for their potential halls of fame.

National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame

In September 2022, the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame Foundation held a groundbreaking ceremony in Marks, Miss. It hopes to build a “permanent brick-and-mortar state-of-the-art world-class complex” to house the R&B hall of fame, according to a press release.
But as of October 2023, when a Google Maps Street View car drove by the site, there had been no construction activity. There also haven’t been any progress reports published by the R&B hall or news agencies lately.
Since 2013, the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame has inducted over 200 artists including James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Prince and Elvis Presley. But the hall remains virtual.



Gospel Music Hall of Fame

The Gospel Music Hall of Fame of Missouri hopes to turn the former Second Baptist Church in St. Louis. Mo., into a 40,000-square-foot museum, education, cultural and performing arts center. It looks to create Missouri’s first Gospel Music Hall of Fame Art Museum and Research Center. (See article by St. Louis Public Radio.)


College Baseball Hall of Fame

In January, the College Baseball Foundation announced plans to build the College Baseball Hall of Fame within the existing Museum at Prairiefire in Overland Park, Kan.
The foundation had previously considered building a museum on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.


Indiana Sports Hall of Fame

Organizers of the Indiana Sports Hall of Fame announced on July 4 that they had found a location for a future museum. The group has secured six acres at the Irvington Plaza shopping center on the east side of Indianapolis.
The group hopes to build a 60,000-square-foot building that will house the hall of fame as well as a banquet space, sports bar and outdoor activity area.
Indiana is already home to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in New Castle, Ind., and Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in Jasper, Ind. Plus, it has the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum in Indianapolis. The state previously had a physical museum for the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in Richmond, Ind., but it closed in 2021.

Mobile Sports Hall of Fame

The Mobile Sports Hall of Fame in Mobile, Ala., is looking to open an interactive museum in the lobby of the RSA Battle House Tower, according to AL.com. There is currently a mural in the lobby that depicts local sports greats like Hank Aaron and Satchel Paige.
Meanwhile, the city is building a Hall of Fame Walk with bronze statues of sports heroes outside the Mobile Convention Center. The area is called Heroes Plaza. That project is expected to be completed in late 2024 or early 2015, according to 1819 News and NBC 15 News.

Other physical halls of fame have been considered in recent years. They include a proposed UFC Hall of Fame and WWE Hall of Fame.

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