11 months ago
Progress on Macon's Big House Museum continues moving forward.
On the 40th anniversary of the Allman Brothers' first performance on March 26th, 1969, the Big House Foundation announced that renovations at the museum -- located at 2321 Vineville Avenue in Macon -- should be completeBby December.
The Allman Brothers Band, started by Duane and Gregg Allman in 1969, has been awarded 11 gold and five platinum albums and still performs across the country.
Museum managing director Kirsten West says during the band's formative years from 1970 to 1973, band members, roadies, fans, friends and family lived in the Big House.
Scott Kelly, a construction worker, says helping build a piece of musical history hits a high note for him and many others involved in the process.
"It's going to be a fantastic asset for Macon," said Kelly. "This is a beautiful home and after we get done with everything inside, it's going to be even more beautiful. Working on the Big House museum is great, especially because I grew up listening to the Allman Brothers."
West says Design Concepts of Dayton, Ohio will design and build the museum's exhibits.
"We had eight companies bid for the construction and design but they were the only company that ever did a musical museum before, so we're real confident and excited about their plans," she said.
Some of those plans include a billiard room with the original pool table the band played on when they first moved in to the Big House, a dozen display cases filled with guitars, albums and other music paraphernalia, and a light display that reflects the Band's logo on the museum floor when you walk in.
"We've already raised more than $200,000 for the museum thanks to the band's current run at the Beacon Theatre in New York City," she said. "This money will contribute toward the construction and renovations at the Big House, museum exhibits and other opportunities."
She also says Macon-based Bright Blue Sky Productions will hold a special screening in Macon of their documentary "Please Call Home: the Big House Years" sometime during the summer.
"There will also be special screenings throughout the country in the coming months," she said. "We're making great progress on all fronts."
Stephanie Shadden, who edited the Big House documentary, says the film should help draw tourists to the city.
"Macon is where the band came to grow and create their sound, it was there greenhouse you could say," she said. "Fans will want to know more and want to see how the band began and that's right here at the Big House."
West echoed those thoughts, adding that when she lived in the Big House with her husband Kirk, the band's former manager, thousands of fans visited.
"In fifteen years, we had more than 25,000 people want to come and see my husband's collection of Allman Brother's memorabilia and see the house and that was without advertising," said West. "This museum will be a great revenue generator for the city and the area."
Allman Brothers band member Jaimoe will also perform locally with his band Jaimoe's Jassz Band, said West, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Big House Foundation's after school percussion program.
Classes in percussion and drumming currently serve Bibb County students at Brookdale Elementary School.
West says the Big House Foundation and museum will preserve that history and highlight more of the band's travels, stories and successes during the last four decades.Already having raised a total of around $2 million for the museum, West says the foundation still needs close to $600,000 for all the interior work and displays.
"Our goal is December for the grand opening," she said. "We want to cap off the 40th anniversary of the Allman Brothers by having their museum open for fans and the public here in Macon."
