instal the new A Long Journey to an Uncertain End

Soon after, however, sales began to decline and in 2015-in an effort to stay afloat-the company put its famous basket building up for sale.Īfter years on the market, the instantly-recognizable building was purchased in December, 2017, by Steve Coon, an Ohio-based developer, for $1.2 million-plus more than $800,000 in back taxes still owed by the Longaberger Company-significantly less than the original asking price of $7.5 million. By the end of 2000, the company had more than 8,000 employees and boasted $1 billion in revenue. The title of Longaberger’s memoir is Longaberger: An American Success Story, and for a while that was true.

| Photo: Alexandra Charitan Driving along State Route 16 offers you a great view of the basket. | Photo: Alexandra Charitan The handles have a special heating element inside to keep them from icing. | Photo: Alexandra Charitan The outside of the basket could use a good cleaning. | Photo: Alexandra Charitan The basket is 160 times larger than its inspiration. The building is modeled after Longaberger’s popular market basket. At the end of 1997, 500 employees of the Longaberger Company moved into their new $30 million headquarters-an exact replica of the popular basket, 160 times larger than its inspiration. If you can’t do it, I’ll find someone who can.”Īnyone who has driven down State Route 16 in Newark, Ohio, knows that Longaberger got his wish. Longaberger set the basket-his favorite of all the baskets his company made-on the conference table and said, “This is what I want. He walked out of the room and came back swinging a medium market basket by its handles. In 1997, the founder of the Longaberger Company, Dave Longaberger, was meeting with architects to discuss the design of his company’s new headquarters.

Instal the new A Long Journey to an Uncertain End