By Canadian Press

Motown founder Berry Gordy donates $4M to museum expansion

Sep 3, 2019 | 9:09 PM

DETROIT — Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. is donating $4 million toward a project to expand a museum housed in the Detroit building where he built his music empire.

Motown Museum announced Wednesday that Gordy’s gift is the largest individual donation to the project. It coincides with Motown’s 60th anniversary.

Gordy says in a statement that he’s “excited about the future” of the museum and “happy to support it.”

Museum expansion plans, announced in 2016, include interactive exhibits, a performance theatre, recording studios, an expanded retail area and meeting spaces.

Gordy launched the company in 1959 and moved it to Los Angeles in 1972. His late sister, Esther Gordy Edwards, launched the museum in the former “Hitsville U.S.A.” headquarters in 1985.

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