A-Tisket A-Tasket, a Giant Yellow Basket: The Longaberger Basket Building- Newark, Ohio

In mid-October 2021, I took a road trip in southern Ohio. While on the highway, I spotted something out of the corner of my eye that made me get off on an exit right away- the Longaberger Basket Building. I was familiar with the company as my mom loved collecting their baskets, and I was familiar with the headquarters building being a giant basket. There was an empty parking lot with weeds growing through the cracks where I parked and took photos of the building. 

Dave Longaberger founded Longaberger in 1973 and distributed quality handcrafted baskets and home decor. In 1997, the headquarters, which is the basket building, was built. NBBJ firm was commissioned to create the building. After years of steady decline in sales, in 2016, employees moved out of the building after much downsizing. The building has been empty since. 

Luckily, the building has a public interest, as in 2019 Heritage Ohio, an organization that preserves significant stuff in Ohio. They held a tour where 600 people attended and got a view of the interior. In 2021, the building was put back on the market for $6.5 million. So far, the building remains in limbo. At the very least, let’s hope it remains a roadside oddity for long.