In 1941, the Gibson factory at 225 Parsons Street was already one of the most important places in American guitar history.

Gibson had moved into the Parsons Street building in 1917, and over the decades an extraordinary number of instruments — and an extraordinary amount of craftsmanship — came out of this place.

Gibson eventually moved its headquarters to Nashville and closed the Kalamazoo operation in 1984. But guitar building at Parsons Street didn’t end there. Former Gibson employees went on to start Heritage Guitars in part of the old factory, carrying the tradition forward.

For Kalamazoo Born, 225 Parsons Street is more than an old factory address. It represents the people who built the guitars, the stories behind them, and the connection between Kalamazoo and generations of musicians.

That history is one of the main reasons this project exists.