Does the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Need an Annex?

Whether the Rock Hall knows it or not, they just took giant step toward mediocrity. With the grand opening of the Hall of Fame Annex (Soho) in New York City on December 2, 2008, rock fans can now view exhibits in a new 25,000 square foot facility in the Big Apple.

According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum's official press release at http://www.rockannex.com/, "The highly anticipated ANNEX will take visitors beyond the typical museum experience in a dynamic and immersive journey that recalls some of the most defining moments in rock and roll history."

Some proponents of the Annex say this will only attract more interest and bring additional tourism to the Cleveland facility. But others smell a rat and a plan to redirect funding and control of an art form to more traversed locales.

Recent comments by Rock Hall co-founder Jann Wenner have the Museums fans' scratching their heads. These comments reported by the Cleveland Plain Dealer were part of an exchange between Wenner and a Rolling Stone reporter suggesting that the Rock Hall should have been built in New York all along showing his non commitment to making the Cleveland site the focus of Rock and Roll attention.

And you can probably guess what are coming next, annexes in more major cities thinning the interest of the main Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. Yes the site that won and was agreed upon to house this prestigious attraction, designed by world renowned architect I.M. Pei in its Louvre like grandeur and $65 million later opening on September 2, 1995.

Whatever Wenner and the other Rock Hall cronies are thinking or planning, making irrational comments and second guessing Cleveland's rightful claim to Rock and Roll history won't win them any points.

Don't look for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio to set up a satellite museum in say Green Bay, Wisconsin - the land of the frozen tundra, Vince Lombardi and the first Super Bowl dynasty. It wouldn't be right and the NFL, its fans and sponsors know it. Canton, a much smaller city south of Cleveland, manages to host induction ceremonies each year in grand fashion as the birthplace of pro football. Every year, the national and international media focuses it attention on little Canton, Ohio, a town with a population small enough to fit in most football stadiums. There is a unified central focus on exhibits at the Pro Football Hall of Fame lending credibility to all you are witnessing, thereby enhancing your overall experience.

As the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame loses it's credibility, fans may derive simple pleasure in viewing rock memorabilia at one of the many Hard Rock Café locations throughout the world. Is that who the Rock Hall is trying to compete with, a chain restauarant? Maybe rock and roll really is dead.

Sources;

http://www.rockannex.com/

http://www.cleveland.com/music/index.ssf/2008/12/jann_wenner_says_remarks_about_1.html