Give me a crimson brick warehouse filled with outdated bangers over a flashy new exhibition corridor any day of the week.
This may be simple sufficient for these residing within the Western world, however right here in Japan, discovering something made from brick isn’t simple. Discovering a crimson brick warehouse filled with historic vehicles? Let’s simply say, there aren’t many locations just like the Glion Museum.
The Glion assortment in Osaka is spectacular, and never simply due to the incredible constructing it’s housed in. Right here, you’ll discover an enormous assortment of pre- and post-war vehicles from throughout the globe.
I’m not at all an authority on historic vehicles, however I’m positive every one within the assortment is vital in a roundabout way. In the event you do spot something uncommon or attention-grabbing, please go away a remark.
There are, after all, different historic warehouses peppered throughout Japan, largely within the Southern port cities. Probably the most well-known is the Purple Brick Warehouse in Yokohama, which has two buildings measuring round 5,000 and 10,000 sq. meters. That warehouse’s spacious inside homes specialty retailers, galleries and exhibition areas. It additionally hosts the annual Thrilling Porsche occasion and different traditional automotive occasions in its piazza.
The Glion Museum is situated contained in the Chikko Purple Brick Warehouse, the place it occupies half of the area. Within the different half you’ll discover a restaurant, steak home and marriage ceremony venue. Not a nasty place to tie the knot.
Building of the Chikko Purple Brick Warehouse was accomplished in 1923, as a part of the Osaka Port growth. It was constructed by Sumitomo Zaibutsu, certainly one of many personal development corporations contracted by a financially unstable Osaka Metropolis in return for port utilization privileges. Japan was recovering from the Sino-Japanese battle on the time, after which booming after the First World Battle, and these personal corporations performed an integral half in boosting the nation’s financial power.
Possession handed from Sumitomo Zaibutsu to Osaka Metropolis in 1999, and the Glion Museum opened in 2015. After sitting vacant for a few years, the warehouse had very almost been dismantled, however the resolution was made to fortify it in opposition to seismic exercise and enable the general public to take pleasure in it. Some massive cat with a fountain pen made a wonderful resolution that day.
A part of the gathering was donated from the property of a Kimio Doi, a neighborhood enterprise tycoon. Doi was an entrepreneur who pioneered advertising and marketing and gross sales distribution strategies in electronics, specific cameras. In reality, on the time of his passing in 1990, Doi-san’s chain of digital camera shops was the third largest in Japan after Yodobashi and Bic Digicam. He by no means smoked, by no means gambled or drank; as an alternative Doi spent his fortune on historic vehicles and Alphonse Mucha artworks.
As for Glion, they’re a luxurious automotive seller (Glion Showroom) and restaurant company, so I assume the museum is as a lot a promotional instrument as it’s about historic preservation.
Regardless of the motivation is for protecting the museum working, the takeaway right here is that we will sleep properly realizing that these vehicles are protected and sound occupying some prime Japanese actual property.
Toby Thyer
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