Hitsville USA
With enough money for a down payment, Berry and his wife, Thelma Coleman, received the keys for their new house on West Grand Boulevard in Detroit in 1959. He converted the kitchen into a control room and the garage into a recording studio, while he and his wife lived upstairs. Always dreaming big, Berry added the sign that read, “Hitsville USA.”
Berry Gordy. Photo by Bei / Shutterstock
The recording studio was open 22 hours a day, closing only for maintenance from 8am until 10am. Within the next seven years, the label experienced tremendous success, and Berry purchased an additional seven houses in the same neighborhood. These additional houses became offices for Motown’s public relations and marketing teams, as well as talent management.