Motown founder Berry Gordy donates $4 million to Motown Museum expansion

The Motown Museum is a step closer to it's planned expansion.

Motown founder Berry Gordy donated $4 million to help fund the expansion of the museum, according to a Wednesday announcement.

"I'm excited about the future of Motown Museum and happy to support it," Gordy said in a release. "Not only will the expanded museum entertain and tell the stories of talented and creative people who succeeded against all odds, but it will also inspire and create opportunity for people to explore their dreams the way I did mine. I couldn't be prouder to be a part of that."

The donation, which is the largest individual donation to the project, will go toward a $50 million expansion that includes a 50,000-square-foot multimedia museum at Hitsville U.S.A. on West Grand Boulevard.

The donation “advances our vision of making the expanded museum a world class entertainment and educational destination that will ensure the inspiration of Motown lives on for generations to come,” Robin Terry, Motown Museum CEO and Gordy’s grand-niece, said in the release.

The museum will include a performance theater, meeting spaces, interactive exhibits, and a retail area. A construction start date has not yet been announced.

Gordy launched Motown in 1959, and Hitsville U.S.A. is where its original headquarters were located. He then moved Motown Records to Los Angeles in 1972. Gordy’s sister, Esther Gordy Edwards, founded the museum located at the Hitsville U.S.A. headquarters back in 1985.

Motown took part in introducing the world to a number of beloved artists, including Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Martha and the Vandellas, and more.

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