Gennett Records Walk of Fame Commemorates Jazz History

It’s a bit eerie, a sort of ghost town in Richmond, Indiana. From the late 1800s to the Great Depression, the Whitewater Valley gorge was home to the Starr Piano Company. Its subsidiary, Gennett Records, recorded great jazz artists, including Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke. Today, a shell of the piano factory, a smokestack, and a couple of graffiti covered structures are all that remain. Yet, it isn’t completely dead. The property is now the Whitewater Valley Gorge Park. The lone remaining building is used as an events center, and the Gennett Records Walk of Fame is embedded into the walking/biking path that runs through the park. The Gennett Records Walk of Fame pays tribute to the jazz, country, big band, blues, and gospel greats who recorded here.

Whitewater Gorge Park

Remnants of Starr Piano FactorySmokestack remaining from Starr Piano Company

Starr Piano and Gennett Records heyday

Brothers James and Benjamin Starr established a piano company in the late 1870s. Although the company did well, its success escalated when Henry Gennett joined the team in the early 1900s. Over time, the company added several buildings to the site. Besides pianos, they produced refrigerators, freezers, and synchronizer units used with talking picture projectors. During World War I, they built wooden cabinets for radios. But perhaps most important to the company’s history, they built phonographs and records.

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Larger labels wouldn’t record the new jazz music. They stuck with what was popular at the time. So jazz artists went to Gennett Records. Many of those artists became big names, like Jelly Roll Morton and Hoagy Carmichael. Big bands, new in the mid-1920s, recorded at Gennett Records, as well. Lawrence Welk recorded at Gennett, as did Guy Lumbardo. Country music artists like Gene Autry also recorded there. Gennett was producing 3 million records each year by the mid-1920s.

Sadly, the Great Depression brought Gennett Records to an end. However, the piano factory kept in business until the early 1950s. The buildings fell into disrepair, and most were demolished in the 1970s.

Gennett Records Walk of Fame

The Starr-Gennett Foundation and the Richmond Parks Department partner with development of Whitewater Gorge Park and preserving Starr-Gennett history. As of 2016, 35 artists are honored in the Gennett Records Walk of Fame. The artists’ likenesses are portrayed in medallions that resemble 78 rpm records and set into the walkway. Walk of Fame members include those artists who recorded for Gennett Records and whose work contributed significantly to American History. New inductees are honored during Richmond’s annual Walk of Fame Music Festival. You can find the entire list of Walk of Fame inductees on the Start-Gennett Foundation website.Gennett Records Walk of Fame

Gennett Records Walk of Fame Honorees

If you visit Gennett Records Walk of Fame

Whitewater Valley Gorge Park and the Gennett Records Walk of Fame are located on South 1st Street in Richmond, Indiana.

Accommodations

We stayed at Seldom Scene Meadow Bed & Breakfast during our visit to Richmond.  Check rates to the Seldome Scene Meadow B&B and other Richmond area accommodations here.

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 Gennett Records Walk of Fame

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Disclosures: Visit Richmond Indiana hosted our visit to the area. However, any opinions expressed in this article are my own.
This article contains an affiliate link. If you book a hotel room through the “Check rates here” link above, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

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14 thoughts on “Gennett Records Walk of Fame Commemorates Jazz History

  • August 17, 2017 at 8:37 pm
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    This is a cool piece of history. Unique and exciting find. So much amazing history in Indiana.

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    • August 17, 2017 at 9:49 pm
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      I thought so, too. I had no idea it existed before we visited Richmond.

      Reply
  • August 19, 2017 at 10:00 am
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    What an unique find! Love the medallions in the walkway, it would be fun to visit during the music festival!

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    • August 19, 2017 at 11:33 am
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      It really was fun to walk the path and look at all the medallions. It really is a unique find. It’s right in the middle of Richmond, yet hidden from view in the gorge.

      Reply
  • August 19, 2017 at 10:02 pm
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    Seems like more and more cities have walk of fames. I think that is pretty cool. I was just in St. Louis and they had one too!

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    • August 19, 2017 at 10:42 pm
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      Oh really? I’m not familiar with the St. Louis one. I’ll have to check it out, Holly.

      Reply
  • August 20, 2017 at 10:15 am
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    Thanks for keeping the Gennet label in mind. So much great music would’ve been lost without their daring. I hope to visit and pay my respects.

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    • August 20, 2017 at 10:56 am
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      I honestly hadn’t heard of Gennett Records before I visited, but they certainly are a huge part of music history. I’m so glad Richmond is preserving it with the walk of fame.

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  • August 21, 2017 at 8:08 am
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    I didn’t know that somewhere in this world there was a jazz walk of fame. It looks very peaceful out there and I love that it’s not so touristy. I am not really into music history but I would love to just walk around that area and explore it.

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    • August 22, 2017 at 1:16 pm
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      It really is peaceful in the park. It seems so secluded, you’d never know it’s in the middle of the city.

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  • August 21, 2017 at 10:39 am
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    What an interesting place! Love the medallions that look like the old RPM records in the walkway commemorating the artists.

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    • August 22, 2017 at 1:18 pm
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      I like the old 78 RPM record medallions, too, with the pictures of the honorees.

      Reply
  • August 23, 2017 at 7:27 pm
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    I had no idea this was in Richmond! This is such an easy trip for me. Now I can’t wait to visit.

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    • August 23, 2017 at 9:58 pm
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      Funny how we often miss things that are so close to us.

      Reply

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