👋 Andrew here. As a Central Ohio native, I have been fascinated by the Longaberger Basket Building for decades. I finally got a tour inside, and it felt like a pilgrimage.

Why it matters: Long vacant and recently for sale once more, the basket is perhaps Ohio's most well-known oddity.

• I left thinking of it as a completely unnecessary extravagance, but also an incredible work of passion and craftsmanship.

What's inside: It's difficult to describe the feeling of walking into the basket.

• It's equal parts funny, awe-inspiring, anachronistic and, eventually, a bit creepy in its current state.

The front doors open into an incredible 30,000-square-foot atrium that sets the tone for the building.

• The entire ceiling is skylight, pouring natural light inside.
• The atrium space is 17% of the entire building — a beautiful and audacious design choice that feels like it would never be made today.

The basket has technically only been vacant for 10 years, but you can tell it's been longer since many rooms were used.

• I caught myself feeling like an archaeologist exploring its dimly lit hallways and offices.
• Some spaces could host a meeting today. Others with outdated electronics, furniture and decor hearken back to a pre-smartphone era.

The vibe: I was surprised by the building's condition.

• A decade is a long time to sit vacant, but the basket isn't moldy, water-damaged, smelly or decaying.
• It's just ... empty.

Recently, after seeing the smash hit "Backrooms," I asked readers where in Columbus I could find similar liminal spaces — the empty, abandoned and unnerving settings of the film.

• I'm convinced it's possible to slip into another dimension somewhere inside.

The big picture: I was also allowed roof access, which really put the 9,000-ton basket and its surroundings into perspective.

• Underneath the massive handles, the roof and its flexible floor were unnerving — a bird flew out and terrified me.

The bottom line: Companies seem to no longer focus on aesthetics like this — even ultra-profitable tech startups aren't designing unique, beautiful buildings.

• The basket started as a labor of love, became an iconic part of our history, and remains a special place. I hope it finds a new purpose.

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The basket opened as the company's Newark headquarters in 1997, welcoming hundreds of employees.

Flashback: The $30 million building was the crown jewel of founder Dave Longaberger's empire, founded in 1973 in nearby Dresden.

• By its peak in 2000, revenue reached $1 billion and Longaberger employed more than 8,000 people.

By the numbers: The 180,000-square-foot basket is 160 times larger than the "medium" life-sized basket.

• It was designed to hold more than 500 employees.
• In addition to a 555-spot parking lot, there are 25 heated, underground parking spaces.
• It has 84 windows.

In 1999, the company created its own miniature town in nearby Frazeysburg.

• The world's largest apple basket still sits on the unused property.

Catch up quick: Dave died that year, and his daughter Tami took over as CEO and president.

• By 2013, the company was struggling but still employing hundreds, and Tami sold to a conglomerate. As the company fizzled, many were laid off in the next few years.
• In 2018, Longaberger suspended operations and its parent company filed for bankruptcy.
• It was revived as part of the Xcel Brands portfolio, with an online shop.

As for the building, the basket sold for $1.2 million in 2017 to a group led by Northeast Ohio's Steve Coon, owner of Coon Restoration.

• Coon had "a big vision" to restore and redevelop it.
• Those plans were derailed by the pandemic and shuttered when Coon's son died suddenly in 2023.

Coon agreed to sell the building to a Florida businessman in 2022, but the deal was canceled.

• A lawsuit was filed alleging that Coon didn't meet obligations to clean and maintain the property.

The basket is up for sale once again, now for $8.5 million.

Between the handles: Selling a multimillion-dollar basket building isn't easy, especially when it's required to remain a basket.

Zoom in: Brandon Hess, partner at Shai-Hess Commercial Real Estate, has worked on the property for a decade, and sold it to Coon.

• It's now a "passion" project that he loves showing off.
• "It definitely blows people's minds," he tells Axios.

Yes, but: It's also "a huge challenge" to find a buyer.

• There have been lots of near-purchases over the years, lots of calls to potential investors and lots of ideas on what to do with it — though nothing has stuck.
• "It attracts all kinds of people. You have to weed through who the real buyers are and who they aren't," says Hess.

Behind the scenes: He estimates it costs upward of $150,000 a year just to maintain the building and property.

• The huge basket handles, for instance, need to be heated in the winter.

The big picture: Despite the challenges, Hess and his team feel a responsibility not just to Coon but to Dave Longaberger.

• "To me, making sure we find a good use in Dave's memory is a huge thing."
• Hess says Coon will only sell the building to someone who wants it to remain a basket.

The last word: "Any other building would definitely be falling apart in many ways, but the way Dave built things, there was no cut of any expense. He built things right, and it's absolutely amazing."

☝️ Ohio ranks No. 1 for business in 2026 on CNBC's annual list.

🛒 Some local Giant Eagles are likely to be sold following the Kroger merger, as our local market has the most overlap between the two chains. (Supermarket News)

🏥 Nationwide Children's Hospital nurses are collecting union authorization cards in hopes of moving toward a vote. (WCMH-TV)

🏀 Ohio State, Cincinnati, Dayton and Xavier will play an outdoor charity exhibition doubleheader Oct. 7 in Mason. (Dispatch)

🍽 Amara, the Mediterranean restaurant replacing Milestone 229 on the downtown riverfront, opens today. (614 Magazine)

Here's a novel idea for this weekend: browse thousands of books during our city's largest literary event.

📚 Our pick: The Columbus Book Festival.

The vibe: Over 200 national and local authors will participate in panel discussions and book signings at the main library and Topiary Park.

• Don't miss the vendor marketplace and Sunday's bag sale, when you can fill an entire bag with books for just $5!

Stop by: 10am-6pm Saturday and 10am-5pm Sunday. Free!