Longaberger Basket HQ

The 180,000-square-foot, seven-story basket has a 30,000-square-foot atrium topped with a glass ceiling. The basket’s 150-ton handles—which took eighteen months to construct—contain a special heating element to keep ice from forming, and potentially crashing through the roof, in the winter. Two 725-pound, 25-feet-wide, gold-leaf tags are attached to each long side of the building.

The interior—which is in remarkably good condition—is more conventional than you’d expect from its whimsical exterior. Although the dimensions vary from floor to floor (it’s wider at the top, like a basket would be), the effect is gradual enough that you almost forget that you’re inside an enormous basket—until you look up through the atrium and catch a glimpse of those handles.

There are other subtle nods to the company’s star product sprinkled throughout the building, including a basket-weave wall treatment in Longaberger’s executive suite, undulating cabinets, and “woven” brass plaque informational signage. Due to the basket weave stucco design, the building could only have a maximum of 84 windows.

The cherry woodwork and trim was harvested from a nearby Longaberger-owned golf course. In addition to private offices, open-concept work spaces, and conference rooms, the building includes a 141-seat auditorium, 25 underground parking spaces, a fitness center, medical facilities, a cafeteria, several kitchens, and multiple elevators.

When the Longaberger Company vacated the basket in 2016, they had fewer than 75 full-time employees. As of 2019, the building is up for sale or lease.