Marty’s Music, the music store along Route 422 in east Annville, is closing.
In a Facebook post on October 4, the business announced that it had been “Riding the storm out’ for some time now,” an allusion to rock group REO Speedwagon’s third album. The post continued: “We tried to ’Roll with the Changes’ but it looks like ’It is time for me to Fly.”
The 73-year-old Lebanon County business had operated at the building at 1245 East Main Street since 2003, and had first opened doors in the City of Lebanon in 1946.
The news was met with heartbreak on social media, as many recounted the memories they had formed at the store. Some shared memories of beloved instrument purchases while others recalled time spent practicing their skills with local experts.
The store’s 11,000-square-foot building housed a large open floor with instrument displays, a wing for private music lessons offered by local teachers, and an upstairs loft for recitals and performances. The products for sale included music books, stands, accessories, equipment, and of course the instruments themselves: guitars, banjos, mandolins, pianos, violins, drums, and many others.
The distinctive barn-esque building housing the store was finished in 2003 and opened in February of that year. Kip Kelly and his firm Nest Architecture designed the building, basing the look on an old school building and taking inspiration from local farmhouses. Contractor Arthur Funk and Sons constructed it, and were recognized nationally as part of Varco Prudens Buildings’ 2004 Hall of Fame.
The future of the building is uncertain.
LebTown reached out to the store owner but has not received a response at the time of publication.