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Newly renovated Ames History Museum reopens to connect people and place

Two people hold a blue ribbon while two more use giant scissors to cut it. A crowd stands in the background. A sign reads "Ames History Museum" on a building.
Rachel Cramer
/
Iowa Public Radio
Ames History Museum staff cut a ribbon to celebrate opening the newly expanded and renovated space in downtown Ames.

The Ames History Museum is ready to reopen after a years-long, $4.5 million expansion and renovation. It now has five times more exhibit gallery space, a special collections room and an event space.

One of the highlights is a nearly full-scale replica of the Dinkey engine, a small steam train that ran between Ames and Iowa State University's campus in the 1890s. Another exhibit highlights the Collegian, the first movie theater in town that could play movies in the new widescreen format. After the ribbon cutting Thursday, visitors walked under an Art Deco façade to sit in front of the silver screen.

A nearly-life size replica of a steam train engine sits in a museum exhibit space.
Rachel Cramer
/
Iowa Public Radio
The museum features a near-scale 3D replica of the Dinkey engine, a small steam train that transported students and faculty, mail and building materials between Iowa State University's campus and downtown Ames from 1891 to 1907.

Exhibits Manager Alex Fejfar said the team used old photos to replicate specific details, down to the wallpaper, to bring “some of these elements back to life.”

“Even though they’re gone, they don’t have to be gone completely,” Fejfar said.

An Art Deco facade adorns the entry to a small room that pays homage to a historic movie theater in Ames.
Rachel Cramer
/
Iowa Public Radio
An exhibit in Ames History Museum pays homage to the Collegian, the first movie theater in Ames.

The idea for the revamp emerged seven years ago, said Casie Vance, executive director of Ames History Museum.

“The old museum was in a 1993 office building, so not a building that was built to be a museum at all. We did the best we could with the space,” Vance said.

But staff were limited with how much they could display and the types of programs they could offer.

When the museum’s next-door neighbor offered to sell in 2021, Vance said it was an opportunity the staff and board couldn’t pass up. The museum purchased the Ames Pantorium, a historic drycleaner built in 1926, and joined both buildings.

“We really utilized each space to its strengths,” Vance said. “The Pantorium is our lobby and gathering space. It has that historic charm, and you feel like you’re walking into a historic building, which is great for a museum.”

They renovated the old office building into a 2,600 square-foot collections vault. Collections manager Madeline Mongar-Brodie said archives and artifacts were scattered across multiple sites in Ames before the remodel.

A large window allows visitors a peak into the temperature and humidity-controlled room.

A large sign on the outside of a historic building reads "Ames, Pantorium."
Rachel Cramer
/
Iowa Public Radio
During a ribbon cutting ceremony for Ames History Museum, staff light up the restored Ames Pantorium sign.

“We want the public to know we have all of these historical items to show,” Mongar-Brodie said. “Sometimes in museums, they’re hidden behind walls. You only see 1% of a collection at a given time on exhibit. So, this was a way for us to let our visitors know there’s more to see.”

Private donations and local and state funding, including Historical Resource Development and Community Attraction and Tourism grants, have covered $3.8 million of the $4.5 million cost of the project.

With the grand reopening on Oct. 26, Fejfar emphasized that the museum is for everyone.

“We really want people to feel pride in their community, whether they’ve been here for a long time or not,” Fejfar said. “I think coming here and learning the history of your town is a great way to connect with people and the community, and maybe you’ve seen that weird building in that weird location and now you’ve finally learned why things are the way they are.”

This story was corrected 10/25/2024 to state that the historic movie theater in Ames was the first to show widescreen movies.

Rachel Cramer is IPR's Harvest Public Media Reporter, with expertise in agriculture, environmental issues and rural communities. She's covered water management, food security, nutrition and sustainability efforts among other topics for Yellowstone Public Radio, The Guardian, WGBH and currently for IPR. Cramer is a graduate of the University of Montana and Iowa State University.