Imagine a museum where you can see the bedroom door from “The Brady Bunch,” a talking Jack in the Box head and a van from a cult-classic teen comedy, all under one roof. Now imagine that museum is fighting to stay open.

After nearly three decades of saving the San Fernando Valley’s past, the Valley Relics Museum is asking the public to help save its future, according to the New York Post.

30,000 Artifacts Inside Two Giant Hangars At Van Nuys Airport

The museum houses more than 30,000 vintage artifacts inside two massive airport hangars at Van Nuys Airport. It has launched an urgent GoFundMe campaign as heavy overhead costs, post-pandemic deficits and looming debt threaten decades of local history.

The quirky institution holds everything from vintage neon signs and Hollywood memorabilia to classic cars and long-forgotten restaurant relics. Its campaign goal is $75,000.

The pressure point is a date. Founder Tommy Gelinas faces a $70,000 balloon payment due in December, leaving the once self-sustaining nonprofit scrambling for donations.

“Blood, Sweat And Tears On This Passion Project”

“For over a decade, Valley Relics Museum has existed to preserve and celebrate the unique history of the San Fernando Valley,” Gelinas wrote on the campaign page. He described how the COVID-19 closures delivered a financial blow from which the museum never fully recovered.

The forced shutdowns froze public ticket sales and abruptly canceled the lucrative private events that once paid for daily operations, he said.

While the museum worked to rebound, the costs of hangar leases, utility bills, insurance and maintenance pushed the nonprofit to the brink. “We’ve worked hard – blood, sweat and tears on this passion project,” Gelinas told a local television station.

Eve Plumb’s Brady Bunch Door, A Talking Jack In The Box And A Spicoli Van

This is no ordinary collection of dusty antiques. Among its treasures are Eve Plumb’s bedroom door from “The Brady Bunch,” a talking Jack in the Box head, and the neon sign from the defunct local landmark the Palomino Club.

There is also an LADWP Holiday Cookbook from the 1950s, Jeff Spicoli’s Volkswagen van from “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” and more than 150 vintage BMX bikes.

“Many of these artifacts were once part of everyday life,” the GoFundMe reads. “Our mission is to preserve these relics and showcase the history, culture, and spirit of the San Fernando Valley.”

What The Money Would Buy Beyond Paying The Bill

The campaign would also help bring back public events, educational school tours and community workshops. It would let the museum restore artifacts currently tucked away in storage.

Gelinas noted that future exhibits would spotlight the Valley’s storied car culture, historic architecture and film industry connections.

Local leaders have also sounded the alarm. The Studio City Neighborhood Council urged residents to open their wallets, warning that the Valley cannot afford to lose another beloved institution.

For anyone who grew up in Southern California, or who simply loves old television, the collection works like a family scrapbook. A bedroom door from a sitcom set, a roadside restaurant mascot and a neon sign from a lost music hall are the kind of things that jog a memory the moment you see them.

That is the argument behind the museum, and it is why so many neighbors have rallied to its side. Once artifacts like these are gone, they are very hard to replace.

$42,000 Raised Since August, With The December Deadline Looming

The GoFundMe has raised more than $42,000 so far since launching in August. That is more than half of the $75,000 goal, but the December payment is close.

It is a hopeful number and a tense one at the same time, and it means the museum still needs thousands more to reach its target.

How You Can Help A Local Museum, Even From Far Away

Stories like this one repeat in towns across the country. A small museum fills with things that were once part of everyday life, then runs into rising bills and a hard few years. If a favorite local spot is in trouble where you live, there are practical ways to help.

Give what you can, even if it is small. A modest donation from many people adds up, and the Valley Relics campaign shows how quickly that can happen.

Share the story with friends and family. Many people who would gladly chip in may simply not realize a place is in trouble until someone tells them.

Visit in person if you can. Ticket sales and private events are exactly the income the museum lost during the pandemic, so a visit, a gift shop purchase or a booking for an event all help a nonprofit stay open.

Finally, think about the objects in your own home. Old signs, menus, photographs and family keepsakes tell the story of a community. Local museums and historical societies often welcome donations, and writing down who owned an item and when makes it more useful to them.

The Valley Relics Museum still has its doors open and its hangars full of the everyday things that made the Valley what it was. Whether it gets to keep them depends on what happens before that December payment comes due.

More Stories You May Like

• 8 Albums That Spent The Longest Stretches On The Billboard 200, Including A Pink Floyd Classic That Simply Refuses To Leave
• Chipping Paint On Vintage Toys And Painted Kitchenware Can Carry Lead So Think Twice Before Kids Or Food Touch Them
• Fake Vintage Band Tees Are Everywhere And Here Is How To Spot The Tag And Stitching Clues Before You Overpay