Ames History Museum expands into former dry-cleaner building

AMES, Iowa — When the old Pantorium Building came up for sale, the Board of the Ames History Museum decided to buy the structure, as a way for the museum to expand.

After a nearly $4 million dollar fundraising campaign the building has been completely renovated.

The Ames History Museum invited the public to come see the new digs on Saturday.

“We’ve been able to build this brand new museum, expand from our previous history Museum and build this amazing exhibit hall upstairs five times the space we had in the old building,” said Alex Fejfar, Exhibits Manager at the Museum. “Part of that exhibit includes a large recreation of the Ames Dinkey Train, which is a little steam train that ran between downtown in the college.”

The Dinkey started running between Ames and Iowa State in 1891. The train provided an alternative to the mud road. The fare was five cents each way, and it ran every two hours.

The museum paid a company to re-create a life sized model of the Dinkey locomotive. That is the centerpiece of a second floor exhibit area.

The Pantorium, a former Ames dry cleaner was known for a giant neon sign marking the business. That sign was restored.

The museum covers Ames High School athletics, and signs from businesses in the past.

It also told the story of an Ames aviator whom the City recently named the airport here.

James Herman Banning, who moved to Ames in 1919 to attend Iowa State College, was the first African American to receive his pilot’s license from the U.S. Department of Commerce. Banning and mechanic Thomas C. Allen were the first African Americans to complete a transcontinental flight from Los Angeles to Long Island, New York.

“We tried to get a little bit of everything you know some Iowa State College, some DOT, some Old Town, some Campustown, and try to hit every corner of town,” said Fejfar. “Whether you’ve lived here for five generations, or you just moved here maybe a year ago, you can go up in that exhibit hall, and you can find something you can relate to, whether it’s your neighborhood, your job, your family, or something like that.”

The Ames History Museum is open at 416 Douglas Avenue from Tuesday through Saturday.

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