For nearly three decades, Tom Gelinas has been rescuing relics and displaying them for public enjoyment. But now, he needs a rescue of his own to keep the Valley Relics Museum open.
The one-of-a-kind museum in the San Fernando Valley has a wide array of Southern California nostalgia, from the talking Jack in the Box head and the Hollywood Video sign to the phone booth from "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey."
Nothing is too old, too odd, or too forgotten to save. Who else would have Jane Mansfield's lipstick?
Gelinas opened the Valley Relics Museum at a Van Nuys Airport hangar in 2018 after outgrowing the Chatsworth location.
"So much cool stuff, it's our culture, what we grew up with," Gelinas said among his collection of neon signs and Hollywood movie memorabilia.
He says it's not just about collecting things; it's about saving the places and memories that defined generations – like the bus from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." Gelinas said there are more than 30,000 artifacts in the museum.
But now, after saving so many pieces of the past, there's a new challenge that could threaten the museum's future. A $70,000 balloon payment, due in December; a financial hurdle he says stems from the pandemic.
For the first time, the self-sustaining nonprofit is asking the community for help. "We've worked hard – blood, sweat and tears on this passion project," Gelinas said.
The family has launched an online fundraiser. His children say this is about saving more than a building full of old signs.
"It's been a self-sustaining nonprofit for so long, and I don't want to see this place go anywhere," Shane Gelinas said. "It's really important to me. I watched Dad pour life into this place."
The family hopes the community that helped build the collection will now help keep it alive for generations to come.
