Postal museum to get new home

By Nancy Spencer, The Delphos Herald
Published:  Friday, May 16, 2008 (2 months, 1 week ago)
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DELPHOS – The Museum of Postal History of Delphos will move to a new location in the near future.
The former Eagles Lodge located at 339 N. Main St. was purchased Wednesday evening at a public auction by museum curator Gary Levitt.
Levitt and the museum board have actively sought a larger facility that would allow access for visitors who are physically-challenged. Levitt won the bid from 25 other interested parties.
“Tonights purchase will end one long journey of finding an appropriate home but will be the start of a much longer journey of recreating the exhibits and refurbishing the building,” Levitt said Wednesday. “We will be actively seeking help from all corners of the community. Our past successes have been a result of the overwhelming support of numerous organizations and generous individuals. That support has made it possible for us to receive the recognition and notoriety we have enjoyed over the last 15 years.”
Delphos City Council President Bob Ulm said the venture is positive for downtown Delphos.
“We had been hopeful someone would step forward and purchase the building with a real plan for renovations,” he said this morning. “There’s no question that Mr. Levitt will need considerable community support and ideas for how the building will be best utilized.”
Mayor Mike Gallmeier is excited to have one of the growing number of vacant downtown buildings occupied.
“I think the museum will be a nice addition to the downtown and its good to have that space filled,” he said. “I hope it works out for Gary and the city will help in any way it can with finding funding to help him accomplish what he wants to do.”
Plans will begin soon to repair various portions of the building which has been a livery stable, recreation center, fraternal lodge, restaurant and a nightclub. The 10,000-plus square feet will allow for new displays and may even include other museum type collections not directly related to postal history.
“It is much too soon to speculate what the final vision would be for the building,” Levitt said. “I have already heard suggestions to turn the building into indoor batting cages and a dinner theater or possibly a duckpin bowling alley. Our immediate goal is for a museum of postal history.”
As with all such enterprises, manpower and funding are of the greatest concerns. According to Levitt, all efforts will be made to obtain low cost loans, grants and contributions.
“The museum board has been sketching a master plan for some time now and with this new development, their efforts will be significantly increased,” Levitt added.
Local contractors will be contacted to bid on the necessary repairs while assistance in development of the exhibits could possibly come from local residents and artisans.
Levitt, a former postmaster of Delphos, recently was a nominee for the Jefferson Award for his volunteer work and his vision in creating the museum.
Anyone wishing to help financially or with providing other assistance should contact the Delphos Postal Museum either at P.O. Box 184, Delphos OH 45833-0184, or by calling the museum phone number of 419-303-5482.

1 Reader Response to “Postal museum to get new home”

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  1. #1 — Added 2 months ago

    How wonderful! Delphos is such a great town and its good to see things filling those empty buildings. I remember the stores of my youth, Grant and Woolworth, the theater, Westrich’s Furniture and Butler’s Bakery. When I come home I miss seeing the downtown section’s business and vitality. I would love to see the downtown revitalized.

    Posted on May 18, 2008 at 6:23 am by Rev. Sandra Kohorst Dennis