Exhibits
are easy to view, incorporate modern exhibit technologies, and
provide hours of entertainment for people of all ages. Our gift
shop also includes a great variety of transportation related gifts
ranging from toys for the kids (young and old), to a museum-quality
model of the Big Boy Locomotive.
The entire museum collection was moved from the Tramway building
to the current location, but not everything is on exhibit at one
time. So stop back often to see the changing exhibits.
N
E W S L E T T E R
HISTORY
OF THE FORNEY MUSEUM page 2
.....In
1955 J.D.'s wife Rae and son Jack, decided
that J.D. needed a diversion from business
and secretly conspired to locate a Kissel
Kar similar to the one he owned in high
school. They had hoped he would enjoy
tinkering with the car and perhaps drive
it to work or take it for Sunday drives.
.....A
Kissel was found and Jack arranged to
have it painted yellow. J.D. did indeed
drive it to work quite often, and a photo
of him in his Kissel was published in
the "Forney Flashes", a Forney
Industries weekly that went out to over
600 field representatives around the country.
.....As
soon as the 'Flashes' hit the field a call
came in to J.D. from one of the field representatives,
"I have a 1915 Model T that I can trade
straight across for a Model C Welder. Are
you interested?" Similar calls began
to come in. J.D. was no stranger to barter
from his days in the cash-poor Depression
and couldn't resist the temptation to acquire
the cars he was interested in. He especially
responded to calls that mentioned the owner
needed to get rid of the car and was going
to junk it or sell it to kids to make a
hot rod. From then on J. D. began trading
welders for and buying automobiles and carriages.
The collection began to grow.
.....Jack
was running the manufacturing plant
and one of his employees was a draftsman
who had grown up in his father's shop
- a shop which restored antique automobiles.
Jack mentioned to J.D. that he could
release him for a half week at a time,
if J.D. would like his help in restoring
his growing collection. Within a month,
Jack had to hire a new draftsman, as
J.D. had him working full time on the
cars. The manufacturing plant employed
experienced welders, mechanics, carpenters,
machinists, painters, etc., so many
restoration projects began to be worked
on between production schedules.
.....In
time, J.D. began to receive invitations
requesting the use of his antique automobiles
in parades and events in nearby communities.
Mrs. Forney was a collector of antique
clothing, so often employees with their
families, as well as the Forney family,
dressed in authentic period clothing
for the event, young and old alike.
They were trained to drive the horseless
carriages or classic cars.
Three or four times a year, 6
to 16 vehicles would become part of
a parade or special event in the area.
Jack and Pat's matched team of black
Morgan horses were used to pull one
of the elegant Victorian carriages
in these parades. This required an
entirely different sort of "driver".
Often the cars were driven from Ft.
Collins to the nearby community and
drew quite a bit of attention as they
rolled down the highway to their destination.
This continued for about 8 years.
At this time, it was still just J.D.
and Rae's private collections and
the idea for a museum had not yet
emerged.
J.D.
& Rachel at the Broadmoor
Glidden Pikes Peak Tour
.....At
first, the collection was housed in his
garage, and an attached building J.D.
had used to build welding equipment in
the 40's. But Donart Printers, (an affiliated
commercial printing firm on the premises)
was growing, so a new building was constructed
on LaPorte Avenue with the possibility
that DonArt could expand into it. However,
J.D. began storing some of his vehicles
there before DonArt had expanded enough
to move in.
His
collection began to occupy more
and more of the space in the new
building. The restoration shop was
moved into the back of the building
as J.D. began to acquire more vehicles
that needed work, including some
"basket cases". Donart
made other plans for their expansion.
.....J.D.'s
collecting continued. A small German locomotive
was purchased from a New York amusement park.
Motorcycles, buggies, wagons, carriages and
most anything with wheels were added. Local
residents and employee's families increasingly
desired to view the collection, so J.D.'s grandchildren
were enlisted as cashiers, and to dust and polish
the vehicles. The
collection was usually open on Saturdays and
sometimes Sunday afternoons. Children were charged
10 cents and adults, 25 cents. The collection
grew and grew, so in 1961, it was incorporated
and became the Forney Museum, a non-profit charitable organization [501(c)(3)].
Ft. Collins
....In
1965, Mr. Forney served on a planning committee
bringing a Billy Graham crusade to Denver. Here
he met Jerry Von Frelic who was the originator
of "Cinderella City", one of the first
giant shopping malls in the country. Mr. Von
Frelic offered J.D. free rent if he would move
the collection to his new mall. This would give
the museum more exposure, while drawing people
to the mall, a good deal for both of them. The
museum remained there for about 2 years.
Moving to Cinderella City
.....Due
to limited space and other operational difficulties,
Mr. Forney began to seek a new location. His
collection now numbered over 200 vehicles, including
another locomotive and some rail cars. The Denver
Tramway Powerhouse, a large brick historic building
near the Platte River became available. The
Tramway Power House was built in 1901 to house
the boilers and engines to generate the electricity
for the Denver Trolley system that blanketed
the Denver Metropolitan area until 1950. Another
collector, Dr. James Arniel, a prominent Denver
surgeon, had several railcars and six antique
automobiles. He partnered with J.D. to purchase
the building to house both collections and was
active in raising money for the Museum in it's
new home. The collections were moved to the
Powerhouse in 1968.
.....Shortly
after the move, Union Pacific donated a 4884
Alco 'Big Boy' Locomotive, the largest steam
locomotives ever built. Only 8 of these giants
remain today. Donated vehicles of all sorts
began to be more prevalent than acquisitions.
These donations could be written off the donor's
taxes, providing a benefit for both the museum
and the donor.
.....The
Museum remained in the tramway building for
30 years, remaining a well known landmark along
I-25. The museum, however, continued to grow
and finally began outgrowing the Tramway building.
Also, the high cost of restoring the continually
deteriorating structure was becoming prohibitive.
All restoration had to be done to historic site
specifications and often involved considerable
time navigating red tape and ongoing negotiations.
Asbestos and lead paint in the old building
had to be addressed also. Much of the time and
money that was to have been used to upgrade
the exhibits and make the area more comfortable
for visitors was redirected to maintaining the
building. The idea of moving the entire collection
was staggering, and the museum made several
efforts over the years to secure sufficient
funding for the museum to continue operation.
.....J.D.'s
health began failing in the mid '80s and Jack
took over managing the activities of the museum.
In October of 1998, under his direction, the
Museum sold the Platte Street building to sporting
goods retailer REI. It ran them around $40 million
to restore the old building to a level the Museum
could never have achieved. A warehouse facility
on Brighton Blvd. next to the Denver Coliseum
was purchased. Renovations began in 1998. With
the help of many volunteers and the loan of
needed equipment, most of the collection was
moved to the new building by the spring of 1999.
It took 2 years of negotiations, permits, track
laying, etc. to move the Big Boy locomotive
to its new home, ultimately costing over $750,000.
(The moving of the collection is a story unto
itself for another issue.)
.....From
the move to the opening of the "new"
Museum, we were very fortunate to have hired
our director, Pam Johnson Bestall, whose tireless
work and creativity have been invaluable in
this undertaking. Her interest in the collection
and understanding of its historic value make
her an extremely valuable asset.
.....In
January of 2001 the Museum opened to the public
in this spacious 140,000 square foot facility.
Only 70,000 square feet of space is now being
utilized for exhibition and administrative purposes.
The remaining space is available for future
expansion when funds are available. The entire
museum collection, including the train equipment
and Big Boy steam locomotive, is now housed
indoors.
Front of the new museum building
.....Along
with his wife Rae, J.D. spent untold hours with
the museum over the years. Their children and
grandchildren have also worked extensively on
the museum. Jack Forney and his family continue
to do so. Most museum exhibits are from J.D.'s
collection and were donated to the Forney Museum
of Transportation. Jack and Pat Forney have
put a tremendous amount of time, energy and
money into the Museum. It is through their dedication
this historical treasure has been kept alive.
