History center gets 2 gifts of $500K

Staff report

Youngstown

The Mahoning Valley Historical Society has received two $500,000 naming-rights gifts for its regional history museum, which is under construction.

The main exhibit gallery on the first floor of the new Tyler Mahoning Valley History Center on Federal Street downtown will be named for the Frank and Pearl Gelbman Foundation. The historic ballroom on the second floor of the museum will be named for the late Paul J. Thomas and his wife, Marguerite K. Thomas.

Paul and Marguerite Thomas were “very civic-minded, charitable people and longtime members of the Mahoning Valley Historical Society and generous supporters,” said H. William Lawson, director of the Mahoning Valley Historical Society.

Lawson said the $500,000 was a bequest to the historical society after the death of Marguerite K. Thomas in 2007 and was used as the seed money to start the capital campaign.

“We will have this wonderful ballroom for anybody to rent,” he said. “We plan to have a lot of activities there once the history center is open.”

The Thomas Ballroom will offer a 3,300-square-foot venue with restored d cor, dance floor, lighting, bandstand and views of downtown. It will be a gathering space for public use with an adjacent kitchen and bar facilities.

The Gelbman Foundation Gallery will feature a large-scale, multimedia exhibit in 2,200 square feet of museum space with visual and hands-on elements.

The exhibit’s components are being designed by Exhibit Concepts, a company in Vandalia, Ohio, to create interactive exhibits that tell the stories and achievements of the people of the Valley.

The Tyler Mahoning Valley History Center will become the region’s first comprehensive history museum.

Under the theme “Inspiration through Heritage,” the center’s educational exhibits, tours, presentations and classes will be designed to build pride and encourage leadership for future generations, according to a statement from the MVHS.

More than $4.4 million of the $6 million fund-raising goal for the museum has been secured. Four million dollars will be used to renovate and adapt the site, and $2 million for endowments to fund future programming and operations.

The first naming-rights gift the center announced was in June from Jeanne D. Tyler, a longtime supporter of local civic, health-care and educational institutions.

She donated $700,000 as the lead gift of the financial campaign and became the center’s namesake.