LA museum reduced to begging on GoFundMe to keep the lights on amid budget crisis after 30 years

After nearly three decades of saving the San Fernando Valley’s past, one treasured Los Angeles museum is begging the public to save its future.

The Valley Relics Museum — which houses more than 30,000 vintage artifacts inside two massive airport hangars at Van Nuys Airport — has launched an urgent GoFundMe campaign as crushing overhead costs, post-pandemic deficits, and looming debt threaten to wipe out decades of local history.

The quirky cultural institution has everything from vintage neon signs and Hollywood memorabilia to classic cars and long-forgotten restaurant relics, and launched a $75,000 campaign to stay afloat.

Founder Tommy Gelinas faces a whopping $70,000 balloon payment due in December, leaving the once self-sustaining nonprofit scrambling for donations to avoid becoming another piece of Valley history itself.

“For over a decade, Valley Relics Museum has existed to preserve and celebrate the unique history of the San Fernando Valley,” Gelinas wrote on the campaign page, detailing how the COVID-19 pandemic closures delivered a financial blow from which the venue never fully recovered.

The forced shutdowns froze public ticket sales and abruptly canceled the lucrative private events that once funded daily operations, he said.

While the museum worked to rebound, costs for hangar leases, utility bills, insurance, and maintenance have pushed the nonprofit to the brink.

“We’ve worked hard – blood, sweat and tears on this passion project,” Gelinas told CBS Los Angeles.

The museum is no ordinary collection of dusty antiques.

Among its thousands of treasures are Eve Plumb’s bedroom door from “The Brady Bunch,” a talking Jack in the Box head, the neon sign from defunct local landmark the Palomino Club, an LADWP Holiday Cookbook from the 1950’s, Jeff Spicoli’s Volkswagen van from “Fast Time at Ridgemont High,” over 150 vintage BMX bikes, and more.

“Many of these artifacts were once part of everyday life,” the GoFundMe reads. “Our mission is to preserve these relics and showcase the history, culture, and spirit of the San Fernando Valley.”

Funds raised from the campaign would also help revive public events, educational school tours and community workshops, while allowing the museum to restore artifacts currently tucked away in storage.

Gelinas noted that future exhibits would spotlight the Valley’s storied car culture, historic architecture and film industry connections.

The financial crisis has also prompted local leaders to sound the alarm. The Studio City Neighborhood Council urged residents to open their wallets, warning that the Valley cannot afford to lose another beloved institution.

The GoFundMe has raised more than $42,000 so far since launching in August.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters