Avon Lake Businessman Wants to Bring Train Museum to Old Theater

The city of Avon Lake could be the home of a train museum and a community workshop if plans to renovate the old Avon Lake Theater on the city's west end move forward.

Tom Patton, who owns Artstown Shopping Center, including the closed Avon Lake Theater, is taking steps toward making the now-gutted 11,000-sq.-ft. theater a train museum, features items from the Lake Shore Electric Railway.

“I want to turn that into a rail museum; a Lake Shore Electric museum,” Patton said.

Patton has a pretty good start. He’s owned a Lake Shore Electric (LSE) rail car for years and recently moved it into the theater. Patton rolled the massive No. 38 car through a side door and into the building. It is part of collection that includes hundreds of old LSE photos and a book on the Lake Shore Electric Railway, co-authored by Patton.

Patton envisions not only a museum, but also taking the space that housed the closed skate park as a community workshop where people can use the area on personal projects as well helping with museum renovations. He is partnering with Dennis Lamont, of the Lake Shore Railway Association on the project.

Lamont co-authored the book, Images of Rail, the Lake Shore Electric Railway with Patton and Albert Doane, administrator of the Lorain Historical Society. The book details the storied past of the LSE railroad and its prominence in the greater Cleveland area in photos and captions. Rail service stopped in 1938 but the railroad’s history remains prevalent in Avon Lake, including the naming of Electric Boulevard and remnants at Saddle Inn, next to the theater.

Lamont and Patton addressed city council on April 4, using slides and video of the Lake Shore Electric Railway to take council members on a nostalgic trip dating back to the days when thousands would ride the rails from Lorain and Cleveland to picnic at Avon Beach Park’s development (where the power plant now stands).  

“This would be the starting point and would expand, if space were available and the interest were shown, to make it a place for people to come and spend a day,” Lamont said of the project.

Similar to Patton, Lamont also has an original LSE car, the restored No. 167, that Patton said would be welcome in the museum. Lamont, who collects train memorabilia, has more than 250,000 train and Lake Shore Electric-related items. He ran a Lake Shore Electric Museum in Lorain until 10 years ago and maintains the non-profit organization. Patton said the items would be a welcome inclusion in the museum. 

Lamont said the museum, which Patton envisions would include the cars restored and running, could be a major attraction for Avon Lake.

“This is what we’re trying to bring back, ‘Destination: Avon Beach Park,’” Lamont said.

Patton said he expected to duplicate some of the nostalgic train photos that currently decorate the office of his and his wife, Tomie’s company, Commerce Benefits Group, also in the plaza.

“They’ll just be bigger,” Patton said.

Patton said he would make use of the already finished lobby formerly used by TrueNorth Cultural Arts Center and plans to open a doorway that was bricked over, to allow access to beneath the building.

The museum would not be the only new addition to Truenorth plaza, Patton said. He is toying with the idea of taking the 14,000-square-foot building that housed the Avon Lake Skate Park and turning it into an open workshop.

“It would be open to the community,” Patton said.

He said community workshops are popular down south for fellowship and community members could do their own projects, or possibly help with projects related to the museum.

Currently, the pair is looking for community feedback on the project, including interested volunteers. Businesses and individuals interested in obtaining more information or helping can contact Patton at Pattontom@yahoo.com or by telephone at 440-328-8890. Lamont can be reached by email at Ge13031@yahoo.com.