The James Dean Memorial Gallery is moving from the movie star's hometown of Fairmount, Indiana to an area near I-69 in hopes of attracting more visitors. About 10,000 people visit the gallery each year, and curator David Loehr expects that to increase to as many as 50,000.

The 7,000-square-foot museum may be hard to miss when it opens amid searchlights, a car show and 1950s music. But museum supporters aren't counting on hoopla alone to attract some of the 32,000 vehicles that the Indiana Department of Transportation estimates pass the Gas City exit each day. About 3,000 of those currently pull off at the exit, according to a 2000 study.

The gallery chronicles the life of the star of "Rebel Without a Cause," who died in a car crash at age 24. The new museum about 50 miles southwest of Fort Wayne also will house a 35-seat theater and a research library.

Sounds pretty cool to me!

Posted by: Lawrenkm at 08:44 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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