Not many buildings were constructed to become an elementary school only to be transitioned into a night-class college and then a unique museum that features the treasures of childhood.
That, however, perfectly defines the existence of the Kruger Street Toy and Train in the Elm Grove neighborhood of Wheeling. The historic structure was originally built in 1906 and the building served as the former location of the Elm Grove Elementary School until 1991. The museum first opened in 1998 and owner Allan Miller has been the owner ever since.
“I hadn’t purchased the building then the museum’s current location would have become a used car lot,” said Miller. “I see myself more as the chairman of the board rather than the owner of the museum because I do a little bit of everything around here.”
Visitors to the museum will see a variety of different toys from the 1800s all the way up to toys that are currently made today.
“About 16 percent of the toys that are currently on display here now will be replaced by other toys that are currently in storage because we always try to rotate what is currently on display,” explained Miller.
Becky Gerlak the museum’s IT director said, “We have something for everyone. There are interactive things in nearly every room. Toddlers to people 100-plus can also enjoy it too. And if nothing else, people can come and visit Loo the Cat. He has lived at the museum since 2013 and he has fans from all over the place.”
There are six different display rooms in the museum including the transportation room, the doll room, the miniatures room, the train room, and the game room. When guests first enter the museum’s lobby they will find a claw machine where they can win a prize. Guests also can hear a song for only a quarter from the nickelodeon player piano, and they can even play a game of pinball on the pinball machines.
The transportation room features toy vehicles of various shapes and sizes. The miniatures room displays everything from Marx tin toy soldiers to Star Wars figurines. The doll room shows off the nation’s largest interactive dollhouse, dolls, baby dolls, dollhouses, and Barbie-esque dolls. The game room is comprised of various different board games and hand-held pinball games, and the train room has a collection of various toy trains including Lionel, American Flyer, Marklin, Marx, and Lawrence Line trains.
“We also currently have a collection of bobbleheads that were donated to us currently on display; Peanuts collection is 15,000 pieces with some duplicates,” said Gerlak.
The museum is a privately-owned business and is located at 144 Kruger Street in Wheeling. The museum is currently still operating during its winter hours and they are open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and after Memorial Day they will be open on Mondays through Sundays from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults ages 18+, $9 for seniors 65+, $6 for children between the ages of 4 and 17, and children 3 and under are free.
There are also yearly memberships to the museum that are available to purchase. An individual membership costs $35 dollars, a family membership costs $75, and a grandparents’ membership costs $75.
The museum also has party rooms that are available for rental. The small party room costs $100 to rent and it fits between 35 to 40 people. The large party room costs $200 dollars to rent and it will fit between 75 to 80 people. You can also rent the small party room which will include the cost of a museum tour for $190 and you can rent the large party room which will include the cost of a tour for $315.
If you’d like to learn more about the Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum, you can find out more by visiting their Facebook page or by visiting their Instagram account.
