WARREN, Ohio – The project to create the Museum of Science Fiction & Fantasy Arts downtown has received a major grant of $2.3 million.
The funding is from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Mineral Resources Management.
The museum will be located in a now vacant 14,000-square-foot building at 410 Main St. and will be owned and operated by the Trumbull County Historical Society.
Meghan Reed, director of the historical society, was excited about the grant, which was announced Thursday morning.
“It’s definitely a catalyst to hopefully larger funding to get us to the first phase of construction,” she said.
The historical society hopes to complete design and development work this year and break ground by the end of the year or early in 2027, she said.
“Our focus now is on raising other dollars so we will have a total amount known when we start construction,” she said. The amount will dictate how much of the building will initially open, and when it will open.
The museum will be opened in stages. “The goal is to open the first two floors first,” Reed said. “We’ll see how the fundraising goes.”
The historical society will need to match the funding it received Thursday to have enough to launch the project, Reed said.
It is awaiting a decision in early spring on another large grant it is seeking. “We applied for an Appalachian Regional Commission Power Initiative grant for $2 million,” Reed said.
The historical society also expects to raise money through naming rights opportunities at the museum, she said.
The centerpiece of the museum will be a collection of props that appeared in major sci-fi movies that were made by Warren native John Zabrucky through his California company, Modern Props.
Zabrucky donated his collection with a goal of creating a museum.
The collection includes items that appeared in “Blade Runner,” “Ghostbusters,” “Men in Black,” most “Star Trek” movies and many other feature films.
“Our goal is to create a nationally significant museum that looks at the art of worldbuilding, the science behind science fiction and the rise of science fiction and fantasy in mainstream culture,” Reed said last year.
The museum’s steering committee has engaged Hickok Cole, an architecture firm based in Washington, D.C., to lead the design process.
Hickok Cole has done similar work for the International Spy Museum, National Geographic Pavilion and the headquarters of National Public Radio.The state’s Division of Mineral Resources Management awarded five other grants Thursday for projects that will benefit communities impacted by abandoned coal mines. The goal of each award is to promote economic and environmental opportunities within communities that have been reliant on coal mining.
The other projects are in Belmont, Coshocton, Gallia, Monroe and Stark counties.
Pictured at top: The Museum of Science Fiction and Fantasy Arts will be located in this building at 410 Main St., Warren.