Zionsville, Ind.Tucked away in an industrial park, connected to Fanimation, is the AFCA Antique Fan Museum. The museum was brought to Indianapolis by Tom Frampton, the owner and founder of Fanimation, and currently displays upward of 2,000 fans. The two-story museum displays both antique and vintage fans. According to Fan Restorer and Assistant Curator Kim Frank, the museum is for anybody who appreciates early electrical appliances. The museum showcases fans from all around the world, including some that were manufactured right here in Indianapolis. All fans on display at the museum are privately owned by around 70 collectors and are on loan to the museum. These fans include battery-powered fans, water-powered fans, steam-powered fans, belt-and-pulley fans, alcohol-powered fans, wind-up fans, electric handheld fans, ceiling fans, wall fans, desk fans, pedestal fans, and rail car fans. “My whole collection is in here,” Frank said. “I collect very specifically General Electric from 1894 through 1908 and it is probably the most comprehensive collection in the world of early GE fans.” Although Frank, a retired firefighter for the Pike Township Fire Department, has been in the business of antique restoration since after high school, he did not get into fan restoration until 2000. “In 1997, I sold the last of my Harley Davidsons,” Frank said. “I used to ride and restore Harleys. That was my hobby, my passion. I bounced around for a few years and really didn’t have any outside interests. Then we were out antiquing one day in 2000 and I found an old fan.” After he got that fan running properly and a friend introduced him to Ebay, his new collection and hobby took off. According to Frank, for many of the collectors, the fans on display are just the tip of the iceberg. He admitted that he has another 20 fans at home that are not part of the collection he has on display. Frank works in the restoration shop behind the museum and gives tours to museum visitors. Although the museum does attract visitors from around the world, he says it is hard to predict how many will come each week. “Some weeks we don’t get anybody, other weeks I can’t get anything done in the shop because I’m giving tours,” said Frank. “We get a lot of autistic children that come in. They are fascinated by fans. They are fascinated by the movement. They are more interested in upstairs. Upstairs the ceiling fans are all interactive. You can turn them on, you can turn them off.” He explained that the museum holds quarterly meetings for the kids who are collectors to come out and share their collections and have a great time with each other. The next meeting will be July 14. “It gives you a whole new application to the collecting,” Frank said. “If I am out going to antique stores or flea markets and I see an old cheap fan, I don’t particularly collect those, but if they’re reasonable I’ll pick them up just so when these kids come in you can give it to them, so it’s kind of neat.” In addition to this, the museum holds a three-day meeting every September for members of the Antique Fan Collectors Association from all over the United States. Although the museums hours are limited, Frank said that they are very accommodating and will work with your schedule if given enough of a heads up. I love antiquing and learning about history, so this museum was the best of both worlds for me! Each fan on display is a functional art piece that is both beautiful to look at and fun to learn about. I would highly recommend stopping by the museum and getting the tour from Frank if you are ever in the area. --Jess
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AuthorsPete is the founder of Piggyback App. At the time of writing this description, he may or may not be on a horse. |