ThisWeek CW 03/08/2012
Former car dealership owner Bob McDorman wants to transform a vacant lumberyard into a museum commemorating his love for cars.
McDorman, founder of Bob McDorman Cheverolet, told Canal Winchester City Council on March 5 that he hopes to transform the old Cellar Lumber Yard at 45 E. Waterloo St. back into showroom condition.
He said he hoped to use the space for the Bob McDorman Automotive Museum and to provide a new home for the Ed Jeffers Barber Museum, now located on South High Street.
“I was speaking with the mayor and he asked me what I was going to do with myself now that I’m retired, and I said, ‘I want to help out the city,’” McDorman said. “I’m still very passionate for cars, and I was just inducted into the National Corvette Hall of Fame.
“I’m 79 years old and I’m not done yet,” he said. “This building will be the place that I’ll continue to do my work, mess with some cars and help the town out.”
McDorman presented council with architectural drawings of the 22,000-square-foot facility he would like to build.
According to McDorman, he is in the process of trying to purchase the vacant lumberyard but is in competition with another buyer.
“I’m second in line on contract for the property. I’ll know by March 31 if we get it,” he said. “This building will blend with everything we’ve got downtown. It’ll be 370 feet long by 60 feet wide to fit 50 cars, and I’ll have an antique gas station there in front of the main building with two cars on display.”
McDorman said he wants to line the interior walls with his vintage sign collection and believes that having the barber museum in the building would be mutually beneficial to each organization.
Barber museum board member Mike Coolman said McDorman’s plans would solve a growing space problem for his organization.
“This is the most generous gift anyone has given us,” Coolman said. “The situation with the museum is that we’ve outgrown our space and our current landlord would like the space back to rent out more profitably.
“Since this will be street level, it’ll increase foot traffic and help with groups of seniors and other specialty groups that can’t climb stairs like we have at our current location.”
McDorman said if his plans come to fruition, he intends to provide the barber museum with 4,500 square feet. The museum currently is housed in 2,800 square feet, Coolman said.
The new location also would provide room for mini buses and tour buses.
“Right now, there’s no place for a bus to pull up or park and McDorman is offering space for that,” Coolman said. “We’ve also been handed the reins of the barber association, so this isn’t just space for the museum. But we’ll need space for member drives and other administrative work. We’re just running out of room.”
If McDorman is successful in purchasing the property, he said he hopes to complete the project by mid-August and host his annual charity Corvette show in downtown Canal Winchester.
“I’m hoping to have the car show downtown,” he told council. “We’ve brought in as many as 15,000 people in the past and the big Corvette outfits have said they’d go wherever I go, so I want to make sure I can put this thing together.”