Capital Campaigns

The Thomas F. Grose Library and Research Center, and Thomas Nelson Plaza. 

OERM has long recognized the importance of having a dedicated library and archives facility. Thanks to generous financial support from Thomas Grose, Mary Ann Nelson, and many others, a new building is finally within reach. The new facility will house the extensive collection of documents, photogrpahic materials, maps, drawings, and other materials which are now stored in interim locations around the museum site. 2012 began with over $800,000 raised to date for the project and a conceptual design based on several years of planning. We have now entered the final design and permitting phase and hope to enter construction in late 2012. Your generous gift will help us to raise the additional funds necessary for the building’s completion.  Naming opportunities at all levels are still available.  For more information on the Library project click here.

The Perris Connection

OERM has long sought to create a meaningful context for visitors riding the trains on our museum railway. The beautifully restored Perris Depot and the Perris Valley Museum it houses can provide a wonderful destination for our railway experience.  Unfortunately, without our own tracks, our trolleys are precluded from reaching the Depot, and with Metrolink commuter rail service expanding, track sharing is no longer an option for our trains. The Perris Connection will fulfill the dream of providing us with our own access to the Perris Depot and a direct passenger connection to Metrolink and the adjacent Ward Kimball transit center. This will pave the way for our planned daily operations to and from this classic train station.  The commuter rail extension project is now in final engineering. The signal will soon change to “green”, requiring us to move quickly on funding the completion of our infrastructure components. Your support will help us to make that move and get the trains rolling into town once again.