Allen County Museum
The recently expanded Allen County Museum has something for everyone. New to the facility is the Children’s Discovery Center offering hands-on activities for kids of all ages. Put on your apron and become a shopkeeper at the general store. Sit by the fire in the Native American wigwam. Browse the numerous exhibits in the only AAM accredited county museum in Ohio. Whether your interest is natural history, rocks and minerals, transportation, or to learn about the Jess Sarber/John Dillinger Saga and John Dillinger’s gang, you’ll find it all at the Allen County Museum. The institution also offers the Elizabeth M. MacDonell Memorial Library, a favorite among family history researchers. For the railroad enthusiast, visit the John H. Keller Railroad Archives featuring thousands of photographs, builders’ prints, and Lima Locomotive Works documents. Families and individuals welcome year round. Bus and group tours welcome…call to schedule your visit.
620 W. Market Street, Lima
419-222-9426
Hours: 1:00-5:00 p.m. Tuesday-Friday
1:00-4:00 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
Closed Mondays and national holidays.
www.allencountymuseum.org
Tour Guides available for pre-arranged tours. No admission fee. Donations welcomed. return to top of page
Artspace Lima Artspace/Lima is the premiere art gallery and educational center in West Central Ohio.
Components are the Ellen Nelson Gallery, Time Warner Cable ArtZone, Gallery for Young People, and Gallery Shop. It also houses one of the regions BEST arts resource libraries.
Artspace/Lima is housed in a turn of the century brick building in the northwest quadrant of Town Sqaure in downtown Lima.
Artspace/Lima
65-67 Town Square, Lima
419-222-1721
www.artspacelima.com
return to top of page
Children's Garden The Children's Garden is a project of the OSU Extension, 4-H Master Gardeners and the Allen County Historical Society. It is a privately funded effort to establish a public garden space designed for children.
The Children's Garden offers hands-on educational opportunities to learn about gardening and horticulture and provides children, families and the community with an attractive gathering place.
Garden Location:
620 W. Market Street, Lima
Managed by the OSU Extension Office:
3900 Campus Drive, Suite B
Lima
419-222-9946
return to top of page
Council for the Arts of Greater LimaA community arts organization specializing in arts education programs and events. Located in Memorial Hall.
120 W. Elm Street
Lima
419-222-1096 return to top of page
Crouse Performance Hall Crouse Performance Hall is an 1800 seat, state-of-the-art facility that is located on the south end of the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center complex. The hall is beautiful, acoustically superb and can handle events from the simplest lecture to the most complex Broadway show.
It is the home for the Lima Symphony Orchestra, the Lima Area Concert Band, the Town Square Music Company, the Town Square Celebrity Series and many community organizations.
The hall has hosted Broadway and professional touring companies, Sesame Street Live, Illusionist David Copperfield and a wide range of theatre, concert, dance and lecture events.
Crouse Performance Hall
Veterans Memorial Civic & Convention Center
7 Town Square, Lima
www.limaciviccenter.com
Box Office: 419-224-1552 or 1-888-377-0641
Business Office: 419-224-5222 or 1-888-377-0674 return to top of page
Delphos Canal Commission Museum This folklore museum features exhibits on the canals and canal boat history in Allen County, as well as artifacts from life in Delphos, Ohio from 1851 on. You will find a 1902 Sears Buggy Roadster, antique tools and manufactoring equipment along with many other displays depicting the history of business, industry, schools, churches, events, homes and more. The Center also houses a craft and gift store and quilt club.
Walking tours of historic homes and buildings and refreshments available upon request.
Groups by appointment.
Admission: Free
Delphos Canal Commission Museum
111 W. Third Street
Delphos
Phone: 419-695-7737 return to top of page
Delphos Postal Museum Discover American history through the influence of the United States mail. The Delphos Postal Museum is located inside a 1933 James A. Farley style granite and sandstone building located just blocks from Lincoln Highway and on the banks of the Miami-Erie Canal. As you enter this picturesque post office you will be taken back in time when marble, terrazzo, brass and oak adorned these grandiose structures.
Exhibits begin in the lobby and continue throughout the entire lower level.
Learn about mail processing, the development of the letter, stamps and postmarks. Enjoy a guided tour, videos, books and reference materials on every aspect of the post office.
Find a 1906 Harrington rural coach, a rural mail sled, a 1/4 ton right hand drive jeep, a 1963 Westcoaster and a 1957 Cushman mailster among the many exhibits.
Groups by appointment.
Admission: Free
Special luncheons or dinners may be held in the transportations room. Call for details.
Delphos Postal Museum
131 N. Main Street
Delphos
(will be re-locating to a building at the intersection of North Main and Fourth Street in Delphos when construction is complete--call for info)
Phone: 419-695-2811
www.postalhistorymuseum.org return to top of page
Encore Theatre Amil Tellers of Dramatics, Inc. performs a summer musical, five regular season plays, and at least three McDonalds® Youth Theatre productions each year at the Encore Theatre. See Arts and Entertainment for current schedule.
Encore Theatre
991 North Shore Drive
Lima
Box Office: 419-223-8866 or 1-800-944-1441
www.amiltellers.org return to top of page
Gomer Welsh Community Museum The Welsh Community Museum was established to serve as a center for Welsh culture, local history and genealogy.
Welsh culture, language, religion and customs have played an important role in the cultural fabric of Northwestern Ohio since the early 19th century.
Open the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month from 1:30 to 4pm.
Gomer, where the museum is located, was established in the 1830's by Welsh immigrants. It sits along the banks of the Ottawa River and Pike Run.
By appointment.
Located at 7365 Gomer Road,
Gomer
Kay Studer-419-642-2538
David Whittington-419-342-5911
return to top of page
Harrod Veterans Memorial Park The Veterans Memorial Park lies adjacent to the Railroad Heritage Park and displays a a 155mm M114 A2 Howitzer Cannon, an Anchor from the USS Texas, an M60 A3 Battle Tank and a UH-1 Huey Helicopter. The park was created in honor and memory of all Veterans who served in the United States armed forces.
Both Veterans Memorial and Railroad Heritage Parks played a key role in attracting the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure in 2000.
They were also chosen by the State of Ohio to participate in the GOAL (Great Ohio Adventures in Learning)program.
Veterans Memorial Park
Harrod
1-888-222-6075 return to top of page
Lima Area Concert Band Performances May through September in the Crouse Performance Hall at the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center. See Arts and Entertainment for current season information.
Lima Area Concert Band
Phone:419-228-7618
www.thelacb.org return to top of page
Lima Fire Fighters Memorial MuseumThe Lima Fire Fighters Memorial Museum is dedicated to those who presently serve, as well as those who have served since 1865, protecting the citizens of Lima. It is to these more than 600 fire fighters that we pay tribute. 
Dedicated on Memorial Day 1999, the Lima Fire Fighters Museum houses memorabilia from Lima's fire fighting history. From a 19th century horse-drawn steam pumper to the hero-inscribed honor walk, the museum perpetuates this great history of selfless duty.
You can learn about the heroic individuals who have served the Lima community for the last 150 years. View photos, newspaper accounts, even original equipment used to fight some of Lima's most devastating fires.
New statue added in July 2009 depicts a firefighter holding a child, symbolizing a rescue, each officer's hope when a person is trapped in a fire. In the other hand, he holds the helmet of a fallen fellow firefighter, representing the thing every firefighter hopes against.
Open for outdoor viewing from sun up til sun down. For tour arrangements call the fire chief's office at 419-221-5164 or the CVB offices at 419-222-6075.
Corner of Elm and Shawnee Streets
Lima
419-221-5164
www.limafiremuseum.org
return to top of page
Lima LocosThe Lima Locos is a locally-owned and supported baseball team and is part of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate L eague. The Locos play a 40 game schedule, 20 at home and 20 on the road, against teams from Euclid, Sandusky, Columbus and Grand Lake Celina. This wood bat league is one of 15 summer collegiate leagues in the country. These are all top college baseball players with dreams and aspirations of making it to the major leagues. The Lima Locos are named in honor of the baseball tradition at the Lima Locomotive Works, once one of Lima's largest employers and the nation's third largest producer of steam locomotives. The Loco's season is from June to August. Games are played at the Shawnee High School Field, I-75 exit 120, west on Breese Rd. 2 miles, right on Beeler.
Visit Events Calendar on this website or go to www.limalocos.net. return to top of page
Lima Symphony Orchestra Performances October through April in the Crouse Performance Hall at the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center. Special performances and musical education events occur throughout the year. See our Calendar of Events for current information. See Arts and Entertainment for current season information.
419-222-5701
www.limasymphony.com return to top of page
Lima WarriorsThe Lima Warriors have competed as a semi-professional football team since 2001, and have amassed a combined record of 23-16-1. The Warriors believe in clean, aggressive, highly competitive football. Continuously, the team strives to represent itself as a professional organization built with hard work and dedication. Our mission is to create an atmosphere where all players recognize and value the uniqueness of the individual while being committed to the development of themselves and of the team.
www.limawarriors.com return to top of page
Lincoln Park Railway Exhibit The Lincoln Park Railway Exhibit features a Nickel Plate 779, the last steam engine ever built in Lima, Ohio at the Lima Locomotive Works. You will also find a luxurious private car, built in 1883 and a Nickel Plate caboose built in 1882 and an authentically equipped 1895 country station from the DT&I Railroad.
The Lincoln Park Railway Exhibit is a proud participant and feature in the Great Ohio Adventures in Learning program created by the state of Ohio.
Open for outdoor viewing from sun up til sun down.
For more information contact the City Parks and Recreation Department at 419-221-5195.
E. Elm Street (Corner of Elm and Shawnee Streets)
Lima
419-221-5195 return to top of page
MacDonell House, Victorian MansionLocated next door to the Allen County Museum, this 1890's Victorian mansion is a must see with more than 15 rooms furnished in great detail and open to the public.
This home and its decor are reminiscent of the great wealth brought into Allen County during the oil boom era.
Features include: beautiful parquet floors, intriactely hand-carved woodwork throughout, a two-story stained glass window accented by a grand staircase, a rare Viennese painting on a cobweb, a Wooten cabinet desk, an albino wild game and trophy room and so much more!
Guided tours available through the Allen County Museum.
$3.00 Admission
Part of the Allen County Museum Complex
632 W. Market Street
Lima
419-222-9426
www.allencountymuseum.org
return to top of page
Memorial Hall Located at 120 W. Elm Street, Lima
Managed by Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center
Historic Memorial Hall was built in 1908 and has played a major role in the cultural life of Allen County. Prior to the opening of Crouse Performance Hall, it was the premiere concert and lecture venue, hosting such notables as Eleanor Roosevelt and artists such as Itsaak Perlman, Victor Borge and many, many more.
Renovations have returned the Auditorium and Grand Lobby to their former glory. Today, and in the future, Memorial Hall can serve the community as an ideal location for both cultural and social events, such as wedding receptions, banquets and private parties.
Memorial Hall
C/O Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center
7 Town Square
Lima
419-224-5222
www.limaciviccenter.com
return to top of page
Spencerville Historical Museum
Spencerville Historical Society
119 E. Fourth Street
Spencerville
419-647-4851 return to top of page
The Shay Locomotive Display A restored narrow-guage geared locomotive, known as the Shay Locomotive, was built in 1925 by the Lima Locomotive Works and is located at the Allen County Museum Complex in a shelter facing Metcalf Street.
620 W. Market Street
Lima
419-222-9426
www.allencountymuseum.org return to top of page
Tilton Farm As you enter the gate and travel the winding path to Tilton Farm, imagine yourself taking a step back in time. A time of peace and quiet on the open plains where the buffalo still roam. Traveling around the seven-acre quarry, prepare yourself for a journey into the days of your forefathers.
The first building on your journey is the barn. It was built in 1854 by a family of Swiss-German heritage in the vicinity of Pandora, Ohio, and was disassembled piece-by-piece and reconstructed on the present site. Upon entering the barn, you will come face to face with many interesting and nostalgic items of the past. To help light your way, there are over seventy-five antique lanterns, some of which are attached to wagon wheels overhead. To the left up the stairs, is a beautiful bar of cherry wood from the late 1800s. This bar came from Cygnet, Ohio. There are also several sets of tables and chairs from the bygone Beatley Hotel at Indian Lake.
To the right, up the stairs you will find a small country store. In the walkway, you will come upon a unique wooden Indian, which is well over 300 years old. Please stop and read about him as you take time to enjoy each step of your journey.
Before leaving the barn, one of the best sites is still to see. Come one, come all! To the Tilton Big Top Circus!! We feature a three-ring circus carved to a ¾ inch scale. Clowns and wild animals roam our circus room. A live hissing alligator and a flying trapeze help to make this an experience to remember.
Next to the barn, sits a restored log cabin. John Tabler built the main living area of the log cabin. His name along with a January 4, 1856 date is carved on one of the beams. The kitchen area was fashioned from a cabin originally built on Clum Road near Harrod, Ohio. The antique furnishings and decorations are sure to make one reminisce of days gone by.
In addition, Tilton Farm offers a look into vehicles of the past. Our carriage house boasts enough vintage automobiles to thrill every car enthusiast. Model Ts, 50s and 60s Thunderbirds, fire trucks, a 53 Corvette and many more modes of transportation line this building. Take a moment to sneak a peek at each and every one.
We, at Tilton Farm, would like to share our journey into the past with you. We are now accepting party reservations for Christmas, graduation, retirement, anniversary, wedding, business meetings, class or family reunions. Call us to help plan your most unique gathering for family, friends or your company. It will surely be one to remember. We are also taking reservations for guided tours large or small. Tilton Farm is located just 9 miles southeast of Lima.
6555 Madden Road, Lima 45806
Barb Tilton, 419-648-6835 return to top of page
| 
