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<\/p>\nPor JILL DIAMANTE | Noticias de la zona alta<\/p>\n
Carmen Cooley-Graham is on a mission to keep her late father Jim\u2019s legacy \u2014 the JA Cooley Museum in University Heights \u2014 alive.<\/p>\n
The 10,000-square-foot museum with more than 25 various collections is located at 4233 Park Blvd. Since 1997, it has shared thousands of unique items ranging from an extensive collection of trains to more than 3,000 cameras, phonographs, 100-plus-year-old cars and typewriters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe museum displays significant technological advancements with a focus of 1800 to early 1900s. It shows how far we have come and how someone’s dream became our reality. It\u2019s a way for families to come together and share memories of the past. It’s also just a great place to get away \u2014 your own time machine,\u201d said Cooley-Graham, who has taken over as its curator.<\/p>\n
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Her dad, of course, was well known throughout the community and much of San Diego for his quick wit, ability to listen and entertain visitors when they stopped by. He died in October and Cooley-Graham said the family wants the museum to continue.<\/p>\n
Jim also headed up the 1943 Frank the Trainman Shop since 1983 \u2014 the historic neon sign still lights up Park and El Cajon boulevards \u2014 and is located across the street from the museum. It sells a variety of train paraphernalia for collectors as well as hobbyists.<\/p>\n
Carrying on<\/p>\n
Why carry on rather than close the doors?<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe are a historical foundation and have a 501(c)(3) and our focus is on San Diego history and the education and preservation of inventions,\u201d said Cooley-Graham, who is one of 13 siblings. \u201cI feel that with our historical roots, extensive private collections and knowledge, we can add value to the community. We do no advertising and we get thousands of visitors a year from all over the world. We hope to expand our attendance and bring opportunities to the neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cooley-Graham said her dad was a collector his entire life and a native San Diegan who grew up in Kensington. He and her mom Carmen opened the museum in 1997 and \u201cthey spent almost every day for 23 years at the museum. It was his passion.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Because he collected items early on and throughout his life, most of what visitors see in the museum are items he had in his house or warehouse.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was his dream to open a museum. The opportunity came to buy the building we are in so he just opened a museum,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have something for everyone plus many of the displays are of unique or prototypes. Much of our collection has strong San Diego roots.\u201d<\/p>\n
What makes this place special and one folks would want to visit is that it is open for all.<\/p>\n
![\"Family](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Untitled-1-3.jpg\")
\u201cWe have something for everybody; it\u2019s a cross-generational experience. We get visitors from all over the world as there is nothing like our collection under one roof. It’s 25 museums into one,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As for how she became the curator she said: \u201cI was born into this insanity; how many kids can say their parents own their own museum?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy heart is to keep the memories alive of not only my father but of the older generation,\u201d she said. \u201cIn my dad\u2019s last interview and previous ones, it was his goal and dream that his legacy passes on through the family. This is his gift to a community that he loved and was part of for over 80 years he wouldn’t have it any other way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014 Jill Diamond is a local freelance reporter with a penchant for history.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By JILL DIAMOND | Uptown News Carmen Cooley-Graham is on a mission to keep her late father Jim\u2019s legacy \u2014 the JA Cooley Museum in University Heights \u2014 alive.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":939,"featured_media":255281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Family preserves JA Cooley Museum in University Heights","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11550,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-255280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-top-stories","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/939"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}