If you’ve ever wondered where the old Raggedy Ann or the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots went, you might find the answer at the corner of 17th Street and Beneva Road.
Here, Richard Pierson displays virtually every vintage toy imaginable. He has assembled 15,000 vintage toys, games, merchandise and memorabilia at the Sarasota Toy Museum at 3580 17th St., where visitors can tour the carefully curated space or purchase pieces of the collection he has for sale.
Pierson’s affinity for toys and pop culture began when he traded trading cards, action figures and comic books with childhood friends. Over the years, he has amassed an impressive toy collection of his own, but the majority of the museum’s contents come from Gary Neil, a collector Pierson met while antique shopping in the Green Mountains of Vermont.
Neil had a large collection of toys stored in his Vermont home, mostly figures inspired by old western movies. But maintaining them proved to be a challenge, and Neil knew he wanted to display his collection rather than lock it away in storage. Pierson wasn’t up to the task until a few years after his retirement.
“I was crazy and decided, ‘Okay, I’ll buy it,'” Pierson said.
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Pierson took over from Neil and moved to Sarasota from his native New Jersey last year. Inspired by a friend who owned a small comic book store in upstate New York, Pierson decided to turn Neil’s vision into reality and open the museum with the help of his daughter and three sons.
Between the construction of the display cases and a giant replica of Vermont’s Green Mountains, with zigzagging railroad tracks winding through them, the museum took about six months to build. An unofficial opening was held on August 8, and although the effects of Tropical Storm Debby were still flooding the area, about 200 people stopped by in the first three days.
The museum is a walk through time. The glass cases are organized by decade and filled to the brim with beloved classics. Toy trains from the early 19th century mark the entrance to the museum’s tour, and the toy timeline extends to the present day with Bratz dolls and Transformers.
Hundreds of vintage metal lunch boxes with popular characters, shows and movies on the front line the center of the room, and other mini-collections like a wall of Hot Wheels cars and shelves full of Barbies are scattered throughout. And Pierson’s collection is growing: He said he’s always looking for new items that span different eras and styles.
“I try to balance that out a little bit more,” Pierson said. “I bring different interests than a 74-year-old guy who’s really into Westerns.”
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The museum is connected to a sales room where visitors can purchase toys from decades past. While the rarer items are locked away and on display, the products that didn’t make it into the collection are stacked floor to ceiling and can be taken home.
Because each item is unique, Pierson doesn’t have a formal inventory system. Instead, he values an item based on his expertise and advice from other sources and sets the price manually.
The price range is wide. The flagship of the collection – a chunky, authentic Voltron: Defender of the Universe figure – is priced at $2,000, but smaller figures can be had for as little as $20.
If there is interest, Pierson says, he will meet the customer halfway.
In the few weeks since the museum opened, customers have kept their end of the bargain. It wasn’t difficult to generate interest, Pierson said.
You can chalk it up to the museum’s novelty factor, or Sarasota’s affinity for the artistic and eclectic, or both. Whatever it is, Pierson said the community has given him a warm welcome.
“People are very open to this kind of thing,” Pierson said. “They come in and say, ‘We needed something like this.'”
The Sarasota Toy Museum is open Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., and closed Monday. Museum admission is $15 for adults, $10 for children and seniors, and $30 for an annual pass that allows unlimited visits. Individuals with special needs are admitted free.
Contact growth and development reporter Heather Bushman at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @hmb_1013.
