Pictured: One of the many shelves of toys at the Sarasota Toy Museum. Photo courtesy of the musuem.

Nostalgic wonders await at Sarasota’s newest museum. The Sarasota Toy Museum opened its doors this August, featuring an impressive display of vintage and antique toys, model trains and comic books.

The museum is the brainchild of owner Richard Pierson, a retiree who after a career in fashion business, was looking for something to latch on to. A comic book aficionado, Pierson stumbled upon a gold mine when he came across the Vermont Toy Museum while vacationing in Vermont. “We were antiquing in Vermont and found ourselves at the Vermont Toy Museum. Outside was a sign which said the owner, Gary Neil, was looking to sell the place,” says Pierson. “For a laugh, I gave him a call and over the next few months we became quite friendly. I was moving down here from New Jersey and looking for something to do with my 21-year-old son, who has autism, and decided to buy the museum and bring it down here.”

Amongst the museum’s extensive collection of toys–think cap guns from the turn of the 20th century, vintage GI Joe’s, Space Race era laser guns and about 800 metal lunchboxes–is what could be considered the crown jewel: a massive replica of the Green Mountains with five levels of toy train tracks. “It’s 30 feet long and about 20 feet wide at its widest point. One of the key features is that it changes seasons as you walk around it. It has a spring side, summer side, fall side and a whole winter side,” says Pierson. “It was originally coin operated when we got it. The Sarasota Bay Model Railroad Society was instrumental in helping us reconstruct it after we shipped it down from Vermont. With their help, we were able to switch it to a digital operation where you can control the trains with your Iphone or Ipad.”

3580 17th St, Sarasota, 941-993-1897. 

Pictured: One of the many shelves of toys at the Sarasota Toy Museum. Photo courtesy of the musuem.

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