The city of Williams, Arizona, accepted a $500,000 state grant to help acquire artifacts for the Arizona State Railroad Museum, reported the Williams News.
The grant, which will be available by fiscal year 2018, came with help from the Northern Arizona Council of Governments. It requires a $5,000 administrative fee and a 5.7 percent match of any money spent with it.
According to a previous report, the $25 million museum would be on Route 66 next to the popular Grand Canyon Railway.
Slated for a beautiful 16-acre park in Williams, Arizona, the 106,500 square-foot Museum will reflect the atmosphere of railroad engine houses and shops. Interpretive exhibits, archives, an art gallery, meeting rooms, interactive computer facilities, a 500 seat auditorium and an outdoor amphitheatre will provide incredible opportunities for learning and discovery.
The grant requires the money to be spent on memorabilia that would displayed within three years.
The museum is the brainchild of Al Richmond, who has collected railroad memorabilia for years. He created an exhibit in Glassburn Park that shows various parts of Williams history, including logging, ranching, mining, Route 66, the Grand Canyon and the railroad.
(Rendering of the proposed Arizona State Railroad Museum via its website)