The Ava Gardner Museum is a museum dedicated to American actress Ava Gardner. Located in downtown Smithfield, North Carolina, the museum holds an extensive collection of artifacts from Gardner's career and private life.[1] The museum usually attracts 7,000 visitors a year.[2]

Ava Gardner Museum
Ava Gardner Museum is located in North Carolina
Ava Gardner Museum
Location within North Carolina
Established1941
LocationSmithfield, North Carolina, U.S.
TypeBiographical museum
Websitewww.johnstoncountync.org/ava-gardner

History

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The original collection was started in 1941 by a fan, Thomas "Tom" Banks, who at age 12 met Ava on the campus of Atlantic Christian College (now Barton College), where she was studying to become a secretary. When she did not return to school the next year, he saw a photograph of Gardner in a newspaper and learned that she had been signed to a movie contract with MGM.[1]

Banks and his wife, Lorraine, collected memorabilia and artifacts related to Gardner. In the early 1980s, Dr. Banks purchased the Brogden Teacherage building, the house where Ava lived from ages 2 to 13.[1]

Following Thomas Banks' death in 1989, Lorraine Banks donated the museum's collection to the town of Smithfield. In 1999, the museum purchased its current home, a renovated 6,400 square foot building in downtown Smithfield.[1]

In 2020, the building experienced a flood due to a broken toilet. None of the collections were damaged, but repairs required the museum to close for a few weeks.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Learn about the history of the Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield, NC". www.johnstoncountync.org. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  2. ^ a b WRAL (January 15, 2021). "Ava Gardner Museum closes due to flood damage". WRAL.com. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
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35°30′39″N 78°20′42″W / 35.5109°N 78.3451°W / 35.5109; -78.3451