Correspondent photo / Sean Barron From left, H. William Lawson, the Mahoning Valley Historical Society’s executive director, Toni Amey and her husband, Jim Amey, stand next to a refurbished car that was part of the Hooterville Highway ride at Idora Park. Lawson and the Ameys signed an agreement during a news conference Monday at the IBM building in Youngstown to allow the MVHS to acquire most of the couple’s collection of Idora Park memorabilia.

YOUNGSTOWN — What is now a nondescript parking garage on the IBM building’s ground floor will one day be a place for people to return not to their vehicles, but to the past.

“It’s something to behold for generations to come,” H. William Lawson, the Mahoning Valley Historical Society’s executive director, said. “Generations will understand the Idora Park history from 1899 to 1984.”

Lawson was referring to what he and others envision as part of a large exhibit of iconic and lesser-known artifacts from Idora Park, many of which Jim and Toni Amey of Canfield have collected over the years and will be housed in the garage.

The MVHS is set to acquire nearly all of their collection, courtesy of a donation agreement Lawson and the Ameys signed during a news conference Monday morning at the IBM building, 250 E. Federal St., where many of the MVHS’ collections are stored. Also discussed were plans to develop a large exhibit onsite for the collection.

In addition, the move is part of the MVHS’ “150 Years of History: A Campaign for the Mahoning Valley Historical Society” campaign, in recognition of the organization’s 150th anniversary.

On April 26, 1984, Idora Park — and, many say, the Mahoning Valley — suffered a major blow when a fire destroyed much of the 85-year-old iconic park on the South Side, including the Lost River, a portion of the Wildcat roller coaster, the park office and much along the midway. The park closed for good Sept. 3, 1984, and, for years, sat in ruins.

In 2013, the Ameys built a 4,400-square-foot structure next to their home, then became owners of the Idora Park Experience, a massive collection of thousands of park artifacts. It opened to the public the following year.

A campaign goal is to bring in about $11 million, an estimated $2.4 million of which has been raised. Most of the funds will be used for the Idora Park project while others will go toward improvements at the Tyler History Center and the Arms Family Museum, Lawson said.

The donation will include thousands of iconic artifacts, many of which will be stored as part of the exhibit that also will be on the IBM building’s second floor. They include individual cars from the Jackrabbit and Wildcat roller coasters, the only known boat from the Lost River ride, the six original mirrors from the Funhouse attraction, original arcade games, a hydrant that malfunctioned during the 1984 fire, cars from the Turtle ride and six from the Tilt-a-Whirl attraction, various pieces of signage and lighting and parts of the baby Wildcat ride. Also amid the collection will be dozens of seats from the Idora Park Ballroom, along with a globe that hung from its ceiling, Toni Amey said.

Even though many of those who remember fun-filled summer days spent at the park are aging, their lifetime of memories, experiences and stories shared are not, she said.

“Idora Park is emotional,” Amey said.

Beforehand, though, a variety of structural changes will be needed to create the museum and exhibit, and a budget will have to be drawn up moving forward, Lawson said, noting that the campaign is in the planning and feasibility phase.

So far, no name has been ascribed to the exhibit, he added.

When it came to amassing their collection of many things Idora Park, the Ameys were anything but reluctant to travel – often thousands of miles to find a piece of the park. One time, they brought a trailer on a trip to Utah, but discovered it was too small to transport a car that was part of the Wildcat. Fortunately for the Ameys, a relative in Colorado had a trailer large enough for them to bring it back to Ohio, Jim Amey remembered.

“I think we had divine intervention along the way,” said Amey, who worked at Idora Park in 1976, in part by overseeing the football-throw game.

In 1993, after having served in the military and being away from the area for 17 years, he returned to Youngstown and was devastated to discover an abandoned and dilapidated park that was a small and neglected shell of its former self.

“It hit me in the chest,” Amey said, also referring to the fire.

Lawson said the exhibit will be set up with a “multifaceted vision” in mind, intended to capture people’s memories, a multigenerational affection for the park and the entertainment that filled the ballroom with music, along with numerous other gatherings that took place such as sporting events, presidential and local political rallies, church and company picnics and special days.

For Toni Amey, the Idora Park Experience was about giving people of all ages and generations an opportunity to view the park where countless people of all ages spent memorable summer days in more than a one-dimensional way.

“We wanted people to feel it, not just see it,” she said.

The Ameys also are authors of three books about the park: “Lost Idora Park,” “Nucked: Misadventures with the Idora Park Experience Ninjas” and “Nucked 2: More Misadventures with the Idora Park Experience Ninjas,” which was published last year.