Millions of travelers could see these unique pieces from a Columbus museum
Travelers from across the United States and abroad could see pieces from a unique Columbus museum at one of the world’s busiest airports until November 2020.
More than 80 lunchboxes and nearly 30 accompanying thermoses from Columbus’ Lunch Box museum are being displayed at Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson International Airport. The exhibit, entitled “Lunch Box Time Capsule,” is located in a display case near Gate E-14 on the boarding level of Concourse E.
The accessories cover nearly every decade from the 1920s through the year 2000 and allow the airport to share some of the state’s cultural offerings with a worldwide audience, said Benjamin Austin, the art program’s manager.
“These historical lunch boxes are a perfect way to connect with passengers. So many people carry strong memories of the lunch boxes they used as children,” he told the Ledger-Enquirer via email. “The exhibit has the capacity to elicit a twinge of nostalgia for passengers.”
The exhibit opened in November 2019, and one of the most noteworthy items featured is a 1950 lunchbox featuring the fictional cowboy hero Hopalong Cassidy. The piece is one of the first to feature a character licensed from a television show, Austin said.
While the art program couldn’t provide an accurate estimate for the number of passengers that would see the exhibit, Austin said that hundreds of thousands to more than a million people could see the lunchboxes.
“With over 100 million passengers coming through the airport in the course of a year, it’s certainly possible 1% of them would see the exhibit,” he said.
The exhibit is already bringing international guests to Columbus to tour the larger museum, said Allen Woodall, the curator and owner of the Lunchbox Museum.
“Just last week, we had a couple from Japan, and on the very same day, we had a little group from Australia,” he said. “We’re very honored that the Atlanta airport has chosen us to have a display. ...We’re just real thrilled about it.”
The Lunchbox Museum is located at the River Market Antiques building, 3218 Hamilton Road. The full museum features an estimated 2,000 lunch boxes and other related accessories, Woodall said.
This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 6:00 AM.