The Volo Museum’s owners and staff are flummoxed by the latest incident in a place already known for paranormal occurrences and other strange happenings. Docents opened the building with its Titanic exhibit only to find the premises flooded on April 15, the 114th anniversary of the infamous ship’s sinking.
Heavy storms did roll through Lake County the night before, although the building does not have a history of flooding and sits on high ground. The exhibit has now been inundated for the second time since 2024, in two separate areas.
Subsequent contractor inspections showed no foundation cracks, burst pipes or roof leaks.
“Where the first flooding happened was totally dry, so it’s strange that it flooded in two different spots in a building that’s never had water issues prior to this,” museum owner Brian Grams said. “There are no plumbing issues, a concrete floor with new flooring installed and no signs of cracks or damage. If so, wouldn’t it flood in the same place?”
The exhibit was expanded this year, after opening three years ago. It contains artifacts from the Titanic’s two sister ships from the parent White Star Lines and wealthy Titanic passengers. Staff members retrieved the displays and items from any flooding. Dehumidifiers and fans were employed for more than a week to dry out the room.
“We watched security footage of the first flood, and it came from beneath the 1912 Renault car, out of nowhere,” Jim Wojdyla, the museum’s marketing director, said. “It’s one of only two ever made. James Cameron, the ‘Titanic’ movie director, found it and used it in the film. The second sister car is at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in the ship.
“We decided to make a Titanic exhibit, and took about two years to research it and do things properly,” he said, “Back in the day, millionaires would bring back specialty items from Europe to show off their wealth. The Renault car represents that aspect.”
Wojdyla said the intended effect of the exhibit is to show the differences in first-, second-, and third-class passenger accommodations. There is also a sinking slope decking display simulating the 15-degree angle that the ship sank, at 15-minute intervals, for visitors to climb upon.
The Volo Museum opened in 1960 and eventually focused its business on obtaining movie-used vehicles and iconic cars. The 75-acre complex has grown to several buildings of antique malls, a “Jurassic Park” display and other attractions that keep changing with trending interests.
“The Titanic exhibit is kind of centered in the building, and that first time water went around the building, through a drainage ditch, and leaked under the car,” Wojdyla said. “It’s kind of creepy. We saw the irony.”
The museum site has been a paranormal hotbed for decades, with sightings of apparitions, security camera footage capturing items flying off shelves, as well as experiences from staff members and visitors. Previously a dairy farm, with a pioneer cemetery across the street, most of the adjacent antique mall buildings date from the 1800s.
Oddly, the four-decade-old structure housing the Titanic display was once a firefighter-related exhibit that burned down.
“I wasn’t the biggest believer in this stuff,” Wojdyla said. “It’s eerie. The flooding is not a publicity stunt. I wish I was that brilliant. We didn’t pour bottled water and take pictures.
“You add up all the coincidences, and start to get goose bumps,” he said.
