Children’s museum creates interactive spaces for kids

The bustling downtown of Lynchburg is alive with students, tourists and families, but this town has taken a long road to get where it is today. One notable structure along the path of Lynchburg’s history is the Amazement Square children’s museum, previously named the J.W. Wood Building. 

According to Mort Sajadian, current president, CEO and founder of Amazement Square, the building started off as a hospital for confederate soldiers in the Civil War. It then became a “commissary store,” which is a general store, or as Sajadian joked, “the original Sam’s Club.” The J.W. Wood Building continued to be a store from the late 1860s until the 1930s. It then transitioned into a wholesale grocery store until the 1980s. It then remained unoccupied for several decades until March of 2001. On March 24, Amazement Square opened its doors. 

Sajadian explained that Amazement Square, and the former J.W. Wood Building, was the “first historic building that was restored” in downtown Lynchburg, and it was “a catalyst for the downtown revitalization.” 

Furthermore, the J.W. Wood Building was already “historically a significant monument in Lynchburg,” and Sajadian described it as “the only surviving warehouse building with a cast-iron visage.” 

While this creates a wonderful history for Amazement Square, it means during the restoration process, extra care had to be taken to preserve these features and retain the historical integrity of the building.

“We had to make sure we preserved all the historic features and that they were preserved according to the time period, and when we added new features, it had to be clearly different from its original form and shape,” Sajadian said. 

Though this meant being deliberate about the restoration and being extra careful to maintain the history of the building, it was a step in sharing Lynchburg’s history.

“Our focus was to get as many local people and organizations to be a part of (the restoration process). It is very much an all-inclusive approach to things,” Sajadian said. 

“We have people that are willing to come down here, so now it was a time to make it a more palpable place for families to come,” Morgan Kreutz, vice president of Amazement Square, said about the restoration process and the shift it created in the downtown revitalization efforts. 

Now, Amazement Square is a children’s museum that fosters a love of learning, aims to care for the community and continues to share Lynchburg’s rich history. 

Kreutz explained that they offer many programs, but one of the most notable is called Amazing Children, where they “go into under-resourced early learning centers around the area and provide free programming for kids in those classrooms.” 

“We develop these programs in-house,” Kreutz said, “and offer them (to) the early-learning centers at no charge.” 

Another program offered by Amazement Square is called Everyone is Special. They have “worked with children who have autism for several years,” explained Kreutz, but they “have recently advanced the program for families in the community who have children with autism. (The families) can come to the museum and explore in an environment that is a little more sensory-sensitive and sensory-friendly.” On these days, Amazement Square closes its doors to the public to concentrate on children with special needs. 

Though there are many other programs offered, Sajadian described how they originally had only eight school programs but now have 27-28 programs. All of these are curated in-house and free of charge. 

“(The Very Special Arts Program) teaches (students with disabilities) about artists who were also differently abled and were able to communicate through art,” Kreutz said. “Then they get to do a project, and that project is put on display at the museum. Some of this art may be chosen by the Kennedy Museum in D.C. to travel the world or nation.” 

Though the purpose of the building has changed over the centuries, it continues to help the people who use it. 

Liberty students interested in volunteering can sign up for CSER with Amazement Square to work as a museum educator or work in the gift shop or with maintenance. For more details about Amazement Square and its history, visit their website

Auld is a feature reporter