Up on the second floor of 525 West William in Ann Arbor, the Argus Museum keeps the story of the Argus camera company. This small vault of local industry sits in the Argus I Building, one of the facilities where Argus products were manufactured. Inside, you will find the machines and objects that tell the story of the Argus camera company, the people who worked there, and the unique collections connected to Argus.
The museum’s mission is plain: to collect and preserve Argus Camera Incorporated products, including those made under its prior names, along with publications and the history of the company and its employees; to research the products and the people involved; to ensure these collections are available for others to research; and to interpret and display them for public viewing to promote knowledge and appreciation of Argus. Established in 1987 with the acquisition of the Don Wallace Collection, the museum’s holdings include the rare 75, A4, C3 and C4 camera 'giants'—large models used in trade shows—and experimental model 12s, each with a different type of collapsing lens, and various colors of the original cameras. Picture the machines behind those second-floor windows and the story of Argus cameras they still tell.