The Toy Museum of Atlanta opened in 1978 in a two-story Victorian mansion at 2800 Peachtree Road. The owners of the museum, Joe Daole (1917-?) and Patsy Powers (1935-1997), were partners in the antique and restaurant businesses, co-owning an antique shop and the restaurant, the Joe Daole Cajun House. Their third project, the Toy Museum of Atlanta, began with their personal dollhouse collections and with toys they purchased to decorate their restaurant, and developed into a collection featuring over 100,000 toys organized in thematic rooms. The museum featured toys from 1850 to the 1930s, as well as a Star Wars collection. The museum remained open until their lease from Saint Philips Episcopal Cathedral ended in 1985. Daole and Powers initially scheduled a reopening of the museum in 1986 in Orlando, Florida, but were forced to close the museum when investments fell through. Barrett Bertoia Auctions & Appraisals helped Daole and Powers auction off the museum contents in a two-part auction in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1986 and 1987.