A temporary exhibition of Peter Snell memorabilia is a step on the way to reopening the Whanganui Regional Museum's Queens Park building.
The museum has been closed for a year for earthquake strengthening and will reopen in October 2018, director Frank Stark said.
On Thursday, November 9, the museum's pop-up premises in Ridgway St opened an exhibition of two of Sir Peter Snell's Olympic gold medals and other items on loan from Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand.
"Peter Snell has a strong Whanganui connection because in 1962, in the middle of his purple patch of Olympic gold medal runs, he ran the world's fastest mile on the grass track at Cooks Gardens," Mr Stark said.
"On that day, Whanganui was the focus of the athletics world. It was an extraordinary period for New Zealand athletics over the four years from 1960 to 1964, not just with Snell but also Murray Halberg and John Davies."