GAS CITY, Ind. — A museum chronicling the short life of "Rebel Without a Cause" star James Dean will close Dec. 31.

Owner David Loehr moved the James Dean Gallery to Gas City from Fairmount, where Dean attended high school, less than two years ago.

Although attendance had increased, it wasn't enough to match the cost of maintaining the temperature-controlled building, Loehr said Monday.

"The operating expenses and upkeep and payments are just more than we can handle," he said. "I'm just getting further into debt, and I just can't do it anymore."

Dean, who was born in Marion, Ind., in 1931, was killed in a car crash in Cholame, Calif., in 1955 at age 24. His movies also included "East of Eden" and "Giant."

Loehr opened the museum and gift shop in 1988 in a house near downtown Fairmount. After an electrical fire in early 2004, Loehr moved the gallery to the new 7,200-square-foot building near Interstate 69.

The James Dean Gallery contains a dozen pieces of wardrobe worn by Dean in his three major films, school papers, paintings by Dean, and original movie posters, books and magazines.

In a message posted on the gallery's Web site, Loehr said: "James Dean has influenced so many actors, directors and musicians, we were hoping that someone would step forward with the necessary financial assistance to remain in operation."

Loehr said he will put his collection into storage and continue to operate a separate gift shop in Fairmount.

A June festival in Marion marking the 50th anniversary of Dean's death drew about 6,000 people instead of the 100,000 organizers had expected. The annual James Dean Fest in September went on as scheduled.

"The loss of any locally owned business is quite a hit for a community," said Karen Niverson, director of the Marion-Grant County Convention & Visitors Bureau. "But I think the loss of the James Dean Gallery as a locally owned business is a harder hit, because it's so integral to the very identity of our area."