Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum Visit ...

... I checked off another car museum in my top ten last Saturday. I'm sure many of you have been there and taken many pictures, but here's my take:

ACD Museum - a set on Flickr

I visited the ACD Museum for the first time in 1978. I have to say it is probably my favorite place in the world, been back a lot of times and wore out three t shirts. Looks like the same cars caught your eye.

Going on a non-event week day is the best. Judging from the response of the forum most might sleep in the car if it wasn't the national meet.

Bernie

I visited the ACD Museum for the first time in 1978. I have to say it is probably my favorite place in the world, been back a lot of times and wore out three t shirts. Looks like the same cars caught your eye.

Going on a non-event week day is the best. Judging from the response of the forum most might sleep in the car if it wasn't the national meet.

Bernie

Bernie,

Thanks for the reply - I was beginning to worry that I had committed some horrible ACD faux pax.

The museum exceeded my (very high) expectations - I think it would be a very interesting story to know the ins and outs of how they managed to save that magnificent building.

I have a friend who got his Cord from his Dad about 1958 and I have a dash plaque from a 1961 ACD show. That's in the 20-25 year range of production ending. I bet that building never deteriorated a lot. I think a charity collector ca auction was held there in 1971. Auburn is a pretty upscale little town. I bet a lot of preservation effort, luckily, has replaced the usual restoration.

I live in Western New York and I have stayed at the Auburn Inn five times specifically to visit the museum. Not bad for a guy a couple of states away.

The showroom is great. Last time I was there I took a picture of the L-29 Limo while a volunteer was dusting it. He ducked out of the way and we ended up talking for half an hour about that car.

I like the cross section of condition of the cars upstairs. It reminds me of a museum we had in Bridgeport, New York. The New York one had chicken wire barriers along walk ways. Cars were stuffed in. A couple of restorations and some that just looked like back row specials from an early '50's car lot. ACD captures some of that flavor.

My perennial favorite is the 1966 Duesenberg revival car. It inspired me to change my Riviera to maroon.

Check out those front fender lines. Its not all from Italy.

The ACD Museum is one of the greats and my personal favorite also. I've lost count of how many times I have been there and never tire of it. It is operated by a wonderful group of people who work hard to keep it educational, relevant and fresh.

The history is interesting. The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Club was founded in 1953 however this was not related at all to the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum (aside from many of the same people being interested in both). In fact at that time the building was still owned by Dallas Winslow and being operated as a service and NOS part source for ACD cars. It wasn't until later after Winlow's company folded and the building survived a scary fire that folks were finally able to save it and turn it into what you see today. It is a dynamic place and there are plans on the board right now for some significant expansions that will make it even more remarkable.

Some links:

History of the Museum Building: Museum Building History

History of the Museum itself: Museum History

If you enjoy the museum please consider becoming a member. Doing so costs very little and will give you free admission as well as discounts on store purchases. You also get interesting publications including the Accelerator newsletter that keep you abreast of new developments. You can join on the museum website that I linked above.

Justin