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ID Southern Pennsylvania car museum, early to mid 1970's ?


Guest De Soto Frank

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Guest De Soto Frank

Am trying to discover the name of the Antique car museum or collection that my parents took me to around 1973 or so, when I was five or six...

Best I can remember, it was a smaller place, had kind of a 1960's "store-front" entrance with all sorts of models and car stuff for sale, especially the Hubley die-cast kits.

The museum display itself was in back, and had mostly Brass to 1930's cars.

Also had kind of a portico out front with a black '30-31 Model A Coupe parked under it.

Am thinking it might have been along US Route 30, somewhere between Lancaster and Gettysburg ?

Ring any bells with anyone ?

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Been involved with old cars since 1968 and have lived all my life between Lancaster and Gettysburg and don't remember such a place along 30. Zimmerman's, Renninger Model A and Hershey's Antique Car Museum north of Lancaster along old 22 but nothing along 30 that I remember. Just had a thought...did Dutch Wonderland have a museum? I know he had some cars and was instrumental in starting one of the early antique car auctions and is along 30 East of Lancaster. He had a car that originally belonged to Atwater Kent.

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Guest De Soto Frank

Don't remember a Tucker at the place in question, although we did go to Zimmerman's "Automobile-a-Rama" on another occasion (1977?), and he did have aTucker, a green one I think.

We did go to Dutch Wonderland on one of these outings... there was also "Fantasyland", I believe...

Wish I could remember more details; the museum display area was kind of dark, with spot / accent lighting on the display vehicles; one of the brass cars had its hood open, and I remember the fan having the "safety rim" around the outside of the blades - that odd detail has stayed with me all these years...

Believe this was also where my first Hubley Model A kit came from - a '30 Coupe.

I think the Model A coupe parked out front was black with Apple Green wheels ?

Are Geist's, Renninger's, Hershey Antique Car museum, still around ?

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Jeff Gast had a museum in Strasburg (just off route 30) but I think the time period was a little later probably late 70's to early 80's. I think it went by the name of " Gast Motor Museum". He did have a Tucker on display for a time. It has been closed for some time now. Jeff is still active in the hobby but more in the buying and selling of cars. Dutch Wonderland is about 5 miles away from where the museum was. Renninger's has numerous branches now with one in Kutztown and one in Deer Lake that I know of. I also remember the Model A with the green wheels.

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Different Renningers...Gene Renninger and his Son Dave sold only Model A's and parts. Gene is gone but Dave is still in business. Gene was one of the original Hershey vendors. The other Renningers' are antique flea markets, no relationship. Gast was late 70's I believe, in Willow Street, PA, south of Lancaster.

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Guest De Soto Frank

The reason I'm trying to pin down this particular place is because it is the very first place that I saw antique cars, and it certainly helped get me hooked !

Our trip to Zimmerman's in 1977 was like Heaven; not just the antique cars, but also all the mechanical music machines... I Iwish I had been a little older, to have been able to have a better appreciation for what was there... one of the cars that stuck with me was the blue Ford Model K touring car...

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Jeff was from New Holland. I was in a High School performing arts group with him and his sister Gwen ( real pretty blonde, by the way). I didn't remember him having other locations but it wouldn't surprise me. I left the area for about 20 years. Ron is correct on the one I remember 896 near Strasburg.

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Strasburg is a good possibility, as I know we went to the scenic RR there in '68 or '69...

Hi, Frank.

I do concur that it was Gast as I stopped there about 15+ years ago. The building had large plate glass windows so you could see a car on their turntable to attract attention. Also, they had a large selection of model cars in the gift shop. The last time I drove through Strasburg the building was occupied by a furniture sales operation. Below is what I found on a web site:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This museum has apparently closed. If we become aware of any change in status we will post the information here.

Looking for that one-of-a-kind automobile? A dazzling classic that is sure to turn heads and melt hearts? Remember that first car? Your all-time favorite? Remember the '48 Tucker? Now that was a car! The '57 Chevy. How about that Amphicar we've all marveled at?

Anyone who can remember cars like these will thrill at the sight of them in showroom condition at the Gast Classic Motorcars Museum. If you are too young for such memories, you've got to see what you missed.

Is the pain unbearable? Don't despair, because you can buy a classic auto at Gast, one of the few dealers of its kind in the nation.

Only fifty-one Tucker automobiles were produced. Here visitors will find the famous "Waltz Blue Tucker #24." Here is the remarkable Jackson Family Rolls Royce, bought to celebrate Michael's early success. And the very first MG to be imported into the United States -- right next to the very last MG to reach our shores.

Though many of these classics are antiques, newer, rare high performance vehicles will be found here as well. The exhibit is always changing but always features more than fifty automobiles, each a unique example of technology and art on wheels.

The tour is accompanied by music from the 50's and 60's. Afterward peruse the Car Buff Gift Shop for that special auto-related item. Individuals, families and groups (20 or more people) of all ages are welcome.

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I made it a point to visit the Gast Museum every year from when it opened until it closed! I took many pictures, making sure to include the accompanying plaques with an explanation of their history. Maybe over the winter I'll have time to convert my negatives to JPEG and post them on Photobucket!

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Guest Silverghost

I 've got a paperback book around here some place that lists all auto museums around the USA & the world from the mid 70s.

I wonder how many are still open ?

Edited by Silverghost (see edit history)
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  • 8 years later...
On 10/25/2010 at 2:47 PM, De Soto Frank said:

Am trying to discover the name of the Antique car museum or collection that my parents took me to around 1973 or so, when I was five or six...

Best I can remember, it was a smaller place, had kind of a 1960's "store-front" entrance with all sorts of models and car stuff for sale, especially the Hubley die-cast kits.

The museum display itself was in back, and had mostly Brass to 1930's cars.

Also had kind of a portico out front with a black '30-31 Model A Coupe parked under it.

Am thinking it might have been along US Route 30, somewhere between Lancaster and Gettysburg ?

Ring any bells with anyone ?

Gast in Strassburgh. Closed many years now. I saw my first Tucker there

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  • 4 years later...

Wow, great older thread, and I loved visiting Gast Classic Motorcars in Strasburg.  Seeing that pic of the Tucker in their display brings back a lot of memories.  Used to pop down there on a Saturday night to view the cars, listen to the 50's music, and perhaps purchase a book or some other memorabilia.  I still have a few books in storage with their decal on them.  Spoke with the father there often.  Used to grab dinner afterward somewhere nearby, and it was a nice evening.  I recall driving my (at the time) '68 GTO there, so that would have been '82 or '83 when it was pretty much restored.  They had a immaculate red with white top '64 GTO convertible on display with the 389 and Tri-Power.  I don't recall exactly but it might have been around $30K at that time.  I have a lot of conventional pics from there stashed away in a storage box somewhere.  Wish I could find them and scan to a digital format.  I believe someone else in this thread mentioned a similar idea.  There never seems to be enough time for these types of projects.  ;) 

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On 10/26/2010 at 10:49 PM, jscheib said:

Peter and the others.

I was born in Reading and lived there until 1962. My father took me to many of those same museums. But, your memories are better then mine. I can hardly remember any of the details.

John

The Old A to Z vacuum cleaner place in Reading had a museum on the 2nd floor.  Does anyone know what happened to it when they moved to their new store?

 

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