Kings of the Road museum Cucamonga California - know anything?

[m-mman]

Way back when there was a Museum in Cucamonga, California called "Kings of the Road"  I have seen many postcards and other souvenirs from them but I don't know the whole story.  They seem to have had some really significant cars (Duesenberg, Tucker) but I can find little actual facts about them. 

 

It was an original Route 66 attraction(!) but is never discussed or mentioned in Route 66 retrospectives.

 

It seems to date from the time of James Melton and Henry Austin Clark and I suspect that it played a part in the history of the car collector hobby but it doesn't seem to have had the impact of the Long Island Auto Museum.

 

Does anybody here know:

Who was behind it?

The years it operated?

Why it closed?

Stories of your visits there?

etc???

[motoringicons]

Yes, it was a well known collection that got broken up nearly a half a century ago. The old timers in this hobby knew the collection and its cars well. The museum's name was inspired by Ken Purdy's epic automotive book "Kings of the Road" Some of the cars ended up at Harrah's.

 

During the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s old car "museums" were a common roadside attraction across America. Modern interstate highways that bypassed small towns contributed to the demise of roadside attractions and small tourist-supported businesses.

 

Is there a specific car you are trying to find information about?

 

The big touring car on the left of the photo is the famous Death Valley Scotty's 1906 National. It is now in a private, east coast collection. Here is the car today. It's a magnificent monster with a wonderful history. A great article was written about this National  on The Old Motor. It is a wonderful read:

http://theoldmotor.com/?p=53744

 

Edited November 23, 2018 by motoringicons (see edit history)

[1937hd45]

Thanks for the review Guy, wonder just how many collections were open to the public in the 1950's-'60's, I started collecting post cards and brochures from the East Coast ones. That National looks great, have to reread the Old Motor story. Bob 

[1950panhead]

The Kings of the road museum opened in 1954 and displayed classic and celebrity owned cars.
Started by Orris Meyers, Purcell Ingram, Orville Race.
Interstate 10 freeway into Santa Monica opened on January 5, 1966, route 66 died, the museum closed.

[m-mman]

Ah Ha! Thank you. 

I have not heard of these individuals before, but in most cases the person(s) is as famous as the museum. (especially within the car hobby)

Why isn't there more information about them?

Or where might I go to learn more? 

[1950panhead]

Quote

I have not heard of these individuals before, but in most cases the person(s) is as famous as the museum. (especially within the car hobby)
Why isn't there more information about them?
Or where might I go to learn more?

 

Car collectors in 54 knew these guys, they are gone now, most of the cars survive, museums are temporary, just like life, imagine what the world will be like 64 years from now.

 

Edited November 25, 2018 by 1950panhead
x (see edit history)

[Al Barany]

                                       
                                                                                                  Kings of the Road museum

I have visited the Kings of the Road museum a couple of times in the late 1950s.  The only two cars that I actually remember is a 1910 Cadillac Town Car and  a mid ‘30s Packard sedan.  The Cadillac really locked on to me, it was so tall you could almost stand up in it and walk around.  The Packard had an electrical circuit board on front of the firewall on the drivers side which had fuses and switches that played a variety of tunes thru different horns.  I saw this Packard at a car show, in operating condition about 35 years ago.

Sometime in early 1960 my friend Dave and I (both avid old car nuts, both 18 years old) were told that the museum had closed down and a lot of old stuff was being thrown away.  We went to the museum in my mom’s ‘47 Studebaker Champion and sure enough the place was closed.  We walked around the building and found the back door was not locked.  Went inside and nothing was there except for a few posters on the wall.  There was a dusty, dirty, dim, room near the rear of the building that had piles of dirty, dried out old cardboard boxes and Black Widow spiders everywhere.  Don’t know what the spiders found to eat in there but they appeared to be quite healthy. The boxes contained fuel pumps, magnetos and many other different unidentifiable  mechanical devices.  We just couldn’t let this stuff be thrown in the trash.  Just couldn’t.  We loaded up the trunk of the Studebaker until the trunk lid would barely close.   The Studebaker wouldn’t move.  The clutch slipped badly.  (The rear main oil seal on the engine leaked oil onto the clutch and  had to be replaced yearly).  With Dave pushing and rocking the car back and forth (the ground was all soft sand) we got the car out and went home with our “saved” treasures.  When we got home our church Pastor was visiting and he and dad helped Dave and I unload the trunk.  Just before we left the museum for home we went behind an adjacent building and some old cars in fair to poor condition were parked outside.  One was an early 1930s Rolls Royce convertible or roadster with the spare tires mounted in front of the rear wheels (interesting!!) in a concealed compartment.  There was a 1934 Packard V12 Phaeton and a 1936? Packard convertible. There was a ‘37? Tatra which looked like a giant VW bug.  (Incidently, Tatra, made in  Czechoslovakia, sued VW in the late 1930s for copying their body and rear engine design.  Adolph Hitler told Tatra to shut up.  They did.  In the 1960s VW was sued again for patent infringement.  Look up Tatra sues VW, it's an interesting read.)

A week or so later we decided to go back to the museum and “save” some more stuff.  I made up a list of items we should take with us: gloves (because of the spiders and dirt),  tow chain (because the clutch still slipped), jumper cables (because the battery didn’t always hold a charge), flashlight (because the room was poorly illuminated), some basic tools (just in case the Studebaker needed help).  

 On July 4th (holiday, didn’t have to go to work) we went back to the museum.  The two Packards and Rolls Royce were gone and someone took a bulldozer and shaved the body off the Tatra leaving only the frame, axles and engine.   We went inside the back door again.  Loaded up the car trunk again.  Inside the building there was a beautiful 1914? American LaFrance fire engine sitting there. The hood was warm as apparently it was used in a local 4th of July parade then brought in here and parked.  Well, I climbed up onto the drivers seat to see what it was like to sit on an old fire engine.  Suddenly, the adjacent garage door rolled up and the Cucamonga  police department was standing there!!!

Dave and I went to jail, charged with burglary, trespassing, unauthorized removal of mechanical devices and attempted Grand Theft Fire Engine.   The police thought we were professional burglars and car thieves because of the above list that I made.   In jail, we couldn’t see the fire works but we could see the flashes and hear the echoes off the walls.  The police called my parents who were at a big party at DeWald Dance studio in Alhambra, CA.  The police recommended that we spend the night in jail to reflect on what we had done and what our future might be.  Our parents agreed.  The following day we went to court.  I don’t remember how we pleaded but we were given a one year suspended sentence  (because neither Dave nor I had any police record and the fire engine was re-classified as  “assembled junk”) but we had to return all of the “saved” mechanical devices, visit the court once a month and violate no law for a year.  We completed that with no problem so the judge had our police record expunged.  The judge suggested that I eliminate Dave as a friend but we have been life long friends and haven’t “saved” any further car parts from the trash.  I have been told that not too long after this incident that the city ordered the Kings of the Road building to be demolished as they are tired of the numerous problems  being associated with it.  That location is now a shopping center.  Sometime in the 1970s I saw the Rolls Royce parked on the east side of a Standard gas station on the north side of Interstate 10 in Arizona.  It looked like it might have been operational.  I think about that Cadillac every so often and wonder where it is today.           

Al B

Edited July 16, 2019 by Al Barany (see edit history)

[zepher]

Holy Moly, Al.

That is one heck of a tale.

 

Thank you for sharing.

[8E45E]

12 hours ago, Al Barany said:

 The police recommended that we spend the night in jail to reflect on what we had done and what our future might be.  Our parents agreed.

I don't think one see's THAT anymore!!!!

 

Craig

[zepher]

6 hours ago, 8E45E said:

I don't think one see's THAT anymore!!!!

 

Craig

 

For sure, there was a lot of stupid stuff I didn't get into as a teenager not because I was afraid of the cops, I was vastly more afraid of what my Dad would do to me.

 

[John348]

This has been a very interesting thread, I always thought Cucamonga was a fictional town in a song.... "Pride of Cucamonga"

 

 

learn something new every day

[60FlatTop]

On 11/23/2018 at 1:31 PM, motoringicons said:

During the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s old car "museums" were a common roadside attraction across America

 

Most of the cars were newer than the '60 Electra I took my wife to lunch in today.

[HK500]

Just found some Kings of The Road Museum pics - and a matchbook!  Figured you all might enjoy seeing them.  That's a great story Al Barany !

[brasscarguy]

If memory serves correct Harrah's purchased some of the early brass cars. 

 

just sayin'

 

brasscarguy

[Hans1965]

"Kings of the road museum" is simply a great name for a car museum. Love it. 

[zepher]

On 7/11/2019 at 10:23 AM, John348 said:

This has been a very interesting thread, I always thought Cucamonga was a fictional town in a song.... "Pride of Cucamonga"

 

 

learn something new every day

The name Cucamonga came about as a mispronunciation of an Indian village that was in the area when the Spanish arrived.

The Spanish named the area Rancho Cucamonga and it's been that way ever since.

There are still a handful of cities and areas in SoCal that have their original Indian names, Tujunga, Cahuenga, Topanga, Yucaipa, etc.

[SCJuHa]

My dad helped with at least one of the displays at one time. It was an unorganized collection according to him.
He worked for Rugg Lumber Company as a designer/contractor.

He said there was a steam-powered one of a kind car there - he wishes he could remember the name. Wonder if that one got to Harrah's collection?

[wayne sheldon]

2 hours ago, SCJuHa said:

He said there was a steam-powered one of a kind car there - he wishes he could remember the name. Wonder if that one got to Harrah's collection?

I wonder if that was the Phillion Steam Carriage from about 1892?

[brasscarguy]

My family visited that museum in 1955. I remember only 1 particular car, a late 20's Rolls Royce roadster supposed to have belonged to Greer Garson so the little sign stated. Don't remember any other cars. We also visited the LA county museum and I only remember 1 car that Knox 1 cylinder air cooled truck.

 

just sayin'

brasscarguy

[MikeC5]

Frank Zappa lived there for a while....