John N. Packard Posted January 1, 2001 Share Posted January 1, 2001 What auto/transportation museums have you visited and what did you like about them? What services would you like to see the AACA Museum provide?<BR>My own experiences with auto museums is somewhat limited. Back in the sixties I attended an auto auction in Waynesboro, PA where Gene Zimmerman was the successful bidder on a Clark Gable Packard roadster and a Helen Duke Duesenberg. For a period of time he ran an excellent museum adjacent to his motel facility on US Rte 30 near Harrisburg, PA. What I liked about his collection was that many of the vehicles were in an original, unrestored condition. Visiting this museum was like finding the cars yourself in an old abandoned barn. Does anyone know what became of this collection?<BR>Another museum of that period was "Wings & Wheels" in Santee, SC. It included airplanes as well as autos among its memorabilia. My visit to this facility was so long ago that I don't remember much about it. In recent years I have been through Santee; but didn't see any evidence that this museum still exists. Does anyone know its fate?<BR>Up in my native state of Maine is the Cole Transportation Museum. This facility is underwritten by the Cole Transport Company and contains many of their original vehicles. It also has a number of snowplows (appropriate for Maine!) and a Model T Ford that is equipped to do farm work such as plowing in addition to serving as family transportation.<BR>Another museum that I visited recently is the Transportation Museum in St. Louis. They have a wonderful collection of railroad stock and a building for display of motor vehicles. I believe that this is a publicly supported facility.<BR>If the AACA Museum is to become a reality, what should distinguish it from other collections and what services should it provide to give it permanence?<P>jnp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 1, 2001 Share Posted January 1, 2001 One of my favorite features of the San Diego and Danville Car Museums (other than the cars) is having a library onsite. <P>Any chance the AACA library will relocate to the museum? Heck, the AACA national office also?<P>Peter<P>------------------<BR>Peter Gariepy<BR>peterg@aaca.org<P>www.aaca.org Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndianaCarGuy Posted January 1, 2001 Share Posted January 1, 2001 I think that kind of useful idea is long overdue. There are a lot of good ideas that can be tossed around and discussed,...or even asked about at other museums. This would be an excellent place to do so,..and I have heard no good reason why it isn't being done. If the people (plural) working on the ideas are so deeply involved that they can't take a few minutes to decide what to make public and what needs to be done next,...I am not so sure they can even accomplish what they set out to do.<P>Communication needs to be two way,... there are lots of people who could be involved who are not getting a chance. Check out the Brookline Transportation Museum site.<P>RS<BR><p>[This message has been edited by IndianaCarGuy (edited 01-01-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rcirilli Posted January 1, 2001 Share Posted January 1, 2001 It's become very fashionable to batter the Museum Board and certainly they have made it easy but I would like to bring up one point. Outside of a hand full of deliberate members how many members do you think have written the Exe. Dir. or the Chairman of the board and asked questions or offered suggestions? I beg to think that not many have. AACA members have a responciblity also, to make constructive comments to the board. <P>I'm not supporting poor past actions but I really don't want to see this forum turn into a [censored] session that doesn't end up with some positive gain. Just my thoughts of course! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndianaCarGuy Posted January 2, 2001 Share Posted January 2, 2001 I am not denouncing anyone, nor do I think I have made any statements that were not backed up with suggestions, ideas and quite a few museum web sites and existing organizations that could be readily contacted and verify that my concerns are justifiable, progressive and within the limits of good judgement and concern. The fact remains, that I don't see any reason why information is not at least flowing,...<BR>People are being left in the dark needlessly and without good reason.<P>RS<p>[This message has been edited by IndianaCarGuy (edited 01-01-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 3, 2001 Share Posted January 3, 2001 Mr. Cirilli, I have a question about the museum plans that i guess should be sent to the executive director that i would have asked here. I will write to him instead for the answer I will put the question and the answer on here as soon as i get it maybe this summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndianaCarGuy Posted January 3, 2001 Share Posted January 3, 2001 Try the <BR>"Museums at Prophetstown" site to see how a successful museum program can keep it's membership up to date on what is going on. Be informed, this entire idea and museum is less than 7 years old, and is already not only under construction, but the State of Indiana plans to open a several thousand acre park around it due to the support and educational foundation on which the museum is based. All done by a professional staff which was created LONG before the building ever began, as a matter of fact, they JUST recently moved into building quarters out of temporary offices. Anyone who thinks enough is being done should peruse this site,...I think it may be an eye-opener.<P>RS<P> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BruceW Posted January 3, 2001 Share Posted January 3, 2001 One of my favorite auto museums is the Museum of Historical Vehicles in Boyertown, Pennsylvania. This well packed museum contains everything from horsedrawn to gas and electric vehicles and everything in the museum was manufactured in Boyertown. The nice thing is that most.. if not everything... displayed in this museum is not found in every other museum in the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndianaCarGuy Posted January 5, 2001 Share Posted January 5, 2001 One of the things I enjoy about a couple of museums I have seen is when they group old furniture, radios and have music playing from the era of the cars shown. Best display I ever saw was a 1924 Lincoln (which had been a police car) displayed inside a speakeasy, with a player piano running, and a uniformed officer smashing a beer barrel with an axe. there are plenty of internet sites for music, which play 24 hours a day vintage music, such as "live365" <BR>I'd like to see more ekhibits of the cars and items from that year displayed together, including music/radio broadcasts. <BR>RS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BruceW Posted January 5, 2001 Share Posted January 5, 2001 IndianaCarGuy<P>From what I remember hearing in the museum seminars at the Annual Meeting during past couple of years, I believe that the type of displays you discussed are planned (or at least being considered) as part of the displays, in addition to the hands-on educational things.<p>[This message has been edited by BruceW (edited 01-05-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndianaCarGuy Posted January 6, 2001 Share Posted January 6, 2001 I was hoping someone would bring up this "planning" agenda. What concerns me is not so much the form of display and exhibits,..but who is going to set about making this agenda a reality by creating a workable organization to do all this??????<P>RS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 6, 2001 Share Posted January 6, 2001 Detailed and accurate data on the car displayed would be important. Why the car is significant. Perhaps computer based aids to the exhibit such as film of the car being manufactured. I was in the Western reserve Museum in Cleveland when a guide took a flock (herd, gaggle) of school children around. She walked them by the 188X Benz with out a comment. Hired personal at the Imperial Palace and Western Reserve can't tell a tire from a hood. By the way, when is there going to be a junkyard on the national register of historic places? What we are loosing there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John N. Packard Posted January 6, 2001 Author Share Posted January 6, 2001 Dfield,<BR> "Lady Bird" Johnson, back in the sixties, promoted the installation of opaque fencing around salvage yards; since she considered them an eyesore. I can't imagine that any will make the National Register of Historic Places; but I might have a few to nominate for that honor!<P>jnp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndianaCarGuy Posted January 6, 2001 Share Posted January 6, 2001 Hired personnel who don't know a tire from a hood ornament is a big concern. Does anyone know what it costs to hire someone who knows a darn about cars? It requires a lot of volunteers to do the work at a museum, but who gets paid, and how much to actually work? Volunteers can't run a museum, and it is very easy to see what happens when you leave the administration of a museum to people who are not there full-time, and do have other duties in other places.<P>Let's stop putting off the inevitable, and put people in full-time to deal professionally with this thing. <P>RS<p>[This message has been edited by IndianaCarGuy (edited 01-06-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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