Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1965 |
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| Location | 10825 East Boulevard Cleveland, Ohio 44106 USA |
| Founder | Frederick C. Crawford |
The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum is a museum in Cleveland, Ohio, that is filled with amazing vehicles. It is part of the Cleveland History Center and has a collection of about 170 cars, plus airplanes and other cool things that move. The museum was started in 1965 by a man named Frederick C. Crawford.
Contents
How the Museum Began
The museum's collection was started by Frederick C. Crawford. He began collecting old cars because he thought it was a shame to see them destroyed. At the time, most old machines were just turned into scrap metal. Crawford believed it was important to save some of these vehicles to show people a part of history.
Over the years, the museum has changed. In 1990, it sold about 70 of its cars at an auction. In 2009, it sold 44 more cars to help pay its bills. Some people were sad to see the cars go, including the wife of the museum's founder. The museum also sold a rare Goodyear F2G Corsair airplane and an old Airco DH.4 biplane.
What You Can See Inside
The museum has two main exhibits. One is called Setting the World in Motion, which shows off cars and airplanes that were built in Northeast Ohio. The other is REVolution: The Automobile in America, which tells the story of how cars changed the United States.
The Car Collection
The museum has over 170 cars. The oldest one is an 1897 Panhard et Levassor from France. One of the newest is a 1981 DeLorean, which was the first one ever sold to the public.
There is also a special self-driving car named DEXTER. It was built by students from Case Western Reserve University for a big race called the DARPA Urban Challenge in 2007. DEXTER finished in the top 20!
In 2016, the museum's beautiful 1913 ALCO car won a special award at a famous car show in California.
Planes, Boats, and More
Besides cars, the museum has 12 aircraft. One of the most exciting is a P-51 Mustang racing plane that was used in the famous Thompson Trophy Races.
The collection also includes a tiny sailboat named Tinkerbelle. In 1965, a man named Robert Manry sailed this small boat all the way across the Atlantic Ocean by himself. He gave the boat to the museum in 1967 so everyone could see it.
See also
- List of aerospace museums
- List of automobile museums
- List of museums in Ohio
