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 special place in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It's a transportation museum where you can see many different kinds of vehicles. The museum is part of the Western Reserve Historical Society's Cleveland History Center. It was started by Frederick C. Crawford in 1965.
What You Can See
The museum has a huge collection of vehicles. As of 2019, there were over 170 cars! You can also find 12 aircraft, 3 old carriages, and 21 other cool items. These include motorcycles, boats, and bicycles. The museum also keeps many old documents and photos about transportation.
Amazing Vehicles
The museum's aviation collection includes a P-51 Mustang racing plane. This type of plane was very famous in World War II. The oldest car you can see is an 1897 Panhard et Levassor. It's a very early car!
You can also find a DMC DeLorean from 1981. This car looks like the one from the Back to the Future movies. Another interesting vehicle is DEXTER, a self-driving car. It was built by Case Western Reserve University students. DEXTER even competed in a special challenge for self-driving cars in 2007.
Famous Boats
The collection also features Tinkerbelle. This is a small sailboat that Robert Manry used to sail alone across the Atlantic Ocean in 1965. He gave the boat to the museum in 1967. It's an amazing story of adventure!
In 2016, one of the museum's cars won a big award. A 1913 ALCO Model Six Berline Limousine won the Ansel Adams Award. This happened at the famous Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance car show in California.
Museum History
The museum started as the Thompson Products Auto Album. Frederick C. Crawford, who founded the museum, began collecting cars because he didn't want them to be thrown away. In the past, many old machines were simply scrapped. He believed it was important to save these special vehicles for history.
Over the years, the museum has sometimes sold parts of its collection. This helps the museum continue its work and care for the remaining vehicles.
As of 2018, the museum had two main exhibits. Setting the World in Motion showed cars and planes made in Northeast Ohio. REVolution: The Automobile in America told the story of how cars changed America.
See also
- List of aerospace museums
- List of automobile museums
- List of museums in Ohio
