National Automobile Museum facts for kids
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| Established | November 5, 1989 |
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| Location | Reno, Nevada, U.S. |
| Type | Automobile museum |
| Collection size | 200+ cars Automotive Research Library |
The National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada, is a cool place to see amazing cars! Many of the cars you'll find there once belonged to a famous collector named William F. Harrah. The museum first opened its doors on November 5, 1989.
How the Museum Started
A man named William F. Harrah loved collecting cars. He gathered about 1,450 cars and kept them in big buildings in Sparks, Nevada. This was the world's largest collection of old and special cars, and people could even visit it!
When Mr. Harrah passed away in 1978, a company called Holiday Inn bought his hotel and casino business, which included his huge car collection. In 1981, Holiday Inn decided to sell all the cars. Many people were upset about this decision.
The governor of Nevada at the time, Robert List, tried to stop the sale. He wanted the state to create a plan to save the collection. Another businessman, Thomas Perkins, also tried to buy the cars with a group. Even though these efforts didn't fully stop the sale, something good happened!
A special group was formed. This group was a "nonprofit organization," which means they work for a good cause instead of making money. This group eventually built the museum you see today. Holiday Inn gave 175 of Harrah's cars to this group for free. The rest of the cars were sold off in auctions during the mid-1980s. Other private car owners also donated about 60 more vehicles. Finally, the museum opened its doors in downtown Reno, Nevada, on November 5, 1989.
What You Can See Inside
The museum has over 200 cars! They are spread out in four different areas, called galleries. Each gallery shows cars from different time periods:
- Gallery 1: Cars from the 1890s and early 1900s.
- Gallery 2: Cars from the 1910s to the 1930s.
- Gallery 3: Cars from the 1930s to the 1950s.
- Gallery 4: Cars from 1950 onwards, including cool race cars!
Each gallery is connected by a special "street" that looks like an old town. These streets also have vehicles and pretend shop fronts, making it feel like you're walking through history!
Some of the cars once belonged to famous people, like:
- Elvis Presley's 1973 Cadillac Eldorado
- Frank Sinatra's 1961 Ghia L6.4
- John F. Kennedy's 1962 Lincoln Continental
- John Wayne's 1953 Chevrolet Corvette
You can also see cars that were in famous movies:
- The 1892 Philion Road Carriage, from The Magnificent Ambersons
- The 1912 Rambler 73-400 Cross-Country, from the 1997 movie Titanic
- The 1949 Mercury Eight, driven by James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause
The museum also has cars from famous car makers (called "marques") like Auburn, Bugatti, Cord, Duesenberg, Ferrari, Franklin, Jaguar, K-R-I-T, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz, Pierce-Arrow, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, and Stutz.
Some really unique cars on display include:
- One of only three DeLorean cars that were covered in 24-karat gold! These were made for American Express.
- A "Jerrari" – this is a special Jeep Wagoneer that has a powerful V-12 Ferrari engine inside! William F. Harrah used it for driving in the winter.
- The only remaining prototype (first version) of Buckminster Fuller's amazing Dymaxion car.
- The one-of-a-kind Phantom Corsair, which looks like something out of a science fiction movie!
The National Automobile Museum has been recognized as one of the best museums around! Car Collector magazine called it one of the 'Top Ten Museums'. AutoWeek said it was one of "America's Five Greatest Automobile Museums" and one of the top sixteen auto museums in the world. It has also been voted the best museum in Northern Nevada many times by readers of Nevada Magazine.
