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 is an exciting museum located in Reno, Nevada. It showcases a fantastic collection of cars. Most of these amazing vehicles came from the personal collection of William F. Harrah. The museum first opened its doors to the public on November 5, 1989.
Contents
Discovering the Museum's History
How the Car Collection Began
William F. Harrah loved cars and collected about 1,450 of them. He kept these cars in large buildings in Sparks, Nevada. At the time, it was the biggest collection of old and important cars in the world. People could even visit and see them!
Saving the Historic Cars
When Mr. Harrah passed away in 1978, a company called Holiday Inn bought his hotel business and the car collection. In 1981, Holiday Inn decided to sell all the cars. Many people were upset about this decision.
The governor of Nevada, Robert List, tried to stop the sale. He wanted the state to create a plan to keep the collection together. A businessman named Thomas Perkins also led a group interested in buying the cars.
The Museum Opens Its Doors
Even though these efforts didn't fully stop the sale, a special group was formed. This group worked hard to build the museum we see today. Holiday Inn gave 175 of Harrah's cars to this group. The rest of the collection was sold off in a few auctions during the mid-1980s.
Other car owners also donated about 60 more vehicles to the new museum. Finally, the National Automobile Museum opened on November 5, 1989. It is located right in downtown Reno.
Exploring the Amazing Car Collection
The museum is home to over 200 incredible cars. They are displayed across four different areas, called galleries. Each gallery shows cars from a specific time period.
What You'll See in Each Gallery
- Gallery 1 features very old cars from the 1890s and 1900s.
- Gallery 2 displays cars built between the 1910s and 1930s.
- Gallery 3 showcases vehicles from the 1930s through the 1950s.
- Gallery 4 has cars from 1950 onwards, including cool race cars.
Each gallery is connected by a special "street" that has a theme. These streets also feature more vehicles and look like old-fashioned shop fronts.
Cars Owned by Famous People
You can see cars that once belonged to well-known celebrities, such as:
- Elvis Presley's 1973 Cadillac Eldorado.
- Frank Sinatra's 1961 Ghia L6.4.
- John F. Kennedy's assigned 1962 Lincoln Continental.
- John Wayne's 1953 Chevrolet Corvette.
Cars from Famous Movies
The museum also has cars that appeared in popular films:
- An 1892 Philion Road Carriage from The Magnificent Ambersons.
- A 1912 Rambler 73-400 Cross-Country from the 1997 movie Titanic.
- A 1949 Mercury Eight driven by James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause.
Unique and Special Cars
The collection includes cars from many famous car makers like Auburn, Bugatti, Cord, Duesenberg, Ferrari, Franklin, Jaguar, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz, Pierce-Arrow, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, and Stutz.
You can also see one of only three 24-karat gold-plated DeLoreans ever made. These were built for American Express. Another unique car is the "Jerrari", which is a Jeep Wagoneer with a powerful V-12 Ferrari engine. William F. Harrah used this special vehicle for driving in winter.
The museum also displays the only remaining prototype of Buckminster Fuller's amazing Dymaxion car. Plus, the one-of-a-kind Phantom Corsair is on display. You can even see the prototype of the Aero Car, which was designed to use a propeller for movement!
The National Automobile Museum has received many awards. Car Collector magazine named it one of the 'Top Ten Museums'. AutoWeek called it one of "America's Five Greatest Automobile Museums" and one of the top sixteen auto museums in the world. It has also been chosen as the best museum in Northern Nevada many times by Nevada Magazine's readers.
See also
In Spanish: Museo Nacional del Automóvil para niños
