Nethercutt Collection facts for kids
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Grand Salon of the Collection
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| Established | 1971 |
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| Location | Sylmar, California, U.S. |
| Type | Automotive museum Music museum |
| Collection size | 250+ automobiles |
| Founder | J.B. Nethercutt |
| Owner | Nethercutt–Richards family |
The Nethercutt Collection is an amazing museum in Sylmar, California. It's famous for its huge collection of classic cars, musical instruments, and antique furniture. J.B. Nethercutt started this collection in 1971.
Today, the museum has over 250 cars. Most of these cars were collected by J.B. Nethercutt himself. Many people think it's one of the best car museums in the world!
The collection is spread across two main buildings. One is the San Sylmar tower, which used to be J.B. Nethercutt's home and a museum. The other is The Nethercutt Museum, a newer building that opened in 2000.
Contents
A Look at the History
The story of the Nethercutt Collection began in 1956. That's when J.B. Nethercutt, who helped start Merle Norman Cosmetics, bought two old cars. They were a 1936 Duesenberg and a 1930 DuPont Town Car. Both cars needed a lot of work to look new again.
J.B. thought fixing the DuPont car would take a few weeks. Instead, it took 18 months and cost a lot of money! But all that hard work paid off. In 1958, his restored DuPont car won a big award. It was called "Best of Show" at the famous Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California. After that, J.B. kept buying and restoring many more antique cars.
The San Sylmar Building
In the late 1960s, J.B. Nethercutt decided to build a special place for his growing car collection. He created a tall, ten-story building called San Sylmar. It was built in 1971 and had a cool Art Deco style. This building was both J.B.'s private home and a free museum for visitors when he wasn't there.
The first two floors, called the Lower and Grand Salons, held most of his cars. The Grand Salon has the most valuable cars. It looks like fancy car showrooms and grand theaters from the 1920s and 1930s. The cars in this room alone are worth over $100 million!
The fourth floor has a huge music room. Here, you can find many antique music boxes and player pianos. The main attraction is a giant Wurlitzer theatre organ. This organ is one of the biggest in the world! There was also a private apartment on the sixth floor where J.B. lived. Sadly, an earthquake in 1994 damaged this top floor, and it was later removed.
Expanding the Museum
In 2000, the collection grew even more. A new building, called The Nethercutt Museum, opened right across the street. Unlike the San Sylmar tower, which needs a guided tour, this new museum lets you explore on your own.
This building also has the Nethercutt Automotive Research Library. It's a huge library filled with information about cars. Outside, you can see a real steam locomotive, the Royal Hudson No. 2839, and a fancy 1912 Pullman train car.
After J.B. Nethercutt passed away in 2004, his family continued to run the collection. The museum closed for a while from 2020 to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, it got some fresh new looks and a new logo.
Amazing Vehicles
The Nethercutt Collection is home to over 250 incredible cars. These include rare and fancy vehicles from both America and Europe. You'll find cars from famous brands like Aston Martin, Bentley, Bugatti, Cadillac, Duesenberg, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, and Rolls-Royce. Some of these cars were even owned by famous people!
Special Cars to See
- The Twenty Grand - This is a one-of-a-kind Duesenberg Model SJ that was shown at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. Many people think it's the most beautiful Duesenberg ever made and one of the most valuable cars in the world.
- Bugatti Type 51 Dubos - This car used to be a race car. It was later given a unique body design by Louis Dubos, making it another car considered one of the most beautiful in the world.
The Locomotive
The museum also has a famous steam train called the Royal Hudson No. 2839. It was built in 1937 for the Canadian Pacific Railway. You can see it displayed outside the museum with a beautifully restored 1912 Pullman private sleeping car. This Royal Hudson is one of only four that still exist today.
Car Restoration Shop
The Nethercutt Collection has an amazing 30,000-square-foot workshop. Here, experts work to restore and detail the cars. They are so good that nearly all the vehicles on display look brand new and can still be driven! Many cars are even re-restored to keep them perfect for car shows.
Car Beauty Contests (Concours d'Elegance)
The Nethercutt Collection team often enters its cars in special competitions called Concours d'Elegance. These are like beauty contests for cars, where judges look for the most beautiful and perfectly restored vehicles. The Nethercutt team is known as one of the best ever in these shows.
They have won more "Best of Show" awards than any other competitor in the world. This includes a record six wins at the very famous Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance!
Top Awards Won
Here are some of the "Best of Show" awards the Nethercutt Collection has won:
- Pebble Beach (6 times): 1958, 1959, 1969, 1970, 1980, 1992
- Amelia Island (5 times): 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2016
- Palos Verdes (3 times): 2007, 2009, 2012
- Las Vegas (2 times): 2019, 2022
- Kirkland (1 time): 2007
- Dana Point (1 time): 2011
- La Jolla (1 time): 2022
- Rodeo Drive (1 time): 2023
Music Collection
Beyond cars, the Nethercutt Collection has an amazing collection of antique musical instruments. You can see mechanical musical instruments, old record players (phonographs), huge orchestrions, many player pianos, and music boxes.
The giant Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ in the music room is the largest theatre organ in the western U.S. and the third largest in the world!
Automotive Research Library
The museum also has a special library called the Nethercutt Automotive Research Library. It's full of old engineering materials about American and European cars. You can find owner's manuals and original design documents from the late 1800s onwards.
This library is considered one of the top ten automotive research libraries in the world.
Special Events
The Collection hosts fun events like silent film screenings and organ concerts. These events take place in the fourth-floor music room, using the amazing Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ.
From 2008 to 2010, some of the Collection's cars were used to carry the special guests (Grand Marshals) in the famous Rose Parade.
The Picnic Tour
Every year until he passed away in 2004, J.B. Nethercutt would take dozens of his cars on a special picnic tour. He would invite his family, friends, and special guests for a parade-like drive through the hills. They would end up at Frazier Park for a picnic with delicious food made by the museum's chefs. This event was very exclusive and a dream for many car lovers.
Recognized Worldwide
Many important newspapers and magazines have called the Nethercutt Collection one of the greatest car collections in the world. These include The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Motor Trend, and CNET. Autoweek magazine even listed it as one of America's five best automobile museums.
Famous car enthusiast Jay Leno once described the Collection as "The hall of fame for cars."
In Movies and TV
Movies
The Royal Hudson steam locomotive No. 2839 appeared in the 1980 movie Coal Miner's Daughter. Also, a 1936 Duesenberg SJN, now owned by the collection, was featured in the 1949 film The Great Gatsby.
Television
The museum and its cars have been shown on TV many times. In 1999, it was on the PBS show Visiting With Huell Howser. In 2005, the collection was featured on the Motor Trend series My Classic Car.
Many of the collection's unique cars have also appeared on the CNBC series Jay Leno's Garage. These include the Bugatti Type 51 Dubos, the Twenty Grand Duesenberg, and a 1930 Cadillac V-16. In September 2024, the museum and its cars were featured on the CBS Evening News.
Images for kids
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San Sylmar tower
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Back view of the museum and collection complex
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Second floor Grand salon view 1
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Grand salon view 2
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Fourth floor music room
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Mighty Wurlitzer theatre organ
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Portion of the Wurlizer pipe organs
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Louis XV dining room
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Cars in the museum
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Chevrolet Corvettes in the museum
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Outside display with the Royal Hudson and Pullman Car
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One of the Collection's storage rooms with an Aston Martin DB9
See also
- List of music museums
- List of automobile museums
