New England Motorcycle Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Location | 200 West Main Street, Rockville, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Type | Motorcycle |
| Visitors | 10,000 (2019) |
| Owner | Ken Kaplan |
The New England Motorcycle Museum is a cool place in Rockville, Connecticut. It's a special museum all about motorcycles! You can see many different kinds of motorcycles there.
Contents
Discovering the Museum's History
From Old Mill to Motorcycle Hub
The museum is inside a very old building called the Hockanum Mill. This mill was built over 200 years ago to make textiles, like cloth. It was empty for a long time, starting in 1951.
In 2013, a person named Ken Kaplan bought the big property. He wanted to fix up the old mill. His plan was to use it for his computer business and a motorcycle shop. He also dreamed of opening a motorcycle museum.
Bringing the Building Back to Life
It took almost seven years to make the old mill new again. Workers had to fix both the outside and inside of the building. They also had to clean up a lot of old trash and dangerous materials. For example, they removed many drums of old paint and other chemicals.
Opening the museum cost a lot of money, over $6.5 million! Some of this money came from state loans. The Town of Vernon also helped with donations. The museum officially opened its doors on August 25, 2018.
Exploring the Motorcycle Collection
A Huge Collection of Vintage Bikes
The New England Motorcycle Museum has almost 200 old motorcycles. These bikes were made between 1920 and 2021. This makes it the biggest collection of old motorcycles in the Northeast United States. It's also one of the largest motorcycle museums in the whole country!
More Than Just Motorcycles
Besides the motorcycles, the museum also has lots of cool motorcycle stuff. You can see old helmets, jackets, and other items. There's even a special library just for motorcycle books and information. It's a great place to learn all about the history of motorcycles.
