The private collection of more than 100 automobiles at the Newport Car Museum focuses on eight decades of modern industrial automotive design and celebrates cars as works of art. From the 1950s to the present, separate galleries of Ford/Shelby Cars, Corvettes, World Cars, Porsche, Fin Cars, American Muscle Cars, and Chrysler Mopars have been carefully curated to appeal to men as well as women and to all generations, from grandparents to parents to children.
They reflect a time when artists who likely would have been the great sculptors in the Renaissance Age became stylists, designers, and industrial engineers for the Big Three American auto manufacturers and leading European companies such as Jaguar, Porsche, Mercedes Benz, and BMW, perhaps enjoying more creative freedom than will ever be experienced by their counterparts today.
The Museum, with expansive grounds and free parking, hosts car clubs, car shows, and other special events onsite. Its displays cover 80,000 square feet – the equivalent in space of 1 ½ football fields (including the end zones). There are no barrier ropes around the cars, and the experience includes specially commissioned artwork; historic videos; and an eclectic collection of Mid-Century Modern furniture serving as seating. A 2,500 sq. ft. gift shop has become its own colorful gallery, offering up thousands of items curated for car lovers and others.
While once a hidden gem, the Newport Car Museum is now regularly compared to other acclaimed car museums such as Florida’s Revs Institute and California’s Petersen Automotive Museum.
Within 18 months of its 2017 opening, it was included in USA Today’s “Top 10 Best New Attractions,” named Yankee Magazine’s “Best Specialty Museum,” and won an award from the National Association of Automobile Museums for its originally produced historic videos. In addition to winning several Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice awards, the Museum was further designated as among Tripadvisor’s top 10% of attractions worldwide in both 2021 and 2024.
Tickets are online or at the door. Open 10-5, with free parking and a giant gift shop.
1947 W Main Rd
Portsmouth, RI 02871
P: 401-848-2277
Email: info@newportcarmuseum.org
Adults $20
Students/Seniors/Military $17
Children $10
Plan: 1-2hr
Daily 10 am – 5 pm
Image via Barby MacGowan
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Miles Through Time Automotive Museum has over 100 years of must-see automotive history on display. This unique, co-op-style museum is located inside of Vintage Garage Antiques which is in an old textile mill called the Old Clarkesville Mill in Clarkesville, GA....
AACA Museum, Inc. at Hershey is a professionally staffed, collecting institution presenting semi-permanent and temporary exhibitions. Exhibitions are supported by educational programs for school and community audiences. It sponsors workshops and other activities...
The Cole Land Transportation Museum collects, preserves, and displays (before they disappear forever) a cross-section of Maine's land transportation equipment from which this and future generations will gain knowledge of the past. We also wish to remember, record...
With its creative architecture and great attention to detail, Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum is home to over 1,400 motorcycles that span over 100 years of production. More than 650 bikes can be seen on any given day, and 200 different manufacturers from 20...
automotive museum guide
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Last week, I shared a few personal collections of “car museums” that would rival some of the best museums in the country, if you were lucky enough to visit.
This week, I’ll share three museums that are also personal collections, but they took it one step further. These museums are either open by appointment or have very limited hours.
I want to preface the fact that I really respect the people behind these personal collections to even bother making the effort to be available to the public at all. Having started Miles Through Time Automotive Museum with only one car in 2017, I know exactly how difficult it is to operate a “museum.”
Assuming most people behind starting museums have done quite well in life and/or inherited a collection of vehicles, that is only a portion of what it takes. It is actually almost more commendable that these people would bother making their museums accessible to the public at all, simply because they don’t have to.
Sometimes these types of museums grow into something more. Sometimes they are short-lived, like P’s Crazy Car Museum. Either way, if you ever get a chance to visit, do it.
The McCandless Collection was founded by Mike McCandless the son of Herb McCandless (Mr. 4 Speed) in honor of his dad. You’ll see amazing cars and authentic signage all over the building.
Lenny’s Classic Car Collection is in an old Willy’s Overland Touring dealership. You can see some beautiful British sports cars if you make an appointment so they can step away from the restoration shop to give you a tour.
The last one for this week is the Miller’s Lake Chelan Auto Museum. Leo and Pollu Miller ar long-time residents of Lake Chelan and their passion for vehicles has amassed a substantial collection that they open for 3 hours every Thursday through Saturday, from June 20th to September 30th.
My intention is to only introduce you to automotive museums all over the country. I encourage you to click the name of the museum to find out exactly where they are located and how to learn even more.
Maybe you can visit one day. Maybe you’ll never find yourself in that particular part of the country or world if you explore the museums HERE. The important thing is you now know about them and, if anything, help spread the word.
Have a great week!
SCROLL DOWN TO CHECK OUT THIS WEEK’S 3 AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUMS.
Plan your next trip, discover your new favorite, or find the nearest museum
Sean Mathis
Creator of Automotive Museum Guide
Founder of Miles Through Time Automotive Museum
P.S. Make sure you follow AMG on Facebook and join the FB Group to see what’s going on at all the museums.
The McCandless Collection was founded by Mike McCandless in honor of his father, Herb McCandless.
Lenny’s Classic Car Collection has over thirty cars in the collection, consisting of Jaguars, Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, MG, Triumph, Bentley, and Thunderbirds.
The Miller’s Lake Chelan Auto Museum is the hard work of Leo and Polly Miller. They have always had a love and passion for the automobile and have established a very serious collection of cars.
Last week, I had the very unfortunate news to announce the closure of the Klairmont Kollection Automotive Museum. No one emailed me to tell me I should go buy a bunch of stuff at their auction.
It has been two weeks since I showcased the Klairmont Kollection Automotive Museum. This was the private collection of WWII veteran, Larry Klairmont.
I hope you had a great 4th of July weekend. I know many people have been traveling. I've gotten to see friends on social media visit automotive museums while they travel.
Over the weekend, the museum I founded, Miles Through Time Automotive Museum, just celebrated our 9th Annual Car Show.
I am obviously a big proponent of automotive museums. I'll be excited when new museums open, and I'll be bummed when they close.
One of the vehicles was an old fire truck, and they took it on the Tail of the Dragon, which should give you an idea of the types of cars these guys were in.
Is it really a museum? Or just a private collection being stored in a business that is open to the public? Does it really matter? You be the judge.
This week, I'll share three museums that are also personal collections, but they took it one step further.
The phrase "car museum" gets thrown around so much you'd almost assume there is at least one car museum owner in every city.
If you don't care or don't have time to do anything other than just glance at the three automotive museums at the bottom
The Dougherty Museum houses a collection of beautifully restored antique automobiles, including models powered by steam, electricity, and early internal combustion types. Many of the cars date back 100 years and are in running order.
The Dougherty Museum is the culmination of a lifelong personal hobby of Ray G. Dougherty, a longtime Boulder County farmer. The Dougherty family opened the museum’s doors in 1977, and they have continued to run the museum since Mr. Dougherty’s death in 1988.
8306 N 107th St
Longmont, CO 80504
P: 303-776-2520
E: MuseumDougherty@gmail.com
Adults 12+ $10 (good for the season)
6-12 $6
Under 6 Free
Plan: 1 hr
June – August
Saturdays 10 am – 4 pm
Private tours available for 8+
Image via https://doughertymuseum.com/#gal-1
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Miles Through Time Automotive Museum has over 100 years of must-see automotive history on display. This unique, co-op-style museum is located inside of Vintage Garage Antiques which is in an old textile mill called the Old Clarkesville Mill in Clarkesville, GA....
AACA Museum, Inc. at Hershey is a professionally staffed, collecting institution presenting semi-permanent and temporary exhibitions. Exhibitions are supported by educational programs for school and community audiences. It sponsors workshops and other activities...
The Cole Land Transportation Museum collects, preserves, and displays (before they disappear forever) a cross-section of Maine's land transportation equipment from which this and future generations will gain knowledge of the past. We also wish to remember, record...
With its creative architecture and great attention to detail, Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum is home to over 1,400 motorcycles that span over 100 years of production. More than 650 bikes can be seen on any given day, and 200 different manufacturers from 20...
automotive museum guide
Sign up to get updates about automotive museums right to your mailbox. Don't miss a thing. It's FREE.
We created the ultimate resource of America's Automotive Museums.
Lenny’s Classic Car Collection has over thirty cars in the collection, consisting of Jaguars, Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, MG, Triumph, Bentley, and Thunderbirds. The museum is housed in a former Willys-Overland Touring car dealership built in 1920
816 Green Ave
Altoona, PA 16601
P: 814-946-5082
Email: lennysclassiccarcollection@yahoo.com
Monetary donations are accepted for the Local Humane Society
Plan: 1hr+
By appointment only (Everyone works in the restoration shop during the day)
Call between 8 am and 4 pm Monday -Friday to set up a tour. (Weekends and Evenings also available)
Image via https://www.facebook.com/Lennys-Classic-Car-Collection-390183024438574/
Miles Through Time Automotive Museum has over 100 years of must-see automotive history on display. This unique, co-op-style museum is located inside of Vintage Garage Antiques which is in an old textile mill called the Old Clarkesville Mill in Clarkesville, GA....
AACA Museum, Inc. at Hershey is a professionally staffed, collecting institution presenting semi-permanent and temporary exhibitions. Exhibitions are supported by educational programs for school and community audiences. It sponsors workshops and other activities...
The Cole Land Transportation Museum collects, preserves, and displays (before they disappear forever) a cross-section of Maine's land transportation equipment from which this and future generations will gain knowledge of the past. We also wish to remember, record...
With its creative architecture and great attention to detail, Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum is home to over 1,400 motorcycles that span over 100 years of production. More than 650 bikes can be seen on any given day, and 200 different manufacturers from 20...
automotive museum guide
Sign up to get updates about automotive museums right to your mailbox. Don't miss a thing. It's FREE.
We created the ultimate resource of America's Automotive Museums.
The McCandless Collection was founded by Mike McCandless in honor of his father, Herb McCandless. Herb was a legendary drag racer known as “Mr. 4 Speed”. The family’s passion for racing was passed down and now hundreds of cars as well as many other vintage automotive memorabilia are on showcase at this museum.
1452 Industry Dr
Burlington, NC 27215
P: 317-488-7374
E: info@mccandlesscollection.com
Free
Plan: <1 hr
By Appointment
Closed on Sundays
Image via https://www.facebook.com/McCandlessAntiqueAuto/photos
.
Miles Through Time Automotive Museum has over 100 years of must-see automotive history on display. This unique, co-op-style museum is located inside of Vintage Garage Antiques which is in an old textile mill called the Old Clarkesville Mill in Clarkesville, GA....
AACA Museum, Inc. at Hershey is a professionally staffed, collecting institution presenting semi-permanent and temporary exhibitions. Exhibitions are supported by educational programs for school and community audiences. It sponsors workshops and other activities...
The Cole Land Transportation Museum collects, preserves, and displays (before they disappear forever) a cross-section of Maine's land transportation equipment from which this and future generations will gain knowledge of the past. We also wish to remember, record...
With its creative architecture and great attention to detail, Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum is home to over 1,400 motorcycles that span over 100 years of production. More than 650 bikes can be seen on any given day, and 200 different manufacturers from 20...
automotive museum guide
Sign up to get updates about automotive museums right to your mailbox. Don't miss a thing. It's FREE.
We created the ultimate resource of America's Automotive Museums.
