For the past few years, I’ve been getting asked about starting a museum at least every couple of months. The scenario is almost always the same. Someone has a collection of cars and thinks a museum would be a good idea.

To date, I believe I’ve talked everyone out of starting a museum. Not on purpose, I think more automotive museums would be great, but there is a massive difference between museums and collections.

I believe real estate is the biggest deciding factor when it comes to the creation of a museum. If someone already has a private collection worthy of a museum, chances are that collection is at the owner’s residence.

Or perhaps the collection is stored at a different location, but still not conducive to public visitation. Jay Leno’s collection is a good example of this. Jay’s collection would immediately create one of the top museums in the USA, but he could never do that in his current location.

Jay’s building is set up in a way that suits his needs. His cars are displayed and kept in running condition so he can drive them in and out whenever he wants. If the public were in the building all the time, it would hinder his ability to do what he wants. Plus, there’s no parking for public visitation.

I’m fortunate to have visited Jay Leno’s garage, and I do wish everyone had the opportunity to do the same, but the reality is, it wouldn’t make sense for Jay to do that at this point in his life. This is the case for thousands of collections all over the world.

Sometimes there are hybrids. Essentially, private collections that are intermittently available for public visitation. The Brothers Collection and American Muscle Car Museum are great examples of this.

Both would be incredible museums to visit, but the additional effort required to keep them open to the public is beyond what the owner’s need to do. They own the collections and they own the real estate. There’s no need for them to fully commit.

The expense of real estate can make or break a museum. Collections have a tendency to grow, which means even if the museum owns the building, the need to expand or repair will always be a thing.

Take Miles Through Time Automotive Museum for example. I was able to create this museum with only one car, but 9 years later, we need enough real estate to house over 130 vehicles and counting. 

The number of vehicles may sound impressive, but that comes at a major cost. It is very expensive to keep a roof over this many vehicles, and it’s not big enough. None of this even accounts for all the other expenses and payroll required to operate a museum.

This is why, typically, after a conversation with me, the idea of starting a museum fades. It just doesn’t always make sense, and that’s okay. The alternative option would be to create a relationship with one or more existing museums. 

Cars can be borrowed or donated. Wings or entire new buildings can be built. Endowments can be given to ensure museums can continue to preserve and share automotive history. If that is the goal. If it was just thought of having a museum would be cool, it would be, but it would be way more stressful.

For those who choose to pursue museum creation, I commend and emphasize that there is no one way to do it. There is always the option to just display a bunch of cars in a room, but that can be boring, and will probably be difficult to keep people visiting overtime.

Sometimes you may not even expect an automotive museum. The Boothbay Railway Museum sounds like it is just a train museum, but in fact there are over 60 vehicles on display and way more than just trains and cars.

Lyon Air Museum sounds like it is just an air museum with planes on display, but this museum has numerous vehicles leading up to WWII.

Then there is completely outside the box. Russell’s Truck & Travel Center is in fact a truck stop located off Route 66. However, there is much more to this truck stop than you’d expect, like a car museum that is free to visit and open 24/7.

I enjoy visiting automotive museums that aren’t typically what you’d expect when you hear the word, “museum.” It’s okay if the cars aren’t perfect, or if some of the museum is outdoors. It’s creative, that there is also a dinosaur amusement park and Titanic experience. Yes, that’s a real example. Check out Volo Museum.

Over the years, I’ve also accepted that not every museum is appealing to everyone. For one reason or another, people just like different things, and that’s why it’s so great there are hundreds of automotive museums to visit all over the world, and every single one is different.

Try to go visit a museum you’ve never been to. You may be surprised.

If you want to see more, visit the Weekly 3.

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

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