9 replies to this topic

[MG Brown]

Featured at the Gilmore Car Museum through September 2019 is the exhibit "Duesenberg: Celebrating an American Classic" It is free with adult admission (or membership).

 

Here is a sampling of the cars on display in this exhibit:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cheater]

Wonder if I am the only person here at Slotblog who has driven one of these masterpieces? I hope not...

 

BTW, if you can only visit one car museum in your life, the Gilmore complex is where you want to go. It isn't just one museum but a large number of separate museums. 

[Dave Crevie]

Never actually driven one more than a few hundred feet. But worked on a few. Incredible craftsmanship.

[Cheater]

Dave,

 

In 1974, when Duesenberg J-101 was sent to auction in Atlanta, I got to drive it a few miles in a subdivision a couple of days before the auction.

 

So I didn't get a whole lot more time behind the wheel than you did...

[mike1972chev]

I think they were all driven around the track here at Indy after the chassis were assembled before they were sent out to be bodied by various coachbuilders? Is this correct?

[Cheater]

Mike,

 

Without doing some deep research, I think it is true.

[MG Brown]

BTW, if you can only visit one car museum in your life, the Gilmore complex is where you want to go. It isn't just one museum but a large number of separate museums.

 
While the Gilmore is very impressive and the staff works very hard to bring special exhibits and events to the grounds, I would suggest also putting the Auburn Cord Duesenberg museum in Auburn, IN, on your "must visit" list.
 
"Today, the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Facility in Auburn remains the most visible reminder of the Duesenberg legacy in Indiana. Nonprofit Auburn Automotive Heritage, Inc. rescued the magnificent Art Deco landmark in 1974, reopening the site as a museum. Visitors can view an impressive collection of over 120 classic, antique, and special-interest cars – including plenty of Duesenbergs – on the museum’s three floors. Through a nomination submitted by Indiana Landmarks, the site was named a National Historic Landmark in 2005 for its unique heritage and architecture, a status shared by only 42 sites in Indiana."
 

 

[Cheater]

Mick,

 

It's hard to disagree with your opinon here.

 

I have spent half a day at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum and have not yet been to the Gilmore complex, so I won't say anything until I can actually compare them.

 

Still, the number of marques celebrated at the Gilmore leads me to believe it might be 'the place' if you can only visit one of them.

[MG Brown]

I didn't mean to imply one museum was "better" than the other – all I was trying to say is that both are well worth the time that anyone would take to visit them. They each have their own character and are wonderful in their own right.

[Cheater]

The 'if you can only visit one' restriction is rather an artificial construct, and was not meant to be other than a talking point.

 

You are correct: the ACD Museum is simply stunning, with the building being almost as impressive and historic as the cars it contains.