Established | July 31, 1966 |
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Location | 6865 W. Hickory Road, Hickory Corners, Michigan 49060 |
Coordinates | 42°26′26″N 85°25′18″W / 42.4405°N 85.4216°WCoordinates: 42°26′26″N 85°25′18″W / 42.4405°N 85.4216°W |
Type | Automobile museum |
Collection size | 350+ antique cars, motorcycles, & more |
Visitors | 97,000 (annually) |
Director | Michael Spezia |
Website | gilmorecarmuseum |
The Gilmore Car Museum is located in Hickory Corners in the U.S. state of Michigan, and houses one of Michigan's largest collections of classic and vintage automobiles. Over 300 vintage and collector vehicles and motorcycles from all eras are on display in over a dozen vintage buildings located on 90 acres (36 ha).
Exhibits range from the early cars of the 1890s, to the Duesenbergs, Hudsons, and classics of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, as well as automobiles built in the "Other Motor City - Kalamazoo." Also on display is a vintage Franklin dealership and the largest gallery ever dedicated to the Model A Ford. Featured are the Dust Bowl and Great Migration vehicles of the 1920s and 1930s, a 1948 Tucker, vintage pedal cars, and the Eldon and Esta Hostetler Hudson Motor Car Collection.
On site is a 1941 Blue Moon Diner and a re-creation of a 1930s Shell Gas Station, where gas is always 18 cents a gallon.
On display is the movie set and car as seen in the 1967 Walt Disney movie, The Gnome-Mobile. Museum founder Donald Gilmore and Walt Disney were good friends and after production of the film ended, Donald purchased the 1930 Rolls-Royce Sedanca Deville used in the movie from Disney Studios. After visiting the Gilmore Car Museum in person before its public opening, Disney gave the original movie set, a four-times-larger-than-life recreation of the back seat of the Rolls-Royce, to Donald as a gift. Both pieces are on display at the Gilmore Car Museum.
Admission to the Gilmore Car Museum actually includes 7 independent auto museums located on its 90-acre historic campus. They are the Gilmore Car Museum, Classic Car Club of America Museum, the Pierce-Arrow Museum, The H. H. Franklin Collection, the Model A Ford Museum, Lincoln Motor Car Museum and the Cadillac LaSalle Club Museum.
This is a self-contained museum located on the grounds. It contains 13,000 square feet of space dedicated to the Model A Ford produced from 1928-31. It is in part sponsored by the Model A Ford Foundation (MAFFI), headquartered in Nonantum, Ma.