California Car Museums

Automobile Driving Museum
The Automobile Driving Museum (ADM) is a destination for anyone who loves cars. Every Sunday, the museum takes guests for a ride in one of their cars for a trip back in time.
610 Lairport Street
El Segundo, CA 90245
automobiledrivingmuseum.org

Petersen Automotive Museum
Institute of Museum and Library Services Award. Classic Cars Petersen Automotive Museum, 6060 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA petersen.org

California Automobile Museum
The mission of the California Automobile Museum is to preserve, exhibit and teach the story of the automobile and its influence on our lives. The Museum is ...
toweautomuseum.org

Blackhawk Museum
Located an hour southeast of San Francisco in Danville, California, the facility ... with four exhibition galleries,
blackhawkmuseum.org

Marconi Automotive Museum
30 million-dollar collection of historical, exotic, and classic cars. Discover the Marconi...Host your next event at Orange County's only Automotive Museum dedicated to raising ... 1302 Industrial Drive, Tustin, California 92780 ...
marconimuseum.org

Murphy Auto Museum - Classic Cars

Classic Cars at Murphy Auto Museum. ... boasts a collection of over 50 cars displayed by many collectors from the tri-county area surrounding Oxnard, California.
murphyautomuseum.com

The Nethercutt Museum
15151 Bledsoe Street
Sylmar, CA 91342
nethercuttcollection.org
(818) 364-6464
info@nethercuttcollection.org
Admission is free at all facilities. Self-guided
Tuesday – Saturday
9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

1937 CANADIAN PACIFIC ROYAL HUDSON LOCOMOTIVE AND 1912 PULLMAN PRIVATE CAR
LOWER SALON
The Lower Salon is where guests assemble to start the guided tour. The salon is a microcosm of the entire collection. There are about 25 automobiles dating from the early 1900's up till the late 1940's. Also in display are nickelodeons, music boxes, David Winter Cottages, Dolls, Coins, and crystal figurines.
GRAND SALON
Marble columns, crystal chandeliers, painted ceilings all make up this beautiful Grand Salon Showroom of the 1910's, 20 and 30s. On display are approx. 30 of the finest automobiles of that era. Duesenbergs, Cadillacs, Isotta-Fraschini, Delahaye, Minvera, Renault, Maybach, many other European and American built automobiles.

A.W. Hays Truck Museum
2000 E. Main Street
Woodland, CA 95695
website down in 2021

Behring Museum at Blackhawk
3700 Blackhawk Plaza Circle
Danville, CA 94506
(510) 736-2280

Concours Motorcars
619 E. Fourth St.
Santa Ana, CA 92703

Deer Park Winery & Vintage Car Museum
29013 Champagne Blvd.
Escondido, CA 92026
deerparkwine.com

Justice Brothers Racing Museum
2734 East Huntington Dr.
Duarte, CA 91010
facebook.com/justiceprivateautomotivecollection/

Murphy Auto Museum
2230 Statham Blvd.
Oxnard, CA
805-487-4333
murphyautomuseum.com
Partial List Automobile Museums & Car Collections

Southern California Railway Museum
2201 South A Street
Perris CA 92570
socalrailway.org

Pacific Coast Dream Machines Annual Car Show
Hwy. 1
Halfmoon Bay, CA
 
The Peterson Automotive Museum
6060 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
petersen.org

San Diego Automotive Museum
2080 Pan American Plaza
Balboa Park
San Diego, CA 92101
sdautomuseum.org

California Auto Museum
2200 Front Street
Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 442-6802

The J.B. Nethercutt Collection
15200 Bledsoe Street
Sylmar, CA 91342
(818) 367-2251

Toyota Museum
19001 South Western Avenue
Torrance, CA 90501
Museum is open by appointment only by calling
Curator, Susan Sanborn
Website: toyota50th.com
General Information:
Susan Sanborn (310)468-4728, reservations
susan_sanborn@toyota.com
Torrance, CA 90501


BLACKHAWK AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM Showcases 90 vehicles dating from 1897 to the 1960s, selected for their significance or artistic inspiration. Open Wednesday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission fee. Blackhawk Plaza Circle, Danville, Calif. 94506. (925) 736-2280. blackhawkauto.org

CALIFORNIA ROUTE 66 MUSEUM A collection of historic photographs and artifacts related to the history of Route 66 and its communities, including the historical, cultural and economic impact of the mother road. Open Thursday through Monday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free. 16825 D Street, Victorville, Calif. 92393. (760) 951-0436. califrt66museum.org

DAN ROUIT FLAT TRACK MUSEUM Memorabilia related to the history of motorcycle racing, including flat-track race bikes, posters, programs, trophies, leathers and helmets. Call for hours. Free. 309 W. Rialto Street, Clovis, Calif. 93612. (559) 291-2242. vft.org/rouit.html

HAYS ANTIQUE TRUCK MUSEUM Founded in 1982 by A. W. Hays, a leading figure in the California trucking industry, this museum has one of the largest collections of antique trucks in the country, if not the world, with more than 100 models from 94 manufacturers on display. Open daily. Admission fee. 1962 Hays Lane, Woodland, Calif. 95776. (530) 666-1044. truckmuseum.org

JUSTICE BROTHERS RACING MUSEUM Traces the evolution of motor sports, from track racecars to ice-racing motorcycles. The collection includes two Indy cars that were in the movie Driven” starring Sylvester Stallone. Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Free. 2734 E. Huntington Drive, Duarte, Calif. 91010. (626) 359-9174. justicebrothers.com

MARCONI AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM Opened in 1994 by Dick Marconi, who founded a manufacturer of vitamins, food supplements and weight-loss products, this museum houses a $30 million collection of historical, exotic and classic cars. His collection includes a late model Formula One car driven by Michael Schumacher in his first year with Ferrari. Open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission fee. 1302 Industrial Drive, Tustin, Calif. 92780. (714) 258-3001. marconimuseum.org

THE NETHERCUTT COLLECTION This collection was begun by J. B. Nethercutt, the co-founder of Merle Norman Cosmetics. There are 200 meticulously restored vehicles dating from 1898 to 1982, including an 1898 Eisenach Runabout and a 1967 Ferrari 365 California Spyder. There is also an automotive library. Open Tuesday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Free. 15151 Bledsoe Street, San Sylmar, Calif. 91342. (818) 364-6464. nethercuttcollection.org

MURPHY AUTO MUSEUM A collection of more than 50 cars, including a variety of classic, milestone and special-interest vehicles, including many models of Packards from 1927-58. Open Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Donation requested. 2230 Statham Boulevard, Oxnard, Calif. 93033. (805) 487-4333. murphyautomuseum.com

PETERSEN AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM Robert E. Petersen, the founder of Petersen Publishing and its flagship Motor Trend magazine, and his wife, Margie, were founding benefactors of this well-known museum. Its exhibits and dioramas feature more than 150 rare and classic cars, trucks and motorcycles covering four floors. Open day 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. except Monday. Admission fee. 6060 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles 90036. (323) 930-2277. petersen.org

SAN DIEGO AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM Changing exhibits examine the history of the auto industry from classics to concepts. Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission fee. 2080 Pan American Plaza No. 12, Balboa Park, San Diego 92101. (619) 231-2886. sdautomuseum.org

TOYOTA USA AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM A showcase of Toyota's history in the United States, including more than 100 Toyota and Lexus vehicles from 1957 through 2007. Among them are two Toyopet Crowns, examples of Toyota's entry vehicle into the American market. By appointment only. Free. 19001 South Western Avenue, Torrance, Calif. 90509. (310) 468-4728. toyota50th.com

CALIFORNIA AUTO MUSEUM Exhibits more than 170 classic cars, trucks, motorcycles and racecars in historical groupings including a 1904 Ford, 1915 Hupmobile, 1925 Franklin, 1949 De Soto and 1958 Edsel. Open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission fee. 2200 Front Street, Sacramento 95818, (916) 442-6802. calautomuseum.org

WALLY PARKS N.H.R.A. MOTORSPORTS MUSEUM A celebration of motorsports culture, including hot rods, customs, racecars and photographs, trophies, helmets, uniforms and other memorabilia. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Admission fee. Fairplex Gate 1, 1101 W. McKinley Avenue, Pomona, Calif. 91768. (909) 622-2133. museum.nhra.com

California Auto Shows

1928 Bugatti 37a
1931 t54
1939 Delahaye T165
Celebrates the extraordinary coachwork produced in France for the Delahaye chassis between 1920 and the early 1950s.
Inside, it's an homage to automotive luxury, an assemblage of French Art Deco cars of the 1930s and 1940s with such fabled names as Hispano-Suiza, Delahaye and Delage.

Oxnard car collector exhibits more than 100 vintage French luxury vehicles with histories as exotic as their looks.

Peter Mullin favorite car, a 1938 Talbot Lago

Outside, it's just another building in an Oxnard office park though it's the only one flying the flags of the U.S. and France.

Inside, it's an homage to automotive luxury, an assemblage of French Art Deco cars of the 1930s and 1940s with such fabled names as Hispano-Suiza, Delahaye and Delage.

They are the kind of cars that cost small fortunes and inspire great passions. As the British actor and bon vivant Peter Ustinov put it: "One, of course, drives an Alfa Romeo and one is driven in a Rolls-Royce, but one gives only a Delage to one's favorite mistress."

In the building once used by the late Times publisher Otis Chandler for his collection of muscle cars and hunting trophies, a Los Angeles philanthropist named Peter Mullin is offering jaw-dropping views appointment only, at mullinautomotivemuseum.com of French luxury cars and furnishings of a certain age.

100 rare vehicles, mostly with bodies custom-made by French carriage builders.

For the outdoorsman who likes to travel in style, there's a pale green 1937 Hispano Suiza as big as the Ritz, with buffalo-hide upholstery and sea grass floor mats. Known as a 'shooting brake,' it was "designed for the well-heeled to carry large amounts of cargo such as dogs and hunting guns for grouse shooting," according to a display placard.

Slowly rotating on a turntable, a wine-red 1939 Delahaye Type 165 cabriolet is all swoops and slopes and voluptuous curves, a reclining nude with a 12-cylinder engine.

There's definitely something sensual, something sculptural here. When I saw my first French car, I was shocked by how gorgeous it was. I was intrigued, I was fascinated, I was smitten, says Mullin.

Mullin tore down and rebuilt the engine of a 1953 Chevy Bel Air when he was 16, but was left with a big box of parts that didn't quite seem to fit anywhere. He said the car ran just fine until he sold it eight years later. Now, seasoned artisans do the restorations on his collection, which he started about 30 years ago.

The museum may display a rare 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, according to curator Andrew Reilly for $30 million

But Reilly denied the Journal's report that the museum had purchased the car, saying that its new, anonymous owner merely had been in talks with Mullin about exhibiting it.

In any event, Mullin, showing a visitor around his museum, had no hesitation about pointing out his favorite car: the droplet-shaped burgundy 1938 Talbot-Lago T 150 CS coupe.

Racing cars line a portion of the museum's second floor. A 1937 Delahaye 145 was disassembled and buried in a French hillside to keep it from the Nazis during the invasion of France. It had been built for a million-franc prize the French government offered to any racer who could beat Germany, which had nationalized its auto industry. Adolf Hitler was particularly enraged that the Delahaye had been piloted to victory over German and Italian cars at several races by a well-known Jewish driver, Rene Dreyfus.

Some Bugattis on the museum floor gleam, but some, very deliberately, do not. One black 1936 coupe comes complete with cracked red leather, peeling paint, and large patches of rust.

The rusted chassis of a 1925 Bugatti Brescia, a relic dredged up in 2009 after 70 years beneath the chill waters of Lake Maggiore in Switzerland. A Swiss playboy won it in a Parisian poker game — but he was down on his luck and couldn't afford the stiff import duties required to bring it back home. That's when Swiss officials sunk it, saying the law required them to do so.

When it was hauled up before a crowd of 2,000, its two remaining tires were still inflated and its dashboard instruments were intact. Much of the body was rusted through, but the part that was buried in mud had the look of an Impressionist canvas, its original blue paint job speckled with browns and greens.

"It's the beauty from the deep," Mullin said as he stood before it. "You can't possibly improve on it. How could you replace that patina?"


RIVERSIDE Riverside International Automotive Museum (RIAM) RIAM is open to the public 10 am until 4 pm, Monday through Saturday.
Suggested Admission is $5.

RIAM

951 369-6966
events@riversideinternational.org
815 Marlborough Avenue #200
Riverside, CA 92507
Main Office and General Information Line:
(951) 369-6966