If you love antiques and classic automobiles and live in the Eastern part of the US, here are a few places you may want to visit. Find examples of handcrafted autos from the turn of the 20th century made by a variety of now defunct manufacturers of those classic Ford’s, Chevrolet’s, and of course Mopar.
Aside from automobiles, many of the museums also feature motor sports cars, motorcycles and other forms of transportation. Not only will you learn more about the history of early transportation but many of these museums offer you the opportunity to purchase from their collection. Most are fully restored and prices can range from five thousand dollars to the sky is the limit. Many cost about the same as today’s new cars in the average price range.
Car Museums in the Eastern United States
AACA Museum, Hershey, Pennsylvania.
The AACA Museum, a proud Smithsonian affiliate, is a world-class automotive experience. Children and adults of all ages can explore numerous vintage vehicle displays and interactive exhibits featuring cars, buses, motorcycles, and other automobiles from the 1890s through the 2000’s. The AACA Museum is conveniently located in Hershey, PA and attracts visitors from throughout Harrisburg, Lebanon, Lancaster, and all of Pennsylvania.
America On Wheels, Allentown, Pennsylvania. Cars, trucks & motorcycles.
Our museum is a place where everyone can gather to learn, have fun and celebrate first hand America’s love affair with cars, trucks, motorcycles and bicycles. These vehicles have touched our lives. They’ve shaped history, given us freedom and mobility and in many ways, helped define how we see ourselves. As you explore our many exhibits and galleries, enjoy the memories and stories these vehicles will evoke.
Buffalo Transportation Pierce-Arrow Museum, Buffalo NY. Features a Frank Lloyd Wright gas station.
The Buffalo Transportation Pierce-Arrow Museum was established as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in 1997. The Museum building, at the corner of Seneca Street and Michigan Avenue, in downtown Buffalo (once a Mack Truck dealership and showroom), opened in 2001.
Jim Sandoro and his wife, Mary Ann, have spent more than 45 years collecting memorabilia, antique vehicles and historic artifacts to visually display the rich transportation history of Western New York. They welcome you to the Museum to see the impressive collection of automobiles, bicycles, motorcycles, Pierce-Arrow artifacts, Jello Wagon, Corvette collection, The 1927 Buffalo Filling Station by Frank Lloyd Wright, and much more.
Champlain Valley Transportation Museum, Plattsburg, NY. 25 cars plus model trains.
The Champlain Valley Transportation Museum (CVTM) was founded in 2000 by a group of car and history enthusiasts from the Plattsburgh area. What began as an automobile museum has grown to cover many more forms of transportation. The foundation of CVTM is the Lozier Motor Company, an automobile manufacturing business during the early 1900s that built some of the most exquisite and expensive vehicles during that time period. CVTM is dedicated to exploring, interpreting, and celebrating the region’s rich transportation history.
Cole Land Transportation Museum, Bangor, ME. Anything with wheels. Open in summer only.
Our purpose at the Cole Land Transportation Museum is to collect, preserve, and display (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 and display U.S. military memorabilia to forever remind this and future generations of the high price our comrades have paid to protect our freedom. In doing so, we hope to inspire and challenge the young people of today to continue on in the footsteps of pioneers who have built our state and country.
Fort Lauderdale Antique Car Museum, Fort Lauderdale, FL. Features the largest collection of Packard Cars and historical memorabilia from 1900 and on.
The Fort Lauderdale Antique Car Museum boasts a one-of-a-kind setting, with the largest collection of Packard cars and historical memorabilia from 1900 and on. There is something that will appeal to everyone in this recently expanded 30,000 square foot museum where guests are able to indulge in some of the industrial age’s greatest achievements.
Frick Car & Carriage Museum, Pittsburgh, PA.
After the turn of the 20th century, the development of the automobile profoundly changed American life. In the Car and Carriage Museum, visitors can travel back to the time of carriages, see some of the first horseless carriages to have an impact on Pittsburgh and learn about Pittsburgh’s role in the developing automobile industry.
Larz Anderson Auto Museum, Brookline, MA. Eclectic collection of cars, motorcycles and artifacts.
The Larz Anderson Auto Museum is home to “America’s Oldest Car Collection”. For more than eighty-five years the Larz Anderson Auto Museum has been supporting the community through a variety of educational programs, exhibits, and lectures.
Memory Lane Motorsports & Historic Auto Museum, Mooresville, NC. Specializes in motor sports.
If you cherish automobiles, racing or history, this museum has something for you!! Featuring over 150 cars and exhibits there is something for everyone. It’s a classic car museum, nascar museum, muscle car museum, movie museum, toy museum, and history museum all in one!
Miami Auto Museum at the Dezer Collection, North Miami, FL. 200 cars and other vehicles.
The Miami Auto Museum is currently closed and being relocated to Orlando. To keep up to date with the grand opening please sign up for our newsletter. ADDRESS: 5150 International Dr, Orlando, FL 32819
Muscle Car City, Punta Gorda, FL. 10175 Tamiami Trail, Punta Gorda, FL 33950 Mostly GM muscle cars.
Muscle Car City is a museum with well over 170 vintage ’50s to early ’70s muscle cars. Featuring classic cars and hot rods spanning 35 years of makes and models. The collection boasts GM Performance Cars from ’67 – ’70 Z-28 Camaros, ’68 – ’71 396 Camaros, ’64 – ’71 SS Chevelles, ’65 – ’71 SS El Caminos, ’58 – ’67 Big Block Impalas, ’64 – ’71 Pontiac GTOs, ’64 – ’72 Oldsmobile 442s and a huge assortment of Hot Rods and Antique Chevys. Rick has managed to maintain and collect one or more Corvette of each year from 1954 – 1975 and several of each series from 1975 – 2016.
Newport Car Museum, Newport, Rhode Island.
The private collection of some 70 automobiles at the Newport Car Museum focuses on seven decades of modern industrial automotive design and celebrates cars as works of art. From the 1950s to the present, separate exhibits of Ford/Shelby Cars, Corvettes, World Cars, Fin Cars, 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.
Northeast Classic Car Museum, Norwich, New York.
The Northeast Classic Car Museum is a not-for-profit educational facility in Norwich, New York that collects, preserves, interprets and exhibits vehicles related to the evolution of transportation, with particular emphasis on the role of the automobile and its impact on American culture. The Museum opened on Memorial Day weekend 1997, and over 170 vehicles from 1899 through the early 1980s are on display in five connected buildings. Permanent exhibits feature pre-war and post-war vehicles, the world’s largest collection of Franklins, and cars made in New York State. We also feature period correct clothing among the vehicles, a collection of WWI & WWII airplane engines and a tribute to Bennett Ireland.
Old Spokes Auto Museum, New Smithville, PA. Small collection of mostly Hudsons.
The Hudson Motor Company started with the Model 20 roadster in 1909 and ended in 1957. This private car collection is always changing, but has many great examples of Hudson, Essex and Terraplane automobiles on hand at all times. The collection changes but always has great examples of autos for you to see.
Owls Head Transportation Museum, Owls Head, Maine. 50 cars from 1885-1940, plus airplanes, motorcycles and other forms of transportation.
The Owls Head Transportation Museum is a nonprofit educational organization. Its mission is to collect, preserve, exhibit and operate pre-1940 aircraft, ground vehicles, engines and related technologies significant to the evolution of transportation for the purpose of education.
Saratoga Automobile Museum, Saratoga Springs, NY. Cars and artifacts.
The Saratoga Automobile Museum was organized in 1999, and opened to the public in 2002. The Museum’s mission is to preserve, interpret and exhibit automobiles and automotive artifacts. We celebrate the automobile and educate the general public, students and enthusiasts regarding the role of the automobile in New York State and in the wider world. In addition to technical and design aspects, our educational focus is on the past, present and future social and economic impact of the automobile.
Seal Cove Auto Museum, Mount Desert Island, Maine. 50 cars and motorcycles from 1895-1917.
The Seal Cove Auto Museum fosters joyful experiences for people of all ages and interests. Our collection features some of the earliest automobiles and motorcycles, as well as clothing and accessories, from 1895 through the early 1920s. Antique auto enthusiasts, history buffs, as well as anyone who simply loves stories or wants to experience something entirely different, will delight in this unique collection.
Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum, Philadelphia, PA. 65 racing sports cars
The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum is one of the world’s greatest collections of racing sports cars. Through our theme, “The Spirit of Competition”, we celebrate the history and evolution of these magnificent machines. Assembled over 50 years, our Collection contains over 65 historically significant cars including Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Bugatti, Mercedes, Jaguar, Bentley, Porsche, Aston Martin, Corvette, Ford and more. Below is a complete list of our exhibits and cars in the order which they are seen as one progresses through the Museum. Please be sure to click the “Read more…” link next to read a full bio for each car or exhibit.
Tallahassee Automotive Museum, Tallahassee, FL. 130 cars plus a wide variety of other collectibles.
The Tallahassee Automobile Museum, located in Tallahassee, Florida, opened to the public in May 1996. Our museum was born of DeVoe Moore’s need for a project and the red-tape of government environmental permitting inhibiting his ability to build new buildings! Since the building for the original museum site was already permitted, he put his energy into developing a facility to house his small collection of 15 automobiles. DeVoe always thought of automobiles as works of art and decided a museum was a worthy project where he could share his love with the public –especially young people.
Tampa Bay Automobile Museum, Pinellas Park, Florida. Autos from Around the World
The Tampa Bay Automobile Museum, located in the Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg area of west central Florida, features a unique collection of vintage cars and vehicles that demonstrate special creativity and imagination in their history and engineering. They include pioneering front wheel drive and rear engine cars from the 1920s and 1930s, and each vehicle was chosen based on the engineering achievements that made it an important part of the evolution of the automobile. These are the cars that set the standards for the engineering of automobiles today. Visitors enjoy a provocative blend of art and science in over 12,000 square feet of gallery space.
The William E. Swigart, Jr. Antique Automobile Museum, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. 35 cars on display.
The Swigart Museum collection has a total of 104 automobiles and carriages dating back to 1896. You can see between 30 to 35 automobiles on display each year at the museum. Because our collection is so vast, each year while the museum is closed over the winter, we change the displays to give everyone the opportunity to see more of our collections. We also have a featured display each year of one of our special automobiles in the center of the museum.
