Gilmore Car Museum (GCM)

49060 Hickory Corners, MI, United States of America (USA) (Michigan )

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 1/2024:
The Gilmore Car Museum
exhibits over 400 vintage and collector vehicles and motorcycles from all eras in several vintage buildings located on a 90-acre campus.[The museum claims to be the largest automobile museum in North America. It is part of the MotorCities National Heritage Area.

The museum opened in 1966 exhibiting the car collection of Donald S. Gilmore, a local businessman. Today, its collection consists of over 500 vehicles, including an 1899 Locomobile Steam Car and a 1930 Rolls-Royce prop car used in the 1967 film The Gnome-Mobile. The museum also claims to have the largest display of automotive mascots and name badges in North America. The campus includes a 1941 Blue Moon Diner and a replica 1930s Shell fuel station.

Exhibits

Born to Perform: The Era of the Muscle Car
From Super Bees to Chevelles and everything in between, step into an era where the engines were big and their performance was bigger.

The Negro Motorist Green Book
Though roads and highways were free for all to use, doing so was not easy for people of color. The Green Book, written by Victor Green, provided guidance for African American travelers to find safe locations to sleep, eat, shop and purchase gas.

A Century of Motorcycles
The Gilmore Car Museum collection boasts more than cars! The motorcycle gallery features rare examples of bikes from the past, including a 1947 Indian Chief and the 1952 Triumph Trophy TR5 ridden by the famous Fonz on the 1970s sitcom, Happy Days.

Disney Magic and More
From Disney Magic to a beautiful collection of pedal cars, there’s something in this exhibit for every kid and all the kids at heart! Over 100 pedal cars adorn this exhibit including cars, tractors, airplanes, anniversary models, police cars, fire trucks, and so many more.

1930s Shell Station
An authentic re-creation complete with a vast display of memorabilia from the days when gas was only 18 cents a gallon. Inside, you will find a vast display of Shell and gas station memorabilia.
 

Partner museums
Seven smaller, independent museums are located on the Gilmore Car Museum campus:

Cadillac & LaSalle Club Museum
The Cadillac & LaSalle Club was established in 1958 to encourage the preservation of early Cadillacs and LaSalles. Today, the club promotes the development, collection, publication and exchange of helpful information pertaining to Cadillac and LaSalle. More than 7,000 members around the world own, preserve, exhibit, drive and enjoy more than 18,000 collectible automobiles built by Cadillac.

Classic Car Club of America Museum
Plans to establish the Classic Car Club of America’s Museum at the Gilmore Car Museum first germinated in 1984, with the original building being dedicated in June of 1987. A historic two-story barn dating from the 1890s, originally located only a few minutes from the museum, was disassembled, relocated and rebuilt on the Gilmore site, and today is known as the “Barrett Barn.”

The CCCA Museum displays several “Full Classic” automobiles and over 700 mascots, part of the Marvin Tamaroff Mascot Collection donated in 1996.

H.H. Franklin Club Museum
The H.H. Franklin Manufacturing Company of Syracuse, NY built America's most successful air-cooled automobile, with its first innovative air-cooled motorcar in 1902 and continued production until 1934. Of the 150,000 Franklins built between 1902 and 1934, it's estimated that about 3,700 have survived.

Lincoln Motor Car Heritage Museum
The Lincoln Motor Car Heritage Museum is for You! America’s passionate love affair with the Lincoln automobile continues to inspire new generations. This is demonstrated in a variety of ways, including the formation of affinity clubs in which enthusiasts can share their interest in a particular brand or segment of the automotive market, past and present. The Lincoln automobile inspired the creation of four major affinity clubs, these motivated the creation of the Lincoln Motor Car Foundation, its Museum and its work of Sharing the Living Legacy of the Lincoln Motor Cars. The Grand Opening of the Lincoln Motor Car Heritage Museum took place August 9, 2014.

Model A Ford Museum
The Model A Ford Museum is truly a treat for our hobbyists. Whether you've been before or may be planning to go, each visit will present new vehicles and exhibits that will interest young and old alike. At any given time, the museum has about thirty Model A vehicles on display representing all production years, 1928 through 1931, and a variety of body styles from Tudors to Phaetons to Pickups to Firetrucks, etc. Annually we freshen the Museum with new exhibits and displays and create a theme for each year in which we focus on a specific usage of the Model A Ford during its production era. We also have five interactive displays that allow a visitor to learn about the Model A Ford through a "hands-on" experience.

Museum of the Horseless Carriage
The Museum of the Horseless Carriage's mission is preserving the history and artifacts pertaining to the Brass Era automobile (pre-1916)

The period before 1916 saw an amazing transformation in independent transportation and technological advancements. This period is not emphasized enough in museums or illustrated adequately in school history courses. The world's history and culture were profoundly impacted by the early development of the horseless carriage and the pioneers who made it happen.

The Museum of the Horseless Carriage is open at its temporary location in the Steam Barn on the Gilmore campus until the capital campaign is completed and the new stand alone museum building is completed. The new building is targeted to be opened in 2024.

Pierce-Arrow Museum
About two dozen significant Pierce-Arrow vehicles including cars, bicycles, motorcycles and travel trailers covering the full range of production years from 1903 to 1938, are always on display. Most have been restored to original condition and show Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company products at their very best. From time to time there are vehicles exhibited in unrestored condition, showing how well Pierce products have held up over three quarters of a century since production ceased.

A majority of the vehicles are permanent. Others are on loan from owners and rotated to provide variety to the presentation each year. Some rotation occurs during the year due to activities or use in the other displays at the Gilmore Car Museum campus.

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