The California Automobile Museum was established in 1983 and opened to the public in 1987. Originally known as the Towe Automobile Museum, it essentially offered a collection of Fords. The collection was then enriched with models from other brands. It is located on nearly 7000 m² in the heart of the city of Sacramento (capital of the state of California). About half of the 120 cars on display belong to the museum, the other half comes from loans from individuals. The California Automobile Museum also organizes temporary exhibitions to showcase other vehicles and renew the interest of visitors.
Cars
The California Automobile Museum’s collection covers the origins of the automobile (late 19th century) to cars from the 2000s. The vast majority of these are cars that have circulated in California, so many American cars, current brands as well as manufacturers now disappeared (Pierce-Arrow, Stanley, Nash, Willys, Studebaker …). There are in particular Ford since it was the origin of the museum., including of course the famous Ford T in several bodies. The great American classics Ford T-Bird, Ford Mustang, Cadillac Eldorado, Chevrolet Corvette, Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Viper, Pontiac Firebird or De Lorean are present. In addition, there are some European cars (Mercedes 560SL or Lamborghini Countach) and Japanese cars.
Besides cars
Many events enliven the life of the California Automobile Museum. Temporary exhibitions over several weeks on various themes (English cars, Japanese cars, the art of road trip …), thematic days on a model, a brand or a car phenomenon (for example low riders, Dodge Challenger, Mini …). Every3rd Sunday of the month, the museum offers you to take a ride in Sacramento one of the museum’s cars, thus completing the experience of the visit. The California Automobile Museum also has an extensive library containing books on the automobile, biographies, technical notices, novels, sales catalogs, club books… The library is accessible by appointment for research.
Practical information
Website: https://www.calautomuseum.org/
Opening
| Wednesday to Monday | 10am – 5pm |
| Closed on Tuesdays, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving and Christmas | |
| Attention, the museum closes at 3pm on hot days (> 38 ° C) |
Rates
| Adults | $10.00 |
| Seniors (over 65 years), Students, military | $9.00 |
| Youth (6 to 17 years old) | $5.00 |
| Children (under 6 years old) | Free |
| Free parking |
The photos on this page belong to the California Automobile Museum
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