Museums are known to contain relics that give us an insight into the past, and it’s therefore no surprise that an automobile museum with a rich history of cars that once took over the world exists.
The Duesenberg and Auburn Cord Automobile Museum is located in Auburn, Indiana, a hub that’s known as the home of the classics due to the role it played in pioneering early car designs and manufacturing.
The museum building was originally home to the Auburn Automobile Company headquarters, which was famous for designing the Cord, Auburn and Duesenberg car models.
Around 130 vehicles, still in pristine conditions, are currently scattered over three floors of the building and are open for viewers to have a glimpse of the automotive industry’s past.
The fall of Auburn Cord Automobile
With every great rise, comes a great fall and the once thriving automobile company inevitably shut down.
The Great Depression affected countless businesses and companies by putting them out of business, and the Auburn Company was no exception. The company struggled to stay in business, but sadly was forced to close down its operations and filed for bankruptcy in 1937.
The then stunning building was abandoned and left to wither at the hands of nature, but a silver lining appeared in the later years. The building was purchased by car enthusiasts in the 1970s, who were not ready to let the glorious building go, who subjected the building to renovations.
The newly refurbished building was then opened as a museum, open to the public in 1974.Thus, a permanent institution to pay tribute to Auburn’s rich motorcar heritage was created.
Due to the role, it plays in preserving one of America’s richest histories, in 2005, the museum was named the National Historic Landmark. Additionally, it is currently listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Inside the Landmark
The museum now houses great relics such as the Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg models that are now coveted as one of the most sought out car classics by car lovers across the globe
Some of the most famous car models strewn across the museum’s showroom are the 1932 Duesenberg Model J, a 1930 Cord L-29 Cabriolet as well as a 1936 Auburn 852 Phaeton.
Visitors are able to journey into the automotive past with some of the museum’s exciting and engaging exhibits. Car enthusiasts can visit some of the kiosks in the museum that are interactive and enable them to hear the sounds the car makes, giving them an auditory glimpse of the past
The offices for the restored Auburn Automobiles are open to the public to witness the work area where some of the greatest cars were designed. The museum is also dotted with photographs as well as videos that give visitors an outlook of the type of engineering that was used on some of the car’s designs.