With all the hustle and bustle of the holidays and the prospects of another Scottsdale auction week, it may have slipped under your radar when it was announced that the Walter P. Chrysler Museum, in Auburn Hills, Michigan, had closed. I would have missed it as well, were it not for the fact that I had just had a conversation with the president of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club about the fact that Alfa’s famed museum in Arese, Italy, was shuttered as well. This gave me pause. Between the two, that’s a very large chunk of automotive history closed off to the world. What does this mean for the cars and artifacts that make up those collections? And more importantly, what does this mean for the future of automotive museums in general?
In the case of the Walter P. Chrysler Museum it appears to have succumbed to the same problem that plagues so many museums, lack of public support. Created and controlled by the Chrysler Museum Foundation, the museum existed as a public foundation, rather than a company asset. As such, in order to maintain its public foundation tax status, it was required to raise at least 30 percent of its operational budget through public support and donations. Whether a function of tough economic times or lack of public interest, the museum was unable to make that threshold in recent years. So, what will become of the 67 examples of Chrysler-related history housed in the 55,000-sq.ft. museum? The most recent indications were that the Chrysler Corporation would buy them back. On the surface this seems like it would be good news, if it weren’t for the fact that Chrysler is part of the megalithic Fiat Group, which also owns Alfa Romeo—the other prominent manufacturer museum with shuttered doors! Is it doom and gloom for the prospects of automotive museums? Not necessarily.
While corporate museums seem to be shrinking and struggling as companies tighten their belts, private museums seem to be multiplying and expanding. Though they too have gone through hard times and financial rough patches, Southern California’s Petersen Automotive Museum has weathered many a storm and yet seems to be enjoying one of the best periods in its almost 20-year history. As you’ll read in this month’s news, the museum has a new trio of Executive Chairmen headed by well-known philanthropist and collector Peter Mullin. With the support of co-chairs Bruce Meyer and David Sydorick and newly appointed Director Terry Karges, the museum has one of the strongest management teams in the hobby and is currently enjoying record attendance after opening up its “vaults” to the general public. This from a museum that was literally on death’s door 10 years ago when founder Robert Petersen had to step back in to save it from being closed by the county museum system that controlled it. [pullquote]
What does the closure of corporate museums say about the future of the automotive museum?
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While a private benefactor ultimately insured the Petersen’s future, it is private benefactors that also appear to be driving the future of other automotive museums, as well. Perhaps the best indication that automotive museums are not necessarily a dying breed can be found in Tacoma, Washington. Last year’s opening of the stunning “LeMay—America’s Car Museum” demonstrates that a world-class facility can still be created, and that both private and corporate donors can still be found to support such an institution. Elsewhere, many private collectors have taken their holdings and transformed them into self-funded museums that rival many of the best corporate manufacturer museums anywhere in the world. Peter Mullin’s Mullin Museum, Miles Collier’s Collier Collection, George Barber’s Barber Museum, Jeff Lane’s Lane Motor Museum are just a few of the growing number of private museums which have stepped in to fill the historical void being left by the increasing number of manufacturers that have elected to turn their backs on their own history.
Of course, not every manufacturer has done this. The Henry Ford Museum and the GM Heritage Center appear to be strong and healthy, while in Europe, German manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz and Porsche each maintain strong, impressive museums. But as we’ve seen, corporate fortunes and missions can change in the blink of an eye. What seemed like an invaluable asset one day, can be viewed as an expendable balance sheet item the next. In my humble opinion, the ultimate preservation of our automotive history lies in the hands of these smaller, private museums scattered around the world. Whether they preserve muscle cars or microcars, European classics or American iron, it’s vitally important that we all make an effort to support these local institutions. As we’ve seen recently, we can’t rely on the major manufacturers to keep our history for us.
Casey Annis
Publisher/Editor
