I'm a secret car geek. Not in the 'muscle cars, vroom vroom' kinda way, but in the 'I appreciate good design in all forms' kind of way. Vintage cars are a work of art. I fully intend on owning a Corvette Stingray (late 60s, early 70s) and a '57 Chevy Bel Aire at some point in my life. I was raised going to car shows with my parents who would show off their '46 Plymouth Special Deluxe or whichever car my dad was tinkering with at the time. For almost as long as I've been living in the Boston area, Dad's been talking about going to a local car museum, but the timing just never worked out. It's been years since I went to a car show or a cruise night, but the local museum, The Larz Anderson Auto Museum, was having a VW event on their grounds in addition to their usual exhibits. My parent's and I used this as an excuse to make the time.
I got FAR more than I bargained for. In fact, I didn't even bring my good camera (even though Dad suggested it), because I didn't realize the amazing design I was going to see. (WARNING: lots of pics ahead)
The museum is the amazing stone structure in the background. The property this is on was originally the estate of the Anderson family & the museum is in the carriage house. Yes, I said carriage house. Doesn't your carriage house have doors like this? What, you don't have a carriage house?!
In the feature exhibit World War II and the British Automobile in America, they paired period outfits with each car. How cool is that? Leopard luggage and amazing cars.
The Anderson family's personal collection is a part of the permanent exhibit.
Meet the Andersons
They bought a new car almost every year for 32 years starting their collection in 1899. Totally typical. Especially for that era, right? 14 of their original 32 are still in the collection, making this the oldest auto collection.
Why yes, that is a car in the library. How else would you have a library dedicated to automobile history?
As I mentioned, the VW event was our excuse for the visit. There were all sorts, from perfectly restored to perfectly rusty and everything in between.
Camp in style in a VW bus
Of course, people watching is always so entertaining at public events. How's that for a baby carriage?
