Larz Anderson Auto Museum
Encyclopedia
Larz Anderson Park
Larz Anderson Park is a wooded, landscaped, and waterscaped parkland in Brookline, Massachusetts that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The southwest corner of the park is in Boston...
in Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
and is the oldest collection of motorcars in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The museum is a non-profit educational institution with community events, lectures, children’s programs, walking tours of the park, and an ever-changing series of exhibits on motor vehicles and the automobile's impact on society and culture.
History
Larz Anderson
Larz Anderson III was a wealthy American businessman and diplomat who briefly served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan ....
and Isabel Weld Perkins
Isabel Weld Perkins
Isabel Weld Perkins , mostly known as Isabel Anderson or Mrs. Larz Anderson after her marriage, was a Boston-area heiress and author who left a legacy to the public that includes a park and two museums. She is interred in the St...
soon after they married. In 1899 they purchased a true "horseless carriage" made by the Winton Motor Carriage Company
Winton Motor Carriage Company
The Winton Motor Carriage Company was a pioneer United States automobile manufacturer based in Cleveland, Ohio. Winton was one of the first American companies to sell a motor car.-1896:...
. In the following decades, the Andersons purchased at least thirty-two new motorcars. Their collection also included twenty-four horse-drawn carriages and six sleighs.
As their cars became obsolete, the Andersons retired them to the Carriage House of their 64 acres (25.9 ha) estate in Greater Boston
Greater Boston
Greater Boston is the area of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts surrounding the city of Boston. Due to ambiguity in usage, the size of the area referred to can be anywhere between that of the metropolitan statistical area of Boston and that of the city's combined statistical area which includes...
. By 1927, the Andersons opened the Carriage House for tours of their vehicles. When Isabel Anderson died in 1948, she bequeathed her entire Brookline estate (including mansion, carriage house, land and automobiles) to the Town of Brookline. She stipulated in her will that the motorcar collection be known as the "Larz Anderson Collection."
Carriage House
The Carriage House which the museum occupies was designed by the BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
architect Edmund M. Wheelwright
Edmund M. Wheelwright
Edmund March Wheelwright was one of New England's most important architects in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and served as city architect for Boston, Massachusetts from 1891-1895....
and completed in 1889. Gigantic in scale, the building stored carriages, housed horses, and even served as home to stable staff who lived on the upper floor. Soon after the Andersons began collecting automobiles, they added a garage on the basement level for vehicle repair.
The collection
Of the original thirty-two motor vehicles, the following fourteen remain in the collection:- 1899 WintonWinton Motor Carriage CompanyThe Winton Motor Carriage Company was a pioneer United States automobile manufacturer based in Cleveland, Ohio. Winton was one of the first American companies to sell a motor car.-1896:...
PhaetonPhaeton (carriage)Phaeton is the early 19th-century term for a sporty open carriage drawn by a single horse or a pair, typically with four extravagantly large wheels, very lightly sprung, with a minimal body, fast and dangerous. It usually had no sidepieces in front of the seats... - 1900 Rochet-SchneiderRochet-SchneiderRochet-Schneider was a French company that produced automobiles during the early 20th century. The Rochet-Schneider sales slogan was "strength, simplicity and silence"....
- 1901 WintonWinton Motor Carriage CompanyThe Winton Motor Carriage Company was a pioneer United States automobile manufacturer based in Cleveland, Ohio. Winton was one of the first American companies to sell a motor car.-1896:...
- 1903 Gardner-SerpolletGardner-SerpolletGardner-Serpollet was a French manufacturer of steam-powered cars in the early 1900s.In 1896, Leon Serpollet invented and perfected the flash boiler, which made steam a much more practical source of power for an automobile...
- 1905 ElectromobileLemsThe Lems was an English electric car manufactured by the London Electromobile Syndicate in London from 1903 to 1904. The two-seater runabout claimed to run on a single charge and reach a top speed of 12 mph . It was sold for 180 guineas....
- 1906 CGVCharron, Girardot et VoigtCharron, Girardot et Voight was a French racing team that opened one of the first French car dealerships.The dealership opened in 1897, on Avenue de la Grande Armée in Paris. CGV showed their first car in 1901. In 1904, they produced 216 cars with 4 cylinder engines, which sold for up to £1200 in...
- 1907 FiatFiatFIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
- 1908 Bailey
- 1910 Panhard et Levassor
- 1912 RenaultRenaultRenault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
- 1916 Packard Twin SixPackardPackard was an American luxury-type automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana...
- 1924 Renault TorpedoRenaultRenault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
- 1925 Luxor Taxi
- 1926 Lincoln LimousineLincoln (automobile)Lincoln is an American luxury vehicle brand of the Ford Motor Company. Lincoln vehicles are sold mostly in North America.-History:The company was founded in August 1915 by Henry M. Leland, one of the founders of Cadillac . During World War I, he left Cadillac which was sold to General Motors...
Non-motorized transports
In addition to some of the original horse-drawn carriages and sleighs owned by the Andersons or their Weld forebearsWeld family
The Weld family is an extended family of Boston Brahmins most remembered for the philanthropy of its members. The Welds have many connections to Harvard University, the Golden Age of Sail, the Far East , the history of Massachusetts, and American history in general.William Weld, former Governor of...
, the museum is home to the vintage bicycle collection of Dr. Ralph W. Galen, a local cycling enthusiast.
Events
The museum sponsors a variety of activities throughout the year that attract enthusiasts of specific motor vehicles from throughout the Northeastern United StatesNortheastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
, may of whom arrive in their own rare vehicles to a gathering of like-minded hobbyists.
A sampling of these events includes days devoted to American V8s
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
, British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
cars, Cadillac LaSalles, Camaros
Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is an automobile manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand, classified as a pony car and some versions also as a muscle car. It went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed as a competing model to the Ford Mustang...
and Firebirds
Pontiac Firebird
The Pontiac Firebird was built by the Pontiac division of General Motors between 1967 and 2002. The Firebird was introduced the same year as the automaker's platform-sharing model, the Chevrolet Camaro...
, Corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
s, German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
cars, hot rods, Italian cars, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s, Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
, Miatas, microcars & mincars, Packard
Packard
Packard was an American luxury-type automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana...
s and other extinct autos, Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
s and Studebaker
Studebaker
Studebaker Corporation was a United States wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 under the name of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, the company was originally a producer of wagons for farmers, miners, and the...
s.
The museum also attracts visitors with lectures on various subjects relating to transportation or local history, as well as musical entertainment in "The Carriage House Concert Series".
Library
The Library and Archives at Larz Anderson Auto Museum are devoted to materials relating automobile, racing and motor transportation history. There are also some documents related to carriages, motorcycles and bicycles. The facility also houses an extensive archival holding of Packard Motor CompanyPackard
Packard was an American luxury-type automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana...
materials.
The library is a repository for information related to the state and to the Andersons themselves, including a collection of books, plays, and volumes of poetry authored by Isabel Anderson.
Former history and holdings
In 1971, in cooperation with the Veteran Motor Car Club of America, the Andersons' carriage house became known as the Museum of Transportation, under the direction of Duncan Smith. Smith led a young, enthusiastic staff at this location for six years. He was especially proud of a multi-media presentation chronicling the invention and refinement of the bicycle; it was then the only world-class history of the bicycle on exhibit in the United States. The museum's halls featured rotating exhibits of automobiles, motorcycles, carriages, and bicycles. The museum's collection of antique-auto newsreel footage broadened into a library of vintage movie comedies, displaying vehicles of the 1920s in motion. Museum visitors had the opportunity to see high-wheeled-bicycle demonstrations, and ride in a vintage-1937 fire engine named for Boston Pops conductor and firefighting-memorabilia enthusiast Arthur FiedlerArthur Fiedler
Arthur Fiedler was a long-time conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, a symphony orchestra that specializes in popular and light classical music. With a combination of musicianship and showmanship, he made the Boston Pops one of the best-known orchestras in the country...
.
The Museum of Transportation at Larz Anderson Park closed on December 31, 1977, and effected a merger with The Children's Museum of Boston. The combined museum reopened in 1979 in a downtown Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
location, but the joint venture was short-lived and the antique-auto contingent returned to its Anderson Park home in the 1980s.
Since then the museum continues to showcase exceptional examples of vintage motor vehicles. While maintaining the most precious "gems" of the original Larz Anderson Auto Collection, the museum no longer has the following: 1905 Walter Tractor & Victoria Carriage, 1907 Walter Brougham, 1910 American Underslung (designed by Harry Stutz
Stutz Motor Company
The Stutz Motor Company was a producer of luxury cars based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Production began in 1911 and continued through 1935. The marque reappeared in 1968 under the aegis of Stutz Motor Car of America, Inc., and with a newly defined modern retro-look. Although the company is...
), 1913 Hudson 33
Hudson Motor Car Company
The Hudson Motor Car Company made Hudson and other brand automobiles in Detroit, Michigan, from 1909 to 1954. In 1954, Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation to form American Motors. The Hudson name was continued through the 1957 model year, after which it was dropped.- Company strategy...
, 1917 Ford Model T
Ford Model T
The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company from September 1908 to May 1927...
Estate Wagon, 1918 Dodge, 1920 Dodge Truck, 1920 Dodge Hackney, 1924 Dodge Sedan, 1928 Nash Advanced Six, 1930 Packard
Packard
Packard was an American luxury-type automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana...
Limousine, 1931 REO Flying Cloud
REO Motor Car Company
The REO Motor Car Company was a Lansing, Michigan based company that produced automobiles and trucks from 1905 to 1975. At one point the company also manufactured buses on its truck platforms.REO was initiated by Ransom E. Olds during August 1904...
6-21, 1936 Dodge Station Wagon, 1938 Dodge Express Truck, 1939 GMC Truck, 1940 Ford Deluxe Wagon, 1941 Packard Suburban, 1947 Pontiac Sedan and the 1948 Ford Super Deluxe Wagon.