America's Packard Museum
America's Packard Museum is an automotive museum located in Dayton, Ohio.[1][2]
History
The Citizens Motorcar Company, known as America's Packard Museum, is a restored Packard dealership transformed into a museum that displays twentieth-century classic Packards and historic Packard artifacts and memorabilia.[1][3] Originally, The Citizens Motorcar Company sold Packards in Dayton, Ohio beginning in 1908, and moved into what is now the museum building in 1917. Robert Signom II, the museum's Founder and Curator for 27 years, acquired the building in 1991 and painstakingly rehabilitated it to its original Art Deco grandeur. The original 20' tall porcelain and neon Packard sign, removed from the building in the early 1940s, returned to its former position at the corner of Ludlow and Franklin Streets in 1992 for the grand opening of the museum. Since that time, the museum has grown in size and stature, winning the James Bradley Award of the Society of Automotive Historians in 2004. Car Collector magazine also named the museum one of the "Top Ten" automotive museums in the United States. More than 50 cars are on display, from 1900s Brass Era cars, the streamlined Classic cars of the 1930s and 1940s, to the modern Packards of the 1950s, as well as war machines, parts, accessories, and original sales and service literature. A notable highlight of America's Packard Museum is the original Articles of Incorporation of the Ohio Automobile Company, which later became Packard Motor Car Company. In 2019, Robert Signom III was named Curator to continue the legacy of Packard, and the mission and vision of the museum founded by his father. America's Packard Museum is a Section 501(c)(3) non-profit organization under the Internal Revenue Code. The museum is open 12:00noon to 5:00pm, seven days a week, year round, and is closed only on Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.
See also
References
- Mike Varey (2003). 1000 Historic Automobile Sites. Elderberry Press, LLC. p. 152. ISBN 978-1-930859-50-0.
- "Frozen in Time, a Palace Worthy of the Packard". The New York Times. October 8, 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
What began as the city’s premier Packard dealership, then lay dormant for decades, is now a center for all things Packard — parts, restoration information and, above all, exceptional examples of the luxury brand.
- George Olson (2009-10-18). "Exeter's George and Sue Olson are disbelieving in Dayton (Ohio!)". Seacoast Media Group. Retrieved 2010-08-22.