Tuesday, September 20, 2016

The Princeton Auto Museum

In the 1930s, there were a select few who saw the value in saving early cars. Among these early collectors such as Barney Pollard, George Waterman and Glen Gould, was Albert and Salvator Garganigo.

According to the Princeton Historical Society (Princeton, MA), the brothers ran the Turnpike Garage and Auto Wrecking Company in Shrewsbury, MA in the late 1920s. Located on Rt 9, the main thoroughfare between Boston and Worcester, the brothers witnessed car styles changing rapidly.

 In 1935, they opened a "Horseless Carriage Exhibit" at their gas station in Worcester. They soon realized that more space was needed and purchased a WWI prison camp that was schedule to be torn down. In 1938, with their museum space established in Princeton, MA, they opened the doors of their "Museum of Antique Autos" - displaying 75 cars.

 Over the years, they would add more building and more cars (close to 200 total) until the museum closed in 1963. The collection was auctioned off in 1973 with many pieces going to Gene Zimmerman and then on to Winthrop Rockefeller.

http://vintagemotoring.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-princeton-auto-museum.html

1 comment:

  1. Princeton Antique Auto Museum Event June 16th 2018

    http://www.princetonmahistory.org/princeton-antique-auto-museum/

    ReplyDelete