Last week I explained how Erret Lobban Cord took over and turned around Indiana’s Auburn Automobile Co. in the early 20th century.

 

He eventually lost interest and turned his creativity and industry elsewhere. He went on to be a state senator and successful in other business endeavors.

Cord died in January 1974, just months before the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum opened in Auburn, Ind. After the auto factory closed, the building was sold to Dallas Winslow, who bought the companies that sold the parts, and his efforts preserved many of these early cars.

The museum opened its doors on July 6, 1974. As of today it has welcomed nearly 2 million visitors from all 50 states and from more than 40 countries. With more than 120 cars on display, make sure to plan a few hours to see it all if you visit.

Many of the cars have affiliations with their famous owners.

In fact, the first Duesenberg donated to the museum was owned by CliffDurante, son of the founder of General Motors.

Another car was donated by an airplane mechanic, but had previously been owned by J. Paul Getty and playwright John O’Hara.

One 1930 Cord was painted orange for the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

“His foundation had it painted a special color, Taliesin Red,” Museum Curator Jon Bill explained.

The last Auburns were built in 1936 and in 1937, the last Cord, a Model 812, was constructed. Jon’s personal favorite of the lovely Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg cars in the showroom is the 1931 Cord Speedster: “Sometimes we take this to events. It is a pleasure to drive; it runs wonderfully.”

The museum also has a Special Interest Gallery where there is a Graham car. After the factory closed, that Auburn parts were sold to Graham to be used on its cars.

Graham Bradley tractors are connected to the Graham automobile, and Graham Bradley companies add another agricultural connection.

There are several other things to see in this huge museum.

 

There is a child’s electric car and a 1933 BSA motorcycle owned by Cord, which he kept on his yacht. The museum also has a Hall of Technology and has preserved the offices back to Cord’s time. There is a hall filled with advertising that Cord used to up his sales effectively.

“Cord understood the power women had,” Jon noted of his progressiveness. There is also a Gordon Buehrig gallery. Buehrig was one of the company’s master designers.

After he left the company, he created The American Sports Car Co., TASCO, and designed a car with removable roof panels. The prototype of this is at the museum.

(Later, Chevrolet used this idea when it built the 1970 Corvette. It had to pay Buehrig a patent infringement payment for using the idea without permission.)

There is the Gallery of Excellence and Innovation, and one nifty exhibit currently on display titled “Glass: A Medium in Art & Autos.” This was a partnership with the Fort Wayne Art Museum, which loaned the museum three Dale Chihuly glass pieces.

“We added two cars built out of fiberglass, a Studebaker Avanti and a Chevrolet Corvette,” Jon said.

There is also a race record gallery and much more, including a steam-powered and electric car. This museum just goes on and on; it is so lovely and educational that a visitor needs to allow several hours to be able to enjoy the entire place. For details, log onto www.automobilemuseum.org/#home.html

Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication. Learn more of Cindy’s finds and travel in her blog, “Traveling Adventures of a Farm Girl,” at http://travelingadventuresofafarmgirl.com