The Historic Auto Attractions Museum is not just a museum filled with old cars. Yes, it has autos that belonged to many different historical figures, but there is so much more. You can see various items that belonged to various people; such as the entire living room set from the TV series “Sanford & Son”, Buffalo Bill Cody’s beaded deerskin jacket, a Winchester rifle used at the Battle of Little Big Horn, & Patsy Cline’s boots.
You will find such a variety of interesting items in the different exhibits. Here is just an sampling of what you can see:
—-The Turn of The Century has items such as an 1860 horse drawn hearse and a tomahawk from the mid 1800’s.
—-In Gangster Land you can see the car from the Bonnie & Clyde movie, John Dillinger’s 1932 Studebaker Commander (the getaway car that he used in a bank robbery – after he stole it from an off duty sheriff), Dillinger’s death mask, and Al Capone’s distributing 1929 Ford Model AA.
—-Famous Cars and Stars holds items such as Johnny Cash’s “One Piece at a Time” Cadillac, 1976 Bicentennial Cadillac Limousine covered with 120,000 coins, Conway Twitty’s 1957 Lincoln Continental Mark II, Elvis’ 1972 Lincoln Mark IV, 1925 Ford Model T Roadster that was used in the Laurel & Hardy movie “Big Business”, and Colonel Sanders 1939 Lincoln K Limousine V-12. This section also has many items that belonged to different people such as various country musicians, Harry Houdini, James Dean, Buddy Holly, and props from the movie “Gone With The Wind”.
—-World Leaders holds items such as the King of Siam’s 1928 Delage Limousine, Joseph Stalin’s 1937 Packard Super 12, 1865 Studebaker Landau carriage that belonged to Ulysses S. Grant, German WWII BMW R75 motorcycle with sidecar, Mussolini’s 1939 Lancia Astura parade car, various presidential & secret service cars, and Adolf Hitler’s 1939 Mercedes G4 Six-Wheeled staff car (the museum makes a note that this part of the display is a collection only for historical purposes – from their website: “Historic Auto Attractions in no way condones the ideas or actions of the Nazi party.”)
—-In Kennedy “Day In Dallas” you can see a piece of J.F.K.’s birthday cake, 1962 Lincoln Continental Convertible, and various clothing & items connected to Lee Harvey Oswald, Jack Ruby, the assassination & the Kennedy family.
—-The White House holds various pieces of furniture & items from the White House & items that belonged to different presidents & first ladies.
—-Legends of Racing has Richard Petty’s 1960 Plymouth stock car, Mark Martin’s 1980 short track Camaro stock car, and some other race cars & memorabilia.
—-Movieland holds items such as the “Back To The Future”‘s 1986 DeLorean Time Machine, Batmobile from the ’60s TV series, the ECTO-1 (vehicle) from the movie “Ghostbusters”, Truckster used in the movie “National Lampoon’s Vacation”, and a Flintstones vehicle from the movie “Viva Rock Vegas”.
—-Among the items in TV Land you can see a police car from the Andy Griffith Show – a 1964 Ford Galaxie and the 1950 Mercury Pickup from the TV series “Sanford & Son”.
—-NASA has memorabilia & scale models of different space vehicles
—-Abraham Lincoln has items such as locks of Abraham Lincoln & Mary Todd Lincoln’s hair, Mary Todd Lincoln’s mourning skirt, and the Lincoln family reed pump organ
As you can see from the sampling of things, this is an attraction you will want to allow time to visit.
_____________________________
COST: In 2012, according to their website:
Adults: $12
Seniors (over 65): $10
Ages 6 – 15 years of age: $7
Season Pass: $25
Family Pass (2 Adults, 2 Children): $35
LOCATION:
13825 Metric Dr.
Roscoe, IL
Phone: 1-815-389-7917
HOURS:
Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend:
Tuesday – Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday: 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
closed on Monday
September – November: only open weekends
Saturday – 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday: 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
WEBSITE: Historic Auto Attractions