National Automobile Museum, Automobile museum in downtown Reno, United States.
The National Automobile Museum in Reno displays over 200 vehicles across four galleries connected by period-themed streets with authentic storefronts and artifacts. Visitors walk through these recreated streets to see cars from different eras.
William F. Harrah began building his collection in 1949 and opened it to the public in Sparks on 24 February 1962 with 325 cars, including the Thomas Flyer that won the 1908 New York–Paris race. After Harrah died in 1978, Holiday Inn bought the collection and announced its sale in 1981; protests led to 175 cars and Harrah's library being donated. The rest were auctioned between 1984 and 1986, and the museum opened in Reno on 5 November 1989.
Film props on display include the 1912 Rambler 73-400 Cross-Country used in the 1997 version of Titanic and the 1949 Mercury Eight driven by James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause. A 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car, later converted into the Batmobile for the 1966 Batman TV series, was shown for several months from 2022.
The museum occupies a site in downtown Reno, with four galleries linked by themed streets that guide visitors chronologically from the 1890s to the 2000s. Allow time to walk the full circuit; the layout is linear and signage marks each era. The collection spans 1892 to 2003, so pace yourself across the roughly 200 vehicles.
The museum displays experimental vehicles like the Dymaxion car designed by Buckminster Fuller, an innovative concept from the past. There is also a gold-plated DeLorean that was originally built for American Express.
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