The San Diego Automotive Museum in
Balboa Park in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
is a museum containing a collection of cars and motorcycles illustrating the history of the American automotive culture. The San Diego Automotive Museum is a non-profit corporation under
IRS
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...
section
501(c)
A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the Law of the United States#Federal law, federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)) and is one of over 29 types of nonprofit organizations exe ...
It is housed in the former California State Building, which was constructed for the 1935-36
California Pacific International Exposition
The California Pacific International Exposition was an exposition held in San Diego, California during May 29, 1935–November 11, 1935 and February 12, 1936–September 9, 1936. The exposition was held in Balboa Park, San Diego's large c ...
.
One of the signature cars in the collection is Louie Mattar's Fabulous Car, a 1947 Cadillac-with-trailer that was driven non-stop from
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
to
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
and across the United States. Its owner extensively modified it to become largely self-contained, and its cross-country trips incorporated in-motion refueling from support vehicles.
Exhibits are rotated every four months to bring in cars of different types or eras.
Gallery
File:San Diego Automotive Museum - Collections 1 - May 2022.jpg
File:San Diego Automotive Museum - Collections 2 - May 2022.jpg
File:San Diego, 2016 - 535.jpg
References
External links
*
San Diego Automotive Museum Website
Automobile museums in California
Museums in San Diego
Balboa Park (San Diego)
World's fair architecture in California
1988 establishments in California
Museums established in 1988
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