Cruisin' on a Summer Afternoon: A visit
to the Swigart Automobile Museum. (Jerome A. Holst © 2005)
Continued from Page 1
The Swigart Antique Auto Museum (which is older
than the Henry Ford Museum) started in 1920. It
was founded by William E. Swigart, Jr. whose
passion for cars built up a collection of
vehicles that now number in the hundreds. Only
30 to 40 of the cars in the collection are on
display at any one time.
Many of the cars in the collection (like a 1981
DeLorean) are frequently "on the road" traveling
to car meets, rallies, parades and various
community events.
The West Wing of the Swigart Collection
Car Collector magazine named the Swigart Museum
one of the ten best large auto museums in the
United States. The museum is open seasonally
from Memorial Day thru October (9:00 am - 5:00
p.m. daily). Their website is located at
www.swigartmuseum.com.
As I exited the front of the museum, WALY 103.9
cranked out the lyrics to the song "Shotgun...Do
the Jerk, Baby" while the mellifluous voice of
K.C. O'Day continued to invite listeners to come
on down and enjoy the Friday festivities at the
Swigart Museum.
Having had my fill of automobiles and hotdogs, I
returned to my modest 1998 black Chevrolet Prizm,
turned on the ignition and carefully steered my
car back towards Interstate 22.
As I pulled on to the highway, I tuned my car
radio to WALY 103.9 so I could continue to
listen to their roster of golden oldie tunes as
I cruised home.
Along the way, I couldn't help but imagine what
it would be like to be the owner of one of the
fancy cars that I had seen at the museum
grounds. Well, maybe one day, I thought. But
first, I'd have to clean out my garage to make
room for such a treasure. Suddenly, my plans for
a new car began to dim. See also
Autos: VW - "Herbie the Love Bug"
Close-up of the Swigart Museum Front Entrance
More automobiles at the Swigart Museum Car Show
Swigart Museum Lobby
An assortment of early 20th century vehicles
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