Los Angeles, December 2011
During our visit to Los Angeles in October we took the opportunity
to visit several museums in the area, two of them we reported
earlier on. Last but not least we take a look at the Petersen
Automotive Museum that is located directly in Los Angeles on the
famous Wilshire Boulevard about half way from downtown LA to
Santa Monica.
The Museum was founded by Margie and Robert E. Petersen in
1994 not just as a place for their personal collection but also as
an education centre for all things automotive with a focus on the
local history, so it is not a surprise that it started as part of the
Los Angeles Country Natural History Museum. Robert E.
Petersen was very well known in the American car scene being
the founder of the Hot Rod Magazine and several other motor
related publications. With further donations over the years the
Museum became an independent non-profit foundation that was
guided by Petersen until he passed away in 2007, his legacy was
retained by his widow. Unfortunately Margie Peterson followed her
husband just a few weeks ago in November but not before
securing the museums future by another big donation that
includes the museums building and parts of the private car
collection making sure that the foundation can fulfil its educational
mandate as intended in the years to come.
The layout of the museum is very different from many other
museums as it does not try to show the biggest possible number
of cars lined up on a given space but to show cars of different
eras in a contemporary diorama. This room consuming layout
shows the development of the motor car over the decades and its
influence on the culture in the city, especially in Southern
California.
The journey starts in the beginning 20th century when many
people started to motorize their carriage, either with small
combustion engines or steam. With the following years the
automotive manufacture became an important sector of the
American industry but the infrastructure was very different from
today. The horseless carriage had to share the unpaved roads
with the conventional coaches and the mudguards still lived up to
their name, travelling outside the city was an adventure and not
few cars broke down on their Sunday excursions. In wet
conditions the cars were stuck in the mud of the country road just
as the displayed American Underslung in the Malibu hills
overseeing the ocean and the gentlemen drivers had to help
themselves due to the lack of roadside assistance.
But not just the regular transport was affected by the road
conditions but also the early racing and different road surfaces
were tested to make the high speed trials safer. The Indianapolis
raceway became famous for the millions of bricks used, other
attempts included wooden ovals but one could imagine how
slippery the mixture of engine oil and water might have been on
this surface so this was a short episode. The museum exhibits a
1915 Stutz Racer that was part of the “White Squadron” of four
team cars challenging the European Mercedes, Delage and
Peugeot in Indianapolis back then. Celebrating the centenary both
of the Indianapolis Raceway and the nearby Stutz Motor
Company this car was displayed at this year's Pebble Beach
Concours were it was awarded class winner in one of the featured
Stutz classes.
During the following years the road system was extended and
with the increasing mobilization thanks to affordable cars like the
Ford Model T the cities grew to the typical suburbs with the small
single-family homes and an own car in the driveway. But the
automobile also changed the look of the inner cities as displayed
an the main display of the museum. On the way to the city centre
one had to pass the big billboards and the increasing traffic was
overseen by the highway police just as visible here. The museum
features a tenderly detailed petrol station typical for the access
road of the 1920s and a nice collection of contemporary petrol
pumps and advertising globes. The street scene just over the road
does not only show the illuminated main street with the cars
parked in front of the pavement but also the less glamorous
backyards of the industrial areas. One of the centrepieces of the
ground floor is the car sales show rooms with changing exhibits,
during our visit a 1941 Cadillac dealership with the new Series 62
both as convertible and sedan.
Further down the road is a display of the upcoming concept of the
shopping mall were the cars parked directly in front of the different
shops. As this concept started in the USA in the 1930s the cars
in front of the butcher, grocery store and the pharmacy match
with a mixture of 30s convertibles, sedans and a “Woody” Station
Wagon. These popular station wagons are very typical for
California as they started a second life after being a family car to
become the favourite transport for the surfers culture in the 1950s
carrying the surf boards to the nearby beaches of Santa Monica
and Malibu.
As in Europe the first big cut in the development of the automobile
was the second WW. Just after the war there were not many new
cars available so people started to modernize the existing cars of
the pre-war era. This was the birth of the Speed Shops were
people could buy parts to make their cars faster, the beginning of
the very popular hot rod culture. As mentioned above Robert E.
Petersen was the founder of the Hot Rod Magazine so it is not a
big surprise that there is an own Speed Shop display. In the
1950s the American cars became bigger and bigger, the era of
the road cruiser like the displayed 1959 Cadillac Series 62
Convertible. Because of a lack of pure American Sportscars the
tuning scene started to chop limousines like the displayed 1950
Mercury to make them look faster. But also many European
roadsters could be found in the suburban garages as the GI´s
brought them over with their return from the military service in
Europe, most of them Britain like the displayed Triumph TR3.
One of the last displays on the ground floor is the typical
American drive-in diner with neon sign, open 24 hours and a short
history about the legendary Indy 500 and especially on the cars
build in the region to compete there.
This round on the ground floor is very informative, especially for
young visitors and the museum is very popular for guided tours of
school classes. Furthermore one can see that even smaller kids
are very welcome in the museum as it has an entire floor
dedicated to them with the May Family Discovery Center on the
second floor. The kids are led to the technology of the automobile
while playing, a concept that is rarely found in other car museums
as these are usually more designed for the “big child”.
The first floor is more common in its concept featuring a few
permanent exhibitions and the changing special displays.
As Los Angeles is the centre of the film industry it is obvious that
one of the permanent exhibitions is dedicated to movie cars.
Several important cars known from big movies or television series
are exhibited and the museums fundus seems to have even more
in spare so the exhibits are changing from time to time. During
our visit the display featured the Beetle “Herbie” from the “Love
Bug” remake, one of the Batmobiles, the original film car from the
television series “Green Hornet” and the Ferrari 365 GTS/4
Daytona Spyder driven by Raul Julia in the movie “The Gumball
Rally”.
Less glamorous but maybe more up to date than ever is the
theme of alternative drive technology. Although the theme is more
important today in times of the changing climate it is not entirely
new. Especially in the beginning of the automobile development
different attempts were done to motorize the carriage, the oldest
exhibit is a electric driven coach dating back to the year 1897 to
be one of the first cars in Los Angeles, later electric vehicles
include the Detroit Electric displayed at the ground floor. Other
technologies include the steam engine that was never that
popular due to its uncomfortable handling, the exhibited late
attempt from 1974 stayed a prototype. Some of the concepts
started from necessity, during and just after WW2 some cars
were equipped with coal gas due to the lack of fuel for civil usage
on both sides of the Atlantic. Fuel crises in the 1970s started the
research in bio fuel that just reappears in Europe today. Newer
technology is displayed with modern fuel cells and latest electric
concepts.
Beside these permanent exhibitions the first floor gives room for
several special displays, three at the time of our visit.
One display is dedicated to the development of the scooter.
When people are talking about scooters most of them have the
Lambretta and the Piaggio Vespa in mind, others think of the
movie “Quadrophenia” and the Mods in Great Britain. This display
shows the history of the scooter ranging from a cheap
transportation to a question of lifestyle. Many different concepts
and marques are displayed in this superbly composed selection
with many curiosities including portable examples, even Harley-
Davidson built a scooter named “Topper” in the 1960s.
A little bit faster is the theme of the “Supercars”, the special
exhibition in the Grand Salon that runs until the 5th of February
2012. With the slogan “when too much is almost enough” this
display features some of the most powerful cars of their era
ranging from a 1923 Mercedes 28/95 Targa Florio to the latest
Bugatti Veyron. Although the name “Supercar” just became
popular with the introduction of the Lamborghini Miura in the
1960s, cars that match the definition of a Supercar were built
since the beginning of the motorcar, Supercars are reduced to a
driving machine without compromise in comfort, using high
performance engines in the latest development chassis superior
to anything else on the market, basically road legal race cars.
Although these were never reasonable and most of them were
never sold in large quantities they were always every boys dream
and many of them spent their time on a poster in a teenage room.
Beside the already mentioned Mercedes the second pre-war
Supercar on display is the Bugatti T57C Atalante. In the 1920s
and 30s Bugatti has formed a reputation building some of the
most successful racing cars of this era and the technology was
transferred to the street cars. The Type 57 was the top model of
the time with a vary of different body styles ranging from
Limousines (Galibier) to the more sportive and less heavy Atlante
coupé. Especially with the attached supercharged and the lower
S chassis this was the ultimate transportation of this era. After
the war Enzo Ferrari was responsible for several Supercars, the
displayed 400 Superamerica might be one of the last of them with
the engine installed in the front. Surprisingly one of the icons of
the 1950s is missing in the display as for many the Mercedes-
Benz 300 SL Gullwing is the Supercar of its time being
spectacular in its design and unrivalled in its road performance in
1955.
In the 1960s the appearance of the Supercar changed very much
as most of them are mid-engined sports cars down to the present
day. This concept established itself on the racetracks as in Le
Mans in the mid 1960s with the battle of the Ferrari 250 LM and
the exhibited Ford GT40. This concept was taken over by the
Lamborghini Miura despite this was a pure road car instead of a
road legal race car. With the fuel crises in the 1970s a few
Supercars were build as they were not politically correct at this
time. This changed with the 80s when Ferrari reintroduced the
name GTO in its line-up and Porsche launched the cutting-edge
technology leader 959. Since then Ferrari introduced the F40, F50
and the Enzo, smaller companies have batch productions of high
performance cars when Bugatti launched the Veyron as the
epitome of today´s Supercars with 1001 hp.
Finally a small but very interesting special display is dedicated to
the life of Phil Hill who became the first American race driver to
win the Formula 1 World Championship 50 years ago in 1961.
One part of the display is dedicated to his racing career that
certainly is deeply linked with the name Ferrari. Phil Hills racing
career started in 1948 in a small MG TC before he worked for
Jaguar in England. After his return to the States he bought an Alfa
Romeo 8C 2900 B MM to win the race at Pebble Beach, then a
Ferrari 212 Inter that introduced him to the marque on which he
celebrated his biggest successes later. The first race car on
display is the Ferrari 375 MM (chassis 0286AM) that he placed
second in the 1954 Carrera Panamericana together with Richie
Ginther. In 1955 he raced the Ferrari 750 Monza (0510M) with
success in several American races in American racing colours
but also became a works driver for the Scuderia Ferrari in Le
Mans. After several attempts he won the first of his 3 Le Mans
victories in 1958 teamed with Olivier Gendebien in the famous 250
TR, a car he drove in all stages of development including the
exhibited 1959 version with a win in Nassau. His best year was
without doubt 1961 when he did not just win Le Mans in the 250
TRI/61 but also the Formula 1 Championship in the Tipo 156
Sharknose. After a successful career with Ferrari he drove some
of his last races in the Chaparral on display before ending his
career in 1967.
Being a skilled mechanic Phil Hill started his second career
restoring classic cars, one of the first restored cars was the 1931
Pierce-Arrow of his aunt, the very same car he learned driving in.
Exactly this Pierce-Arrow was the first classic car to win the
Concours d´Elegance in Pebble Beach, the same place were he
won some of his first races. Phil Hill became and stayed judge at
PB for 40 years, in 2006 he was also reunited with the Alfa 2.9 in
Goodwood during the Phil Hill tribute just after the cars restoration
by Paul Russell for its new owner Ralph Lauren.
Unfortunately Phil Hill passed away in 2008 but he is still one of
the most successful American racing driver.
So we have visited three Museum in the expanded Los Angeles
area and fortunately they are all different so one does not need to
compare them. The strength of the Petersen Museum is the
attention to detail in the presentation of the cars in their diorama
and the informal part of the history of the automobile in the Los
Angeles era. The fundus of the museums has enough cars to
change the exhibits even within the permanent exhibition so a
repeated visit should be interesting as well. The museum is
recommended to introduce the next generation in our passion. As
one can see on the special exhibitions these are done with a lot
of attention as well making them a great addition to the
permanent displays.
For more information on the museum and the special exhibitions
please visit www.petersen.org
Report & images
Peter Singhof www.ClassicCarPhotography.de
Petersen Automotive Museum (2011-12-30)
1897 Anthony Battery Electric
1900 (ca.) Motorized Wagon
1901 Breer Steam Car
1904/05 FN Four
1911 American Underslung Model 50 Traveler
1912 Indian Single ex Steve McQueen
1912 Packard Model 30
1915 Autoped Scooter
1915 Stutz White Squadron Racer
1917 Detroit Electric Brougham Model 61
1918 Packard Twin Six
1921 Ford Model T Center Door Sedan
1921 White Tanker Truck
1922 Chevrolet Series 490 Coupe
1922 Ford Model T Touring as despicted in "Hog Wild" 1930 with
Stan Laurel ad Oliver Hardy
1922 Willys-Knight
1923 Mercedes 28/95 Targa Florio
1927 Indian Big Chief ex. Steve McQueen
1927 Packard Convertible Sedan by Murphy
1929 Chevrolet Model AC Imperial Landau
1929 Cleveland Century
1929/32 Ford In-Process Hot Rod
1930 Ford Tudor Sedan Model J
1930 Nash 482R Coupe Twin Ignition Six
1931 Pierce-Arrow Convertible Sedan by LeBaron
1931 Twin Coach Delivery Truck
1932 Ford Model BB Tow Truck
1934 Edsel Ford Model 40 Special Speedster
1935 Ford Pheaton
1935 Hanks-Offy Midget Racer
1936 Plymouth P-2 Two-door Sedan
1938 Powell Streamliner
1939 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante
1939 Lincoln Zephyr "Scrape"
1939 Moto-kar and Moto-scoot
1939 Packard Super Eight Phaeton by Derham
1939 Pontiac Station Wagon
1939 Salsbury Motor Glide Model 70 with and without Trunk
1941 Cadillac Dealer Show Room
1941 Cadillac Series 62 Sedan
1941 Indian Dispatch Tow
1945 Bell Special Midget Racer
1946 Doodle Bug Standard
1947 Mohs King O´the Road
1947 Powell Challenger C-47
1948 Chevrolet Coal Gas
1949 Delahaye Type 178 DHC ex. Elton John
1950 Mercury Custom
1950 Pranafa Playboy
1952 Ferrari 212/225 Touring Barchetta s/n 0253EU
1953 Chevrolet Ice Cream Truck "El Chavez Ravine" by Ry
Cooder
1953 Ferrari 340/375 MM Vignale Spyder s/n 0286AM
1953 Norton Manx
1954 Ferrari 750 Monza s/n 0510M
1954 Pegaso Z-102 Convertible Saoutchik
1955 Cobra Motorama Custom
1957 Lambretta Model D
1958 Triumph TR3A
1959 Bentas Raven
1959 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible
1959 Ferrari 250 TR59 s/n 0768TR
1959 Ol´Yaller Mark III
1960 Grasshopper
1961 Harley-Davidson Topper
1961 Lambretta with Watsonian Sidecar
1962 Chevrolet "Slampala"
1962 Greer-Black-Prudhomme Dragster
1963 Chrysler Turbine
1963 Ferrari 400 Superamerica s/n 5115SA
1963 VW Beetle "Herbie: Fully Loaded"
1965 Hannibal 8 from the movie "The Great Race"
1966 Chaparral 2e Continuation
1966 Chrysler Imperial "Black Beauty" in the TV Series "Green
Hornet"
1967 Ford GT40 MKIII
1968 Bizzarrini Manta
1969 Lamborghini Miura S
1969 Shelby Mustang GT350
1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429
1971 De Tomaso Pantera
1972 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spyder from the Movie "The
Gumball Rally "
1974 Dutcher Steam
1975 Stutz "Bearcat" by John D´Agostino
1976 Stutz d´Italia Convertible
1978 Hybricon Centaur II Gas-Electric Hybrid
1982 Jawa Speedway
1985 Lamborghini Countach
1988 Mana LA Solar Vehicle
1988 Porsche 959
1989 Batmobile from the movie "Batman Returns"
1990 Ferrari F40
1992 Jaguar XJ220
1995 Ferrari F50
1996 GM EV1
1998 Gurney Eagle
1998 Vector M12
1999 Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR
1999 Plymouth Prowler "Kisscat"
2005 Maserati MC12
2005 Nissan X-Terra FCV
2005 P.E.T. Land Glider Fuel Cell
2006 Bugatti Veyron 16.4
2009 Ford Focus EV
Alternative Fuel Display
Butcher and Fruit Shop
Child Scooters
Cop hiding behind the board
Design now and then
Foldable Scooter
Groceries Store
Hot Rod Garage
Hot Wheels Display
Indy Car Display
Johnny Rockets Original Hamburger Bar
May Family Discovery Center
Petersen Automotive Museum 2011
Petrol Station
Phil Hill Racing Suit
Phil Hill related Automobilia
Scooter Accessories
Scooter Toys
Scooters Special Exhibition Display
Speed Shop
Suburb Garage
Supercars Display
The classic Vespa
The Dog Cafe
The gift shop
The Otis Chandler Gallery
The Petersen Automotive Museum
Tireflator
Tribute to Phil Hill Display
US Mail Scooter
|
