We spent a cold Sunday afternoon indoors at the Fountainhead Auto Museum. Seventy-five pristine classic cars are on display, nestled in the comfort of this spacious, 300,000-square-foot museum. This was one of our best museum experiences and best of all, it's right here in Fairbanks! It's a short walk from our house, but we chose to drive - it was 20 below zero. The museum is located on the grounds of the Wedgewood Estates, which is a resort unique to Fairbanks. There, visitors can also enjoy gardens and trails at the Wedgewood Wildlife Sanctuary. Above, a view of the museum through the window of a 1931 cord, Series L-29 Cabriolet.
Vehicles on display include a 1918 and 1927 Stutz, 1917 Owen Magnetic, 1919 Pierce Arrow, 1921 Heine-Velox, 1928 Pierce Arrow, 1931 Cord, 1930 and 1936 Packard, 1903 Toledo, 1933 Auburn, 1907 Cartercar, 1908 Rambler, 1909 Oldsmobile, 1912 Rauch & Lang, 1912 Peerless, 1911Ford Model T C-Cab Depot Hack, 1911 Everitt, and a 1907 White Steamer (one of the first cars in Alaska to operate). A few of the cars in this museum have a historic connection to the state of Alaska.
Ladies, there is something here for us as well. Fashions are on display from the turn of the last century. It's remarkable to see how quickly we changed through the decades. Large photos are on display on the walls. Each one provides the history of how cars were used when Alaska was a pioneer state.
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| Fashion is on display with a 1936 Packard |
Displays also include bicycles, display cases and historic videos. About two to three hours of time is well spent looking at and reading all of the information carefully collected. I spent more time snapping photos than reading. I will have to spend another afternoon here so I can finish my "homework".
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| Photos on the wall depict Alaskan automotive history. |
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| A perfect blend of automotive style and fashion. |
The very last car tucked in the corner was built by Bobby Sheldon when he was 22. Inspired by photographs of the era, they were all the information he had when he built his runabout. He built it to try to impress a young lady, who wasn't interested.The 1905 Sheldon has been given credit as Alaska's first built car.
The museum has its own on-site work and restoration shop. One car an evening is driven by museum staff during the summer months as a part of maintenance. Cars are driven around the neighboring Wedgewood Resort.
The museum is open 7 days a week in the summer, and only Sunday afternoons in the winter. Admission is a reasonable $8. This is the northernmost museum in America, so if you can't make it, I will have detailed photos on future posts.
We have had some unpredictable weather in Fairbanks. Four to six inches were expected to fall Sunday February 19th through Monday February 20th. While snow in Alaska may not sound all that surprising, I had been told many times that it doesn't snow here like it used to. I was also told that I wouldn't be trudging through the snow, because total snow fall for the year is usually a few inches. The storm dumped a whopping18 inches. We cheerfully shoveled the night before this photo was taken, only to wake up and find out that it didn't make any difference. This picture was taken at around 6:00 in the morning, just before we scooped out the car to get to work. I didn't expect much when I took the picture, but I like the way the black spruce looks (in front of our car) and the few flakes that got caught in the flash. A few clouds show their form in the snow filled sky. Yesterday, we received more snow again. This time it was about 6 inches. We cheerfully scooped out our car again. We got a break from the snow and then gusts of wind (45mph) that lasted into the wee hours. Windy conditions are rare in Fairbanks; it's normally calm. All of the snow has been blown off the Black Spruce, Birch and Aspen trees.
The Fountain Head Auto Museum in Fairbanks houses 75 exceptionally rare and exquisite automobiles. This 1903 Toledo is the only gas powered Toledo known to survive.
