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Experience History: Cars and Planes

The Frick Car and Carriage Museum in Pittsburgh includes a variety of cars in its collection including 1940 American Bantam Convertible Coupe. Frick Car and Carriage Museum photo
Frick Car and Carriage Museum

Address: 7227 Reynolds St., Pittsburgh

Phone: 412-371-0600

Open: Guided tours at 2 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday and at 11:30 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Of Note: Pittsburgh and the Great Migration: Black Mobility and the Automobile exhibit is open through Feb. 4. The automobile transformed the American landscape, and in doing so, it changed the lives of Black Americans. Two million African Americans courageously fled the South during the first wave of the Great Migration from 1916 to 1945. Pittsburgh neighborhoods like the Hill District became a haven for Black communities to thrive. The exhibit features well-known favorites such as the 1914 Ford Model T Touring Car and a 1922 Lincoln Model L. You'll also step back in time with period costumes and memorabilia.

America’s Car Museum

Address: 2702 E D St, Tacoma, Wash.

Phone: 253-779-8490

Open: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday to Monday

Of Note: America’s Car Museum, a member of America’s Automotive Trust, is an international destination for families and auto enthusiasts to celebrate America’s love affair with the automobile and learn how it shaped our society.

Air Heritage Museum

Address: 35 Piper St, Beaver Falls, Pa.

Phone: 724-843-2820

Open: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday

Of Note: Visit Air Heritage Museum and allow aircraft from the past to guide you through the rich history of flight. Images of wings, beating propellers and blaring radial engines send some visitors reeling into memories of challenges bravely met in the past, while others are able to admire the acts that have led to today’s flight technology.

The Museum of Flight

Address: 9404 East Marginal Way S., Seattle, Wash.

Phone: 206-764-5700

Open: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily

Of Note: Travel through time and space! The Museum of Flight is full of an incredible collection of aircraft, spacecraft, artifacts, galleries, exhibits, facts, and stories that embody the past, present and future of flight.

Golden Age Air Museum

Address: 371 Airport Road, Bethel, Pa.

Phone: 717-933-9566

Open: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday

Of Note: The Golden Age Air Museum was established in 1997, its mission is to entertain visitors and educate them about the early days of aviation, through its special events and daily operations. The museum offers the chance to explore the past, come and learn how the early aviators flew, what they flew and learn the lost art of early aircraft construction.

Piper Aviation

Address: 1 Piper Way, Lock Haven, Pa.

Phone: 570-748-8283

Open: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday

Of Note: Piper Aviation preserves the history and legacy of the Piper Aircraft Corporation and its founding family.

Mid Atlantic Air Museum

Address: 11 Museum Drive, Reading, Pa.

Phone: 610-372-7333

Open: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Thursday and Saturday

Of Note: The Mid Atlantic Air Museum's aircraft collection is a diverse one, including aircraft built from 1928 to 1982. Though we have a reputation as a "warbird" museum, we are much, much more. While the collection does contain 22 military aircraft, it contains 43 aircraft from various civilian venues.

America on Wheels

Address: 5 N. Front St., Allentown, Pa.

Phone: 610-432-4200

Open: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday; noon to 3 p.m. Sunday

Of Note: America on Wheels Mission, as a transportation museum, is to educate and entertain children and adults and preserve the historical, social and cultural impact of our nation’s over-the-road transportation systems, while contributing to the revitalization of its community.

Lenny’s Classic Car Collection

Address: 816 Green Ave., Altoona, Pa.

Phone: 814-946-5082

Open: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily

Of Note: Lenny’s Classic Car Collection has over 30 cars in the collection consisting of Jaguars, Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, Bentley, and a Thunderbird. The museum is housed in an old Packard Dealership from 1920.

Snooks Dream Cars

Address: 13920 County Home Road, Bowling Green, Ohio

Phone: 419-353-8338

Open: 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday

Of Note: Snook’s Dream Cars displays the extensive collection of the late “long time car guy” Bill Snook and is operated by his son Jeff Snook. It features a recreated 1940s era Texaco gas station, a showroom of extensive automobile memorabilia and a car collection presented within period scenes ranging from a 1930s general store to a racetrack from the 1960s.

Eagles Mere Auto Museum

Address: 14013 PA-42, Eagles Mere, Pa.

Phone: 570-946-7663

Open: 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday; 10.a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday

Of Note: The Eagles Mere Auto Museum showcases over 75 1950s and 1960s vehicles and many unique pieces of vintage memorabilia. The museum represents an era when the United States dominated the auto manufacturing industry and Americans were full of confidence, optimism and youthful exuberance.

Eagles Mere Air Museum

Address: 100 Merritt Field Road, Laporte, Pa.

Phone: 844-362-6873

Open: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday

Of Note: This expansive collection of rare aircraft and engines is unlike any other. Many of our collectibles are the only examples remaining in flying condition. With vintage aircraft ranging from 1917 to 1944 and engines from 1908, it is our hope that this museum will serve to educate the public – flying or not – about these wonderful machines and the many brave men and women who flew them. Without these pioneers, we would not have the luxury of our current air travel system.

Inside the cockpit of the restored Beach City Baby, a Douglas C-53 Skytrooperbuit in 1942 which served from 1942 until 1945 in the U.S. Army Air Corps, fighting against the Axis powers of Germany and Italy. The aircraft can be toured during the offseason at the Franklin Venango Regional Airport. Restored by Vintage Wings Inc., a nonprofit with Vintage Wings Inc. photo
Vintage Wings Inc.

Address: Franklin, Pa.

Phone: 724-747-1514

Open: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays seasonally at the Franklin Venango Regional Airport.

Of Note: Beach City Baby, a Douglas C-53 Skytrooper served from 1942 until 1945 in the U.S. Army Air Corps, aircraft travels the country from May to September every year on weekends attending airshows and other events educating the public. It is open for tours October through April.

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