text size

Gilmore Museum to open Model-A Museum

Updated: Tuesday, April 24 2012, 08:58 PM EDT
HICKORY CORNERS, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - One of the largest tourist attractions in West Michigan is growing, much to the delight of car enthusiasts.

The Gilmore Museum will be the new home to the Model A, the car Henry Ford put out following the famous Model T.

Soon, there will be a space designed specifically to preserve the history of these vehicles.

The Model A, donated from Gail Shafer-Crane, will be part of the new million-dollar Model A Museum, which had its ceremonial groundbreaking today.

"This is a 1929 sedan delivery. It was a commercial vehicle available to people who had small businesses back in the 20's," Gail said. "You don't see a lot of them around because they were business cars and basically worn out."

Stan Johnson, the President of the Model A Ford Foundation, who came up from Virginia for the event, said that Gilmore wasn't the only initial site option, but said that they decided on Gilmore "because of the surrounding museums, the infrastructure that was already here in place."

Gilmore said that the museum is growing to include the Model A Museum, as well as one for Lincolns, one for Cadillacs--with seven all told.

"We're really excited about having our own museum," Gail said. "The idea is we want to perpetuate knowledge about the Model A, offer people an opportunity to have an experience with the Model A, and understand how popular this car was, how important it was in the advancement of the automotive industry."

The building is scheduled to be finished by this Fall, while the museum itself should open next Spring.Gilmore Museum to open Model-A Museum