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The Chrysler Museum- A Fond Farewell with Great Memories
By: Robert Tate

On October 5, 1999, the Chrysler Museum opened its doors to the public. I personally was at the Chrysler Museum for opening day as well as many others celebrating the new landmark. It was an exciting day that was filled with history and knowledge. I was an employee at the Chrysler Museum from opening day till 2005. The automotive history and information that I’ve learned has come from many automotive pioneers and historians, who all had a great deal of knowledge and historical information to share. I have many fond memories from Rita McKay, who was with the Board of Directors Communications, along with Mr. John Herlitz, Tom Gail, Jeff Godshall, Frank Fountain, Terri L. Houtman, Kenneth Mack, Tom W. Sidlik and Barbara M. Fronczak.

The Chrysler Museum had the best assembled Chrysler automobiles in the world and all the models were in top condition for viewing. The 1957 Chrysler Imperial along with the 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A were two of my favorites in the collection. Restoration for the Chrysler products were assembled by a committee of talented individuals like Brandt Rosenbusch, who is the best along with Bruce Thomas, Robert Kment, Dean Reifsnider and the late Mr. Bob Hunyady along with Mr. William Ridenour. The most important aspect of this group was that they were all car guys and Chrysler historians which reflected in the work that they did.

The Chrysler Museum also had many talented volunteers who were involved with everyday options of the organization. I had the pleasure of working with many volunteers such as Greg Quay, Roe Green, Margaret Hueston, Patricia Cencek, Igor Gronowicz, James Pingitore along with Mary and Gary Eilertson. These individuals offered a great deal of passion, ideas and talent to share and it was always reflected in all the projects that they accomplished within the Chrysler Museum.

The Chrysler Museum also had many other talented volunteers that I had the pleasure working beside. My journey throughout the years was a very positive one because I met so many great and interesting people such as Richard Petty along with Harold Sullivan and Bill Robinson, who was a part of Virgil Exner's design team during the 1950's and CJ Longstreth, with the Prowler owners club, Marc Rozman who is with the SEMA car groups.

The Walter P. Chrysler Museum was far more than the usual automotive museum collection of antique and vintage cars and trucks; it was a place for knowledge and American culture. I remember throughout the museum, visitors could push buttons to activate interactive displays which explained various features and showed easy to understand displays which many visitors thoroughly enjoyed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One person who should always be remembered for his contributions to the museum is the late Mr. Otto Rosenbusch, who saved many of the historical Chrysler automobiles from being sold off when Chrysler was facing bankruptcy and experiencing difficult times during its early days. Otto was a great man and he always shared his passion and love for Chrysler history with everyone.

The Chrysler Museum provided a colorful and interactive look at the life and times of Chrysler's history from the 1920's through the racing Vipers that were on display. The museum displayed approximately 75 of the more than 130+ vehicles within the Chrysler Historical Collection. All of the vehicles exhibited in the museum were in good running condition.

One of the most fascinating displays within the museum was the 75-foot -high stainless-steel pylon which featured two classic and one concept model for public reviewing. The models on display were the 1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt, a 1963 Chrysler experimental Turbine along with the original Dodge Viper concept vehicle. Another interesting display was the Jeep exhibit which many visitors thoroughly enjoyed.

On December 30, 2012 the Walter P. Chrysler museum closed its doors to the public; it was a sad day in automotive history. In the beginning, the Walter P. Chrysler Museum was the only dedicated, on-site corporate museum built and operated by an active North American auto manufacturer. The museum was approximately 55,000 square feet in size and over the years thousands of visitors had the chance to see this remarkable place of history.

As I was leaving the Chrysler museum on its last day, George Grozde, museum volunteer said, "As I look at all of the vehicles in the museum today, they seemed to have tears in their headlights just like I have tears in my eyes”.

 

 

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