Learn about The National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada, and about all the interesting displays for the classic motorcycle enthusiast.
The Skinny
- What: The National Automobile Museum, 1 Museum Drive, Reno, Nevada 89501. Telephone (775) 333-9300. Open daily. Admission is $16; senior, active military, and child discounts are available.
- How To Get There: From points east or west, it’s Interstate 80 to Reno. From points north or south, it’s glorious U.S. Highway 395. From any direction, the ride is scenic.
- Best Kept Secret: The ride to Reno along U.S. Highway 395; also, Dos Chicas for breakfast (see above).
The National Automobile Museum, Reno, Nevada
In the 1970s, Harrah’s Automobile Collection in Reno, Nevada, held more than 1,400 cars and was the world’s largest automobile collection. Bill Harrah passed away in 1978, and Holiday Inn purchased his hotels and casinos in 1980. Holiday Inn wanted the Harrah hotels and casinos, but they had no interest in the automobile collection. They announced their intent to sell the collection, and the fireworks started; Reno and its residents voiced strong opposition.
To maintain good relations with the community, Holiday Inn donated 175 vehicles to the City of Reno for a future auto museum. Those 175 cars became the nucleus for what is now the National Automobile Museum. The museum today houses just over 240 automobiles and several motorcycles. It may sound like a significant reduction from the days of the Harrah Collection, but believe me, there’s still plenty to see. Our visit to the National Automobile Museum was awesome.
The National Auto Museum is arranged in four large galleries showcasing different automobile categories, with other collections in the hallways between the galleries. The first gallery features cars from the automobile’s earliest days; others focus on later models, such as pristine muscle cars from the 1960s, cars that belonged to celebrities (including Elvis Presley’s Caddy, John Wayne’s 1953 Corvette, and the Paul Newman collection currently owned by Adam Carolla), custom cars, and more.
Cars tucked into hallway exhibits include Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s Beatnik Bandit, a futuristic, supercharged, bubble-topped hot rod that features a centrally mounted yoke controlling the throttle, brakes, and steering. I built Revell’s Beatnik Bandit 1/25-scale model in 1965; seeing the actual car for the first time was a treat. There’s even a 1940s pickup truck powered by an aircraft radial engine. While we were there, one of the cars being serviced was Elvis Presley’s Cadillac Eldorado. Another was Bill Harrah’s “Jerrari.” Harrah was the Ferrari distributor for the Western United States, and he lived in Tahoe, high in the Sierra Nevadas. As the roads between Reno and Tahoe are often covered with snow during the winter, Harrah installed a V-12 Ferrari engine in a Jeep Wagoneer.
My principal interest was the collection’s motorcycles, as I remember seeing several during my Harrah’s visit 50 years ago. At one time, Harrah owned approximately 40 motorcycles. The museum staff told me there were only three motorcycles on display (a 1946 Harley, a 1941 Indian, and a chopper), but I found several more. These include a Suzuki GSX-R race bike, a custom Cushman scooter, and motorcycles from several movies, including Ghostbusters, the Bruce Willis hover bike, and others. The museum most recently announced an exhibit featuring Harley-Davidsons.
We traveled up U.S. Highway 395 to Reno, a magnificent road with great scenery through the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. Highway 395 was featured in a previous Destinations piece on Manzanar National Historic Site.
The National Automobile Museum is a solid 10; Reno, maybe not so much. Like many of America’s cities, Reno has become a bit sketchy. That said, we enjoyed our visit. One of Reno’s best-kept secrets is the nearby absolutely fabulous breakfast restaurant, Two Chicks, also known as Dos Chicas. Their chili relleno omelet is incredible and, in my opinion, worth the trip to Reno all by itself. It was that good.
