Museum displays allow visitors to ride back in time - Arkansas Online (subscription)
PETIT JEAN MOUNTAIN — Automobile enthusiasts are sure to find something to their liking at the Museum of Automobiles, which sits prominently atop the mountain that is home to Arkansas’ first state park. Winthrop Rockefeller in 1964 to house his personal collection of cars, the museum is now part of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. and $5 for students ages 6 to 17. “Rockefeller built the museum to house his collection of cars, which were bought mostly from the opera singer James Melton in Florida in the 1950s,” said Alan Hoelzeman, controller of the museum. “That collection was around 25 to 30 cars. He also had some family cars in his collection. Following Rockefeller’s death in 1973, his car collection was sold in 1974, and the building and grounds were donated to the state of Arkansas. It was reopened in 1976 by a local group of collectors as a not-for-profit corporation, with Alan’s dad, Buddy Hoelzeman, as director of the museum and secretary-treasurer of the board. “It opened with mostly loaned cars,” Alan said. “We did have some that had been donated, including a 1946 Lincoln Continental Coupe donated by Arrow Motor of California. Since then, we’ve had about 35 cars donated to us. “The collection does rotate out,” he said. Among the cars on display are several from Rockefeller’s. Source: www.arkansasonline.com
