LeMay – America’s Car Museum

A project that’s been talked about and in the works for more than ten years is set to open soon.  LeMay – America’s Car Museum (it’s official name) is set to be all spit and polished for a grand opening in the Spring of 2012. The four-story, 155,000 square-foot venue, located on “D” Street in front of the Tacoma Dome, will display 150 cars upon opening.

When completed, this $60 million project is slated to be the largest auto museum in North America and should boost Tacoma’s economy with an estimated 425,000 visitors and $32 million in visitor spending and employment locally.

With more than 3,000 vehicles at one point, you could say Harold LeMay was an “extreme” car collector. His collection made it into the Guinness Book of World Records. Some might call him a car rescuer because according to his wife, Nancy, he bought cars so they wouldn’t be destroyed. So he had a huge variety of makes, models, shapes and sizes. And it was his dream to share them with everyone. Although LeMay won’t see the finished museum, because he died in 2000 at the age of 81, his dream lives on through Nancy and a host of workers and volunteers.

“Harold had a lifelong passion for autos,” says Scot Keller, chief marketing and communications officer for the museum. “What’s unique about this collection is that it’s eclectic and offers something for everyone.”

From the 1930 red Duesenberg Model J which sold for a minimum of $13,000 new to the 1983 Mercury Marquis Station Wagon, the collections focuses on America’s timeless love affair with the automobile. Keller says many of the cars of a very colorful history and interesting ownerships so they will be displayed in the building in a way that best tells their stories.

So many cars

Lemay traveled throughout the United States buying cars.

“Harold would see a car he wanted to maintain and buy it,” says Keller. “Part of preserving the autos was caring for them and driving them. Some of the 550 owned by the museum are drivable and some are not.”

He was able to buy so many cars because of the very successful waste management business he started, says Keller. At the time of LeMay’s passing Harold LeMay Enterprises was the 10^th largest refuse business in the United States. The company still provides recycling and refuse services in South Puget Sound.

A group of prominent Tacoma business people who knew LeMay conceived the museum concept. Then he put together the board.

The museum will house galleries, gift shop, a banquet hall, a clubroom and outdoor space for car shows.

Besides the Annual LeMay Car Show and Auction held on the last Saturday of August, docent-led tours are available year-round at the Museum’s Marymount location, 325 152^nd St. E., Tacoma. Call 253-536-2885 for more information or to make reservations.

Please visit www.lemaymuseum.org to learn more about what will become a Tacoma icon.

Automotive & Transportation