Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills Closing for good.........

**56packman** · November-29-12, 04:44 PM

At the end of December. The 501 [[c) [[3) Chrysler museum Foundation will cease to exist and the Museum will be closed to the public.The facility will be stripped of the displays and converted to corporate use.
As a former staffer, this is very disheartening. The museum was a first-class operation in the first 8 years of operation under former City of Detroit Historical Department [[Detroit Historical Museum-Fort Wayne) Director Barry Dressel.
The vehicles will remain in the corporation's historical collection.

**p69rrh51** · November-29-12, 04:52 PM

I am sorry to see the museum close! Its one of the best attractions in the area!

Shollin · November-29-12, 05:09 PM

I always thought it would be cool if the auto companies came together and made a vehicle museum in a place like the Model T factory or if the Packard plant if it was salvagable.

**dtowncitylover** · November-29-12, 05:31 PM

Originally Posted by p69rrh51

Its one of the best attractions in the area!

And could I say, the least visited? I come from a Chrysler family but never went and didn't know it existed until I went to OU and saw a sign for it. It was rarely, if ever, in the media.

**401don** · November-29-12, 05:47 PM

A Big 3 museum downtown would be great. It would be very expensive with the climate controls and security compared to the revenue it would generate. I assume Ford and GM have large inventory in storage somewhere. Does it ever come out? There's lots of empty space in the Ren Cen if GM wanted to display more of its history.

**Packman41** · November-29-12, 05:49 PM

Hello 56Packman:

This is a damn shame.

Kind of thought this might happen.

As part of the Packard Club National Meeting coming to Detroit next June I was planning an event there. Last August I signed a contract, ran through the details and hired one of their approved caterers. Then a week later I received a phone call apologizing that they had to cancel the contact as they, “…would be doing renovations and could not promise that the museum would be back open by the time of our event.

As to having a city-wide auto museum at the Packard Plant; that was in the works over 15 years ago. Click on this thread.
http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...690#post345690

**Gistok** · November-29-12, 07:18 PM

Originally Posted by 401don

A Big 3 museum downtown would be great. It would be very expensive with the climate controls and security compared to the revenue it would generate. I assume Ford and GM have large inventory in storage somewhere. Does it ever come out? There's lots of empty space in the Ren Cen if GM wanted to display more of its history.

I've always felt that no building would make for a grander Detroit Automotive Museum than this luxurious Albert Kahn designed facility....
http://detroit.curbed.com/places/met...igh-technology

It has much of the criteria for a museum.... top quality materials and details, it's massive long front on the west side of Cass Park LOOKS LIKE A MUSEUM, it has plenty of space, and it's where all the great museums of Detroit are... in the Midtown area.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kr...ersDetroit.jpg

**Ltdave** · November-29-12, 07:26 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

I've always felt that no building would make for a grander Detroit Automotive Museum than this luxurious Albert Kahn designed facility....
http://detroit.curbed.com/places/met...igh-technology

It has much of the criteria for a museum.... top quality materials and details, it's massive long front on the west side of Cass Park LOOKS LIKE A MUSEUM, it has plenty of space, and it's where all the great museums of Detroit are... in the Midtown area.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kr...ersDetroit.jpg

it looks very much like the Auburn Cord Dusenberg museum in the original A-C-D headquarters building...

id very much like to see a combined Big 3 museum. i think it would be very very nice...

**old guy** · November-29-12, 07:30 PM

Originally Posted by Ltdave

it looks very much like the Auburn Cord Dusenberg museum in the original A-C-D headquarters building...

id very much like to see a combined Big 3 museum. i think it would be very very nice...

That would be unique. Did those companies keep any of their concept cars? I think that would bring people in.

**56packman** · November-29-12, 07:37 PM

Richard Kughn tried to put that together at the Michigan Central Train station in the early 80s, he envisioned a museum in the grand concourse areas and developing the offices upstairs into a business center. The young administration turned a cold shoulder to it. He tried to turn it into a casino when gambling came to town and the Archer administration turned a cold shoulder to the idea--nope--the new casinos HAD to be on the riverfront, where we [[the city) is buying/clearing all this land...................................

**gazhekwe** · November-29-12, 08:06 PM

The Kresge Building would take some work making it ADA accessible. It is beautiful inside and I can imagine how it would be with a lot of the added on walls removed.

**southofbloor** · November-29-12, 08:20 PM

Big yes to a big 3 auto museum somewhere in the middle of the city. That would work and be a draw for the city. And yes to concept cars - would love to see that, though I think they tend to destroy them? Could be amazing and showcase an important part of Detroit's relevance.

So many options of locations - love the Kresge building but are the spaces big enough? Thinking also Fisher Body on Piquette. Could take the rapid transit line up from downtown hotels...?

**Gistok** · November-29-12, 08:46 PM

Originally Posted by gazhekwe

The Kresge Building would take some work making it ADA accessible. It is beautiful inside and I can imagine how it would be with a lot of the added on walls removed.

Wouldn't it just be a ramp up to the entrance and the elevators do the rest?

Because if you think about it... ANY old building would require ADA work.

I've never been inside... so when you mention "added on walls removed"... would that be a plus or a minus? Well it would be a minus in the cost area, but I'm more interested in if it would work aesthetically/functionally if they were removed? Were those walls of which you speak added later, or are you talking about removing walls original to the building?

**gazhekwe** · November-29-12, 08:48 PM

There are a couple of levels on the main floor. Maybe like the DIA, steps, level, more steps, level, more steps.

It is pretty cut up inside with long hallways lined by smallish offices. Some of the walls were added to break the larger spaces into smaller offices.

One plus is the quite large parking area to the rear of the building, plus there is parking under the building.

JVB · November-29-12, 08:49 PM

Seems like a Big 3 Auto Museum would make a great tourist attraction and bring people to Detroit. It's too bad the idea has never taken off. Not even just Big 3, how about the "American Auto Museum" with examples from the early manufacturers that went out of business. That would be something people from all over the world would come to see.

**DetroitPlanner** · November-29-12, 09:48 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

I've always felt that no building would make for a grander Detroit Automotive Museum than this luxurious Albert Kahn designed facility....
http://detroit.curbed.com/places/met...igh-technology

It has much of the criteria for a museum.... top quality materials and details, it's massive long front on the west side of Cass Park LOOKS LIKE A MUSEUM, it has plenty of space, and it's where all the great museums of Detroit are... in the Midtown area.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kr...ersDetroit.jpg

You would most likely need to gut the place to do this. Its an office building. I've been to the museum in Auburn. It was built for a small auto manufacturer, not as the HQ of the largest discount Department Store of the time.

We have the Henry Ford Museum. In addition, the Detroit Historical Museum has a large collection. Unfortunately they have little space to show it.

**Gistok** · November-29-12, 10:23 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

You would most likely need to gut the place to do this. Its an office building. I've been to the museum in Auburn. It was built for a small auto manufacturer, not as the HQ of the largest discount Department Store of the time.

We have the Henry Ford Museum. In addition, the Detroit Historical Museum has a large collection. Unfortunately they have little space to show it.

They should have the Detroit Historical Museum take this over as their main building [[with auto museum)... and be able to show their vast collections. I bet their historic clothing collection could take up part of an entire floor. They could use their Woodward location for special exhibits and the early years of Detroit's history.

I realize that this is a very expensive pipe dream, but the Kresge Building does resemble a museum... and has many of the sumptuous features of one.

**gazhekwe** · November-29-12, 10:32 PM

I worked in that building for several years. It does not really look like a museum inside. The first floor is two loooong hallways on each side of the central corridor with offices on either side. There is a lot of elegant wood, wainscoting, doors, moldings. There is a light well in the center of each side of the building so even the interior offices have windows. The space from the hall to the windows is not all that wide, maybe at most 30 feet. I don't know how many of the crossways walls were bearing walls, but inside the suite where I worked, it was all partitions, maybe we had 60 feet total in length. I was inconvenienced with a broken hip during part of that time and it was really hard to get into that building from the parking lot, through the utility entrance, up a loooong flight of stairs, down those looong hallways. The front has just as many steps but they are broken into three sets, wide enough to accommodate a ramp in there somewhere. No parking out there, though.

**Richard** · November-29-12, 10:34 PM

Considering the history behind it all I wonder if the Smithsonian would assist ,you would think an auto museum in the city would be a given.

**DetroitPlanner** · November-29-12, 10:44 PM

Strange, never thought of the Kressge building on Cass park as being a museum, just an office building.

**poobert** · November-29-12, 10:55 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

They should have the Detroit Historical Museum take this over as their main building [[with auto museum)... and be able to show their vast collections. I bet their historic clothing collection could take up part of an entire floor. They could use their Woodward location for special exhibits and the early years of Detroit's history.

I realize that this is a very expensive pipe dream, but the Kresge Building does resemble a museum... and has many of the sumptuous features of one.

Museums are not profitable[[of course, that is their nature). Museums in Detroit are, in general, not well attended by international standards. The Detroit Historical Museum is, as a municipal history museum, already massive, and, by Detroit standards, well-attended. We cannot support a historic clothing museum, IMHO.

I'm going to be frank, as a museum professional. There is the grand-daddy of them all, the Henry Ford, our rightful head. The rest- and you want any more? They absolutely need to be in the Cultural Center. You want to go to a car show? Go to a car show. That's not enough for a museum. You need to convince big donors [[and small ones) that you're going to educate our region with their dollars - which you need to stay alive - and rightfully so. People need to seriously benefit from their experience. Museums are funded by donors, not admissions, and there are finite dollars to go around, and, frankly, starving fucking people in this world. Educate the people and make their lives better and you've got a viable museum - otherwise you're a hobbyist. Go big or go home.

**canuck** · November-29-12, 11:17 PM

A museum with collections loaned by the three biggies would certainly attract a worldwide audience. Michigan Central with its impressive size would be a great place.

**mauser** · November-30-12, 06:20 AM

Originally Posted by 401don

A Big 3 museum downtown would be great.

Downtown IS a Big 3 museum.

**Honky Tonk** · November-30-12, 08:06 AM

Years ago, Flint had a large automobile museum, that folded. A few years back, Ford Motor, in cooperation with Greenfield Village, tried an all manufacturer automobile museum, on the corner of Oakwood & MI Ave., that folded. Now this one in Auburn Hills folded. I hate to be a poop, but I think all this is saying something.

**Kathleen** · November-30-12, 08:19 AM

That is unfortunate news and I'm sorry to hear it. I really enjoy visiting the Chrysler Museum so will make it a point to visit one last time.

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

We have the Henry Ford Museum. In addition, the Detroit Historical Museum has a large collection. Unfortunately they have little space to show it.

And right across the parking lot from The Henry Ford is the National Automotive Hall of Fame which is another terrific automotive history museum!!
http://www.automotivehalloffame.org/...do/get-started