Great Garages

Modern California was made by cars. The California Automobile Museum was made to celebrate that.

“The museum’s collection represents California history through the windshield of an automobile,” says Carly Starr, curator of the museum, 2200 Front Street, about a mile south of Old Sacramento on the edge of downtown.

The museum contains approximately 160–170 cars, with 125 on regular display. About 45 percent of that collection is owned by the museum. The rest of the cars are from the monthly changing Car Club display (five), 20 cars are for sale, and 15–20 cars are displayed in exhibits that change every five months. Currently, 25 microcars are being shown.

In 1982, a few automotive-minded Sacramentans decided to open a car museum and founded the California Vehicle Foundation, which operates the museum. The first car was a 1938 Buick Sedan in 1983, donated before the opening.