| America on Wheels | |
|---|---|
| Established | 2008 |
| Location | 5 North Front Street Allentown, Pennsylvania 18102 |
| Type | Transportation museum |
| Director | Linda Merkel |
| Curator | Liz Hahn |
| Website | http://www.americaonwheels.org |
America On Wheels is an over-the-road transportation museum located in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania in the United States.
The 43,000 square feet (4,000 m2) museum offers over 23,000 square feet (2,100 m2) of exhibit space divided into three main galleries and several smaller exhibits.[1] The collection features over 75 bicycles, motorcycles, automobiles and trucks in exhibits telling the story of people and products on the move from the days of the carriage to the vehicles of tomorrow.[1]
The museum also houses the archives of Mack Trucks.
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As early as 1989, Allentown city officials had announced plans to revitalize an old industrial area, which included the abandoned Arbogast & Bastian meat packing plant, along the Lehigh River.[1] This redevelopment, which was to be known as "Lehigh Landing," was to include a museum, a brewery, walking trails, a footbridge across the river, and a promenade for festivals.[1] Development was hindered by fundraising problems, environmental remediation issues, and even a national debate on pork barrel government spending.[1] After three separate groundbreakings (2001, 2004 and 2005), the museum, which cost over $17 million to build, was officially opened to the public on April 12, 2008.[1]
A historically important part of the museum's collection is the 1891 Nadig Gas-Powered Carriage, one of the first gas-powered vehicles driven in America.[2] Henry Nadig, a German-born mechanic living in Allentown, built his gas-powered carriage in 1891, two years before Charles E. Duryea's first gas-powered automobile. Police forced him to drive the carriage at night, because during the day it scared horses.[2] The vehicle was discovered rusting in a collapsed shed in Allentown, and restored.[2]
The collection of the America on Wheels museum also includes the following vehicles: