An important part of any hobby is knowing and appreciating the history behind it. Fortunately we have a lot of resources in the antique car collector hobby, from books and records to collections of historic interest, and especially fortunate for us here in South Florida, we have a great museum up the coast in Stuart, Florida, at the Elliott Museum. Founded in 1961 by Harmon Elliott, the son of inventor Sterling Elliott, it is home to a great collection of antique automobiles and boats, as well as one of the largest collection of baseball memorabilia outside Cooperstown. It also houses displays from the early days of Florida’s Treasure Coast.
Thanks to the organizational efforts of Tomas Hernandez and the mini-bus provided by Manny Garcia, about twenty-five members of AACA South Florida took a day trip to Stuart to see the museum and learn about some unique vehicles, including those on permanent display in the three-story storage facility that works like a giant juke box: pick the car you want to see and it is delivered for your viewing pleasure on a turntable in front of you.
It was a good time, and if you weren’t able to go along, here are some photos to show you what’s at this treasure house in Stuart.
By Philip Williams
Photos by Bob Squier