After all the mountains and the scenic sights I guess I longed for the a glimpse of something monumental and historical again. The next location that got my attention was the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum. Alaska’s journey to modernization a century ago was a dramatic and slow one. The Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum shows us this journey in vivid detail.
This is a nationally acclaimed museum and has a collection that features over 80 vehicles, including horseless carriages, electric cars, cycle-cars, steamers, speedsters, midget racers and 30s classics. The classics were, of course, my favorite. These include rarities such as the 1898 Hay Motor Vehicle, 1906 Compound, 1920 Argonne and 1921 Heine –Velox Victoria. Remarkably, a few of these vehicles are driven, making this a real "living museum.” This museum also hosts a Vintage Clothing section, which depicts the ways that fashion has evolved over the course of eight decades, as well as how the rising popularity of automobiles had an impact on the people of Alaska.
The most interesting display of all is a replica of the original Sourdough Roadhouse, where you are allowed to dress up in historic fashions, climb into an antique automobile and have your photo taken using your own camera. So, be sure to get your camera along! ☺
This is a nationally acclaimed museum and has a collection that features over 80 vehicles, including horseless carriages, electric cars, cycle-cars, steamers, speedsters, midget racers and 30s classics. The classics were, of course, my favorite. These include rarities such as the 1898 Hay Motor Vehicle, 1906 Compound, 1920 Argonne and 1921 Heine –Velox Victoria. Remarkably, a few of these vehicles are driven, making this a real "living museum.” This museum also hosts a Vintage Clothing section, which depicts the ways that fashion has evolved over the course of eight decades, as well as how the rising popularity of automobiles had an impact on the people of Alaska.
The most interesting display of all is a replica of the original Sourdough Roadhouse, where you are allowed to dress up in historic fashions, climb into an antique automobile and have your photo taken using your own camera. So, be sure to get your camera along! ☺
This automobile museum also holds a variety of Alaskan artefacts, including an antique Ford Model A sawmill, a Tokheim gasoline pump and a Fairbanks-Morse engine. The Morse engine was used to power Alaska’s first Telegraph System.
If you do decide to spend more time here, you could also go in for the Boreal Forest Tour. This nature tour experience is very alluring in itself. You get to see all that is present in a Boreal forest and the pleasure of photographing the Wander Lake.
The tour around the museum is very informative and you will definitely enjoy the visual indulgence of a sartorial evolution alongside all the early 20th century Alaskan motoring automobiles, thus making this a place not just for car enthusiasts. This combined with the nature tour is one day that is definitely well spent.
If you do decide to spend more time here, you could also go in for the Boreal Forest Tour. This nature tour experience is very alluring in itself. You get to see all that is present in a Boreal forest and the pleasure of photographing the Wander Lake.
The tour around the museum is very informative and you will definitely enjoy the visual indulgence of a sartorial evolution alongside all the early 20th century Alaskan motoring automobiles, thus making this a place not just for car enthusiasts. This combined with the nature tour is one day that is definitely well spent.