I think most people have a love affair with cars. You can’t wait to get your driver’s licence and learn how to drive. You remember the car you drove around in as a kid (1972 Pontiac Laurentian Safari Station Wagon), your first car (1987 Volkswagen Fox) and the car you had a crush on that you would probably never own (for me there are a few: I loved a 1968 Rolls Royce as a kid, the long elegant nose of the 1963 Jag XKE convertible and I still have a serious crush on the Austin Healey, the Morgan, and the Jag XK120). Pete I know loves the 1970s cars and dreams of the muscle car of his youth: the 1970s Dodge Charger.
Cars have also played an important role in the lives of other family members. My youngest sister, Larissa (who will be celebrating her birthday this weekend) has a soft spot for cars, especially racing cars. She met her husband Tom through racing.
Speaking of racing, my good friend Laura has been known to race the occasional Mustang up Hartzel Road. It was in her 1982 Club Malibu that I took (and passed) my driver’s test. She and her husband Troy restore cars, in particular, the old Cougars (no comments please on Troy’s love for old cougars, I already made that joke at their wedding).
No one can deny that the invention of the automobile changed the way we live and work. On a recent jaunt to Calgary for Stampede, after the McCarthy Tetrault LLP-sponsored Hays Breakfast, Pete and I ended up at the Gasoline Alley Museum in Heritage Park. If you love cars, this has to be on your must see list.
The Gasoline Alley Museum is billed “as a celebration of industrial design illuminated by a storyline that follows the far-reaching social changes that resulted from the introduction and popularization of the automobile”. A wordy way of saying that the museum contains thousands of automobile memorabilia items – cars, gasoline pumps, signs and other paraphernalia, most from before World War II.
The museum owes a huge shout out and thanks to a local businessman, Ron Carey. The museum is one of the world’s largest public collections of vintage vehicles, gasoline pumps from various gas companies (many I have never heard of), gas and road signs. There are over 60 cars and 134 gasoline pumps are on exhibit.The memorabilia dates from the early 1900s to the 1950s (mainly 30s, 40s & 50s). Ron who generously donated them so they could be properly maintained and viewed by the public in Heritage Park. The majority of items on display were restored by Ron Carey and his staff.
The cars are almost all in beautiful condition. A 1931 L-29 Cord draws you in. This was the first front wheel drive car to achieve popularity (probably due to its good looks). However at a price tag of $3,000, you could have 10 Model A Fords.
For less than $1,000 however, you could own a 1932 Auburn, which boasted a V-12 engine power.
One of the more unusually named trucks on display is the 1919 Coffin Nosed International.
The 1911 Chase Auto delivery wagon is on the lower floor.
One of the few unrestored cars at the museum is not only one of the oldest, it has a very interesting history. It is a 1905 Cadillac Model E which was found in a gold mine in California. You can still see the gold pan on the back.
Sitting beside the Cadillac Model E is another rare vehicle, a 1915 Cadillac tow truck (I wonder what that towing charge would have been)!
Photographers will rejoice in the colours and items to shoot, and the museum is also fun for kids. There is an interactive retro drive-in movie exhibit, daily crafts for families and tales of Alberta’s most notorious whiskey runner, Emilio Picariello. Emilio’s 1918 McLaughlin-Buick is on display. McLaughlin-Buick was considered “Canada’s Standard Car” and used for family road trips. Emilio used a fleet of McLaughlin-Buicks (his “whisky sixes”) to transport illegal alcohol from British Columbia to Alberta.
All this talk about cocktails has made me thirsty! What to drink? I turned to Scott and Beth from Homebartendr – my go-to blog for cocktails and home bar information as well as one of my favourite Instagram posters – and asked them what they would suggest for my Prohibition mood. Tune in tomorrow for a guest blog post by Homebartendr, inspired by Gasoline Alley. You can follow Homebartendr on Twitter, Instagram, or sign up for their fabulous posts!
If you end up in Calgary for Stampede or just a visit, drop in and take a look. It is not only a car lover’s dream, it’s a walk through history.
Where: Gasoline Alley, Heritage Park, 1900 Heritage Dr. SW, Calgary, AB T2V 2X3;
When: 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Daily (May long weekend to Labour Day, after weekends only). Admission to the museum is included in your Heritage Park ticket.
