Gateway Colorado Automobile Museum


The Gateway Colorado Automobile Museum , generally known as just the Gateway Auto Museum, is located on the grounds of the Gateway Canyons Resort just west of Gateway, CO. The museum features automobiles from the private collection of John and Maureen Hendricks. The overall theme of the museum, and the title of a book about the Hendricks collection, is "The Performing Art of the American Automobile", and I have to say there are some very elegant machines on display. The 50 or so autos housed in the museum are chosen for their singular contributions to automotive engineering, design, and or culture. A tour of the museum begins with a short video narrated by Walter Cronkite, then it's off to the automotive wonderland. Automobiles are displayed in several galleries and are loosely grouped into eras in automotive history.

The automobiles on display occasionally get moved around or changed out for others in the Hendricks collection. My first visit to the museum was in May 2019, so hopefully when I go again there will be some new eye candy on display. Most, but not all of the vehicles were identified by signs. I did my best to fill in the blanks but I'm not an auto aficionado, so there's a (real) possibility that I may have misidentified one or two. If anyone spots an error, please let me know so I can correct it.

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Fancy Carport

Ford F-100
Good Humor Truck


1939 Chevrolet Pickup?


1939 Chevrolet Pickup?


Gateway Auto Museum


Gateway Auto Museum


Lobby wallpaper


Lobby wallpaper


The Journey Starts Here

A little about the collection


Mass Mobility Gallery

This gallery is devoted to the start of the automotive industry and contains the earliest automobiles in the collection. I especially liked the 1906 Cadillac, that looks like the proverbial horseless carriage.



1910 Hupmobile

1916 Indian 61 Twin
Board Track Racer


1914 Ford Model T Runabout


1912 Ford Model T Speedster


1906 Cadillac Model H Coupe

1913 Pierce-Arrow
Model 38C Brougham


1930 Model 353 Cadillac Convertible Coupe


1934 Ford Deluxe Rumble Seat Roadster


1934 Ford Deluxe Rumble Seat Roadster


Timeline Gallery

I've arbitrarily labeled this gallery the Timeline Gallery because it contains several automobiles that are described in the afore mentioned book in a chapter titled "Timeline: The American Car Evolves".



1928 Cadillac Series 341 Dual Cowl Sport Phaeton


1928 Cadillac Series 341 Dual Cowl Sport Phaeton


1937 Cord 812 Supercharged Convertible


1937 Cord 812 Supercharged Convertible


Instrument console of the 1937 Cord


1938 Cadillac V-16 Town Sedan


1938 Cadillac V-16 Town Sedan


1937 Terraplane Convertible Coupe


1937 Terraplane Convertible Coupe


1941 Lincoln Continental Coupe


1941 Lincoln Continental Coupe


1940 Indian Motorcycle


1941 Packard 120 Woody Wagon

1947 Chrysler Town & Country
2-door Convertible

1947 Chrysler Town & Country
2-door Convertible


Coca-Cola Drive Refreshed


Oil company maps

1950 Packard Super Eight
Victoria Convertible Coupe


"Hollywood High Style" Gallery

This gallery features some of the limousines and other luxury autos favored by the 1930s Hollywood glamour kings and queens.



"Hollywood High Style" Gallery


1932 Auburn 8-100A Speedster

1936 Auburn Model 8-852
Supercharged Cabriolet

1936 Auburn Model 8-852
Supercharged Cabriolet


1931 Stutz Model DV-32


1931 Stutz Model DV-32

1930 Model J Duesenberg
LWB Cabriolet

1930 Model J Duesenberg
LWB Cabriolet

1939 Packard Super Eight
Convertible Victoria

1939 Packard Super Eight
Convertible Victoria

1929 Packard Model 645
Deluxe Eight Roadster

1929 Packard Model 645
Deluxe Eight Roadster


Oil company maps


Oil company maps

1929 Packard Model 645
Deluxe Eight Roadster


Hollywood High Style Gallery


1936 Auburn (left) 1932 Auburn (right)


1939 Packard (left) 1929 Packard (right)


Fifties Style Hallway

A hallway connects the Tiimeline Gallery to what I'm calling the Main Gallery. Along either side of the hallway were vehicles spanning the years 1952 to 1957.



1952 Chevrolet 3100 5-window Pickup

1953 Plymouth Cranbrook
2-door Coupe


1954 Packard Caribbean Convertible


1955 Nash Metropolitan Convertible


1956 DeSoto Adventurer


1957 DeDoto Firesweep


1957 DeDoto Firesweep


Main Gallery

The Main Gallery (my name for it) houses vehicles from the 1950s and segues into the American Muscle Gallery. An exit into the museum gift shop and lobby is also found here.



Main Gallery


Exit to gift shop


1953 Chevrolet C-1 Corvette


1953 Chevrolet C-1 Corvette


1954 Buick Skylark Convertible


1954 Buick Skylark Convertible


1954 Kaiser-Darrin Roadster


1954 Kaiser-Darrin Roadster

1953 Cadillac Eldorado
Convertible


Cadillac (left) and Buick (right)

1953 Cunningham C-3
Continental Coupe

1953 Cunningham C-3
Continental Coupe

The Oldsmobile F-88 was a one-of-a-kind concept car created in 1954. It borrowed a lot from the Corvette, including its 102 inch wheelbase, fiberglass body, and rear axle assembly. It has a 324 cubic inch Super 88 V8 engine with a four-barrel carburetor and a customized instrument console that includes a tachometer. The F-88 was and is considered by many to have ushered in a new era in automotive styling. John and Maureen Hendricks bought the car in 2005 for 3.24 million dollars, and I imagine it's the crown jewel of their collection.


Oldsmobile F-88 Gallery

1954 Oldsmobile F-88
Concept Car

1954 Oldsmobile F-88
Concept Car

1954 Oldsmobile F-88
Concept Car


American Muscle

This gallery is devoted to the era of American muscle cars, and there are some real beauties. I've included the 1934 Ford Custom Coupe, In Excess, in this section because it truly is a muscle car, having won the ISCA 2003 International Rod Championship.


1934 Ford Custom Coupe
"In Excess"

1934 Ford Custom Coupe
"In Excess"


1957 Ford Thunderbird


1957 Ford Thunderbird


1957 Chevrolet BelAir Convertible


1956 Buick Century Converible


1957 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible


1963 Chevrolet Corvette


1963 Chevrolet Corvette


Chrysler 1961 300G Convertible


1967 Chevrolet SS427 Camaro

1965 Chevrolet Chevelle
Malibu SS Z16


1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS LS6


Interactive gear ratio exhibit


Muscle car gallery


Muscle car gallery

Retro soda shop
(60s style?)


Dessert cooler


Mustang Alley

This gallery changes names periodically. When I went it held modified mustangs, racing paraphernalia, and the Andrew Hendricks race car.



1970 Mustang Mach 1 428 CobraJet


1969 Ford Shelby GT500


1967 Ford Shelby GT500


No Clue - Custom Cobra?


No Clue - 2007? Custom Mustang

Andrew Hendricks'
No. 5 Mustang FR500S


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