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| Established | 1965; 60 years ago (1965) |
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| Location | 10825 East Boulevard Cleveland, Ohio 44106 USA |
| Coordinates | 41°30′47″N81°36′40″W / 41.5131°N 81.6112°W /41.5131; -81.6112 |
| Founder | Frederick C. Crawford |
| Website | The Crawford Auto-Aviation Collection |
TheCrawford Auto-Aviation Museum is atransportation museum inCleveland,Ohio, United States. It is part of theWestern Reserve Historical Society's Cleveland History Center inUniversity Circle, and its collection includes about 170 cars. It was founded byFrederick C. Crawford ofTRW, and opened in 1965.
The collection began as the Thompson Products Auto Album, which was also founded by Crawford. Crawford explained that when he started collecting the cars, it was simply because it seemed a shame to let them bescrapped, which was the typical fate of almost all antique machinery at the time. He saw value in saving a few historically significant examples.[1]
In 1990, the museum sold off almost 70 automobiles by putting them up for auction withSotheby's.[2]
To pay down debt, the museum sold or auctioned 44 cars in 2009, 24 of them throughRM Auctions in October.[3][4] Thedeaccessions proceeded over public protest and the objections of Kay Crawford, the widow of founder Frederick C. Crawford.[5][6] The museum also sold aGoodyear F2G Corsair it had purchased from Walter Soplata and aAirco DH.4 originally acquired by Crawford.[7]
As of 2018, the museum featured two major exhibits:Setting the World in Motion, featuring cars and airplanes made in Northeast Ohio,[8] andREVolution: The Automobile in America, telling the story of the automobile in America.[9]
The museum dismissed its director, Brad Brownell, in 2023 due to disagreements over object use philosophies.[10]
The museum's restoration and storage facility is located inMacedonia, Ohio.[11]
As of 2019 there were more than 170 automobiles, 12 aircraft, 3 antiquecarriages, and 21 non-car artifacts (motorcycles, boats and bicycles). The facility includes more than 2,000 square feet (190 m2) of archival collections.[12]
The aviation collection includes aP-51 Mustang racing plane used in Thompson Trophy Races.[13] The oldest car in the collection is an 1897Panhard et Levassor, while later acquisitions include the first productionDeLorean from 1981 and aself-driving car named DEXTER which was teamTeam Case's entry in theDARPA Urban Challenge 2007, in which it placed in the top 20.[14]
Other vehicles in the collection includeTinkerbelle, a small sailboat in whichRobert Manrysolo sailed across theAtlantic Ocean in 1965. Manry donated it to the Historical Society in 1967.[15]
In 2016, the museum's 1913ALCO Model Six Berline Limousine won theAnsel Adams Award at thePebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California.[16]
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