Along with the Mustang, Model T, and the F150, I would put the corvette on the Mount Rushmore of most American cars. Even as a small kid, I understood the importance of the car. However, never having owned one myself, I was not fully aware of the true history of where the car came from. During a recent road trip down to South Carolina, I decided to stop at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green Kentucky. What was supposed to be a quick 2-3 hour walk through turned into 5 hours of reading every placard , pouring over every detail of every car, and photographing every amazing little detail I could find.
I am not biased towards corvettes in any way, but it is impossible to walk out of that building without feeling a sense of lust to be a part of the Corvette family.
Traveling from our overnight stop in Indianapolis, we decided it was time for lunch before we entered the museum. The Corvette Cafe had some awesome 50’s decor and pretty good food.
Immediately upon entering the museum, you get to watch a brief video in an awesome little theater. Then you get to read about the beginning of the era that sparked the Corvette.
To me, this is the greatest part of the museum. While this is strictly a Corvette museum, they did a great job explaining why the Corvette came into existence. The Greatest Generation coming back from WWII, experiencing the British roadsters and the pure driving experience that they offered. These returning soldiers wanted something of their own, a new start. This is what bred the idea of the Corvette, and the museum did a fantastic job of acknowledging the vehicles that lead to the creation of the Corvette.
As I am getting older, I am beginning to appreciate vintage art and decor more and more. I wish some of the original items weren’t so expensive as I would love to own it, but I can understand why values have skyrocketed. In the meantime, I will just enjoy viewing it every chance I get.
One of my favorite parts of the museum.
This is one of those small details that I found fascinating. I am sure many Corvette owners were aware of this badge, but I had never heard of it.
Reading about Zora Duntov was fascinating. To see how much effort he put into keeping this new Corvette alive was crazy. There is a large section devoted to him, and for good reason.
Of every piece in the museum, this may be my favorite.
I highly suggest you take the time to read the first page below. This was written in 1953, and references hot-rodding and jalopies. No matter what generation was working on cars, the feelings remained the same. From those “Hot Rod Publications” of the 1950’s to the blogs of today’s modern internet, at the end of the day, all we wanted to do was modify our cars and document it with photos and the written word.
This staged set looked great. I loved the old school Mobil signs and gas pumps.
At some point I need to get my matchbox and scale car collection mounted to the wall.
All hail the Nurburgring.
Another wild area of the museum was the prototype room. There were prototypes from many different ears, many of which I had never seen before.
I imagine many a middle aged men with these belt buckles.
I’m not sure how much faster your corvette is than my mustang when it is sitting at the bottom of a 30ft hole, but cool story.
I remember when the news first broke about the giant sinkhole that swallowed a few of the corvettes. The museum has definitely embraced the disaster, and while a few vehicles were a complete loss, the publicity and the interest that came from it were immense.
I am a huge fan of the 2nd generation Vette, but this blue ZR1 may be my favorite Corvette ever produced. Remember the car in the “Faster than your Mustang” photo above? This is it, completely restored next to the other cars that fell into the sinkhole.
The other cars from the sinkhole that weren’t so lucky.
Remember how I said the museum embraced the sinkhole disaster?
Seeing all the names and faces of the men and women who are inducted into the “Corvette Hall of Fame” hanging from rafters was cool. I love seeing people honored for their hard work and dedication.
These dedications were very well done.
As we finished up the museum portion of the day, we stopped in the atrium to grab a few photos and get ready to hit the road.
After almost a half day wandering around the museum, it was time to head out. The museum exceeded all of my expectations. These are only some of the photos, cars, stories, and people that you get to learn about. If I wanted to document everything it would take me days.
All I can say is that the trip is worth the pilgrimage. Even if you aren’t a Corvette fan, you can enjoy the quality of the museum and the stories presented.Make the trip, I promise it will be worth it.
– Andrew
