BOYERTOWN PA – The third annual Cars and Cones Event, a low-key vehicle cruise-in that’s free for both participants and spectators, is happening Thursday (Aug. 8, 2024) in Boyertown.
The show is scheduled for 4-6:30 p.m. in the parking lot of its host, the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles, 85 S. Walnut St. The museum also will be open for regular admission during what it said were extended hours.
Two vendors offering food items for purchase – Mister Softee of Reading, with ice cream and treats; and J-Walkers Family of Volunteers, with hot dogs – will be available.
Parking for spectators is available in the museum’s upper parking lot, and along the street.
You’ll notice several improvements
The museum reports it has worked hard to improve its facilities during the past several years. Its efforts, both inside and out, seek to enhance the visitor experience, and better protect cherished pieces of transportation history on display.
The Carriage Barn, open to the public since December 2023, features unique examples of horse-drawn vehicles. Many have never before been on display. They include a durable Skeleton Break, used to break, train, and exercise carriage horses. There’s also a Hansom Cab, a closed carriage referred to as the most popular cab in London.
Additionally on display are an “extravagant” Bavarian State Coach, once used to convey royalty and high officials during official business. In the gallery is the museum’s Two-Horse Hearse (above), relocated from the Museum’s main floor to a place of prominence in the Carriage Barn.
Newly arrived: a Tip Top tourist cabin
New to the museum’s collection is an early 20th-century “Tip Top” tourist cabin:
- Acquired by the museum in August 2023, the cabin is an example of early roadside architecture and has been the subject of extensive restoration. It’s now on display in the main gallery.
- Throughout the first half of the 20th century, tourist camps and courts were common overnight accommodations for budding motorists. Earlier hotels catered to the needs of railroad travelers and were often located in big cities. As a result, camps began popping up along major roads to accommodate the needs of those traveling the highways.
- In their early days, structures populating the camps were typically singles, hosting one person or couple at a time. They looked and functioned like one-room homes. As these lodgings became more popular, business owners expanded by offering more units for rent and modern amenities. The technology of the times – like phones, fueling pumps, cafés, swimming pools, and occasionally air conditioning — attracted guests.
- More modern accommodations began to be known as tourist courts. The term “motel”, a combination of “motor” and “hotel” (which implied more available space) became popular in the 1940s. “Motel” and “tourist court” were both used through the mid-century, until the latter fell out of popularity with the general public.
In addition to the cabin, the museum also features two other examples of roadside architecture: a 1921 cottage-style Sunoco gas station, and a 1938 Jerry O’Mahony diner (above).
The museum is a recognized non-profit organization founded in 1965 by Paul and Erminie Hafer. Its mission is to preserve and display examples of Pennsylvania’s road transportation history. The museum itself is found within the former factory buildings of the Boyertown Auto Body Works. More than 90 locally manufactured cars, trucks, carriages, bicycles, and motorcycles are on display.
Museum visitors are welcome seven days a week, daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.. Admission costs $10 for adults, and $9 for seniors and AAA members. Guests age 12 younger are admitted free. For more information, call 610-367-2090; or send an e-mail to mail@boyertownmuseum.org.
Hearse and diner photos provided to Travels With The Post
by the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles
Top photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash, used under license
