One of the lesser known Fairbanks attractions is the
Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum, located at 212 Wedgewood Drive, all the way behind the Wedgewood Resort Hotel. The museum features antique cars from Victorian Age through the Art Draco Era. You can also check out Alaska’s first car here as well as vintage clothing spanning throughout the eras.
The hotel boasts about 80 cars, ranging from carraiges, speedsters, and steamers. All but 2 or 3 of the cars featured in the museum are routinely driven! If you keep you eyes out around Fairbanks you might find yourself behind one of these driving to work!
During the summer (approximately mid-May to mid-September), the museum is open Sundays through Thursdays from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm and on Friday and Saturday from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. During the winter, however, (approximately Mid-September to Mid-May), it’s only open on Sundays from Noon to 6:00 pm. Admission costs $10 for those 13 and above and $5 for children 6 – 12. Children 5 and under are free. The museum offers self-guided audio tours with your admission. You can also purchase seasonal passes for $40 per adult or $60 per family (up to 2 adults and 4 children).
The museum also offers guided tours for individuals or groups/schools. An individual tour lasts about one and half hours and gives you a great run down of the history of automobiles in Alaska. See info about group/school tours
here. The museum is also available for rental for dinners or other group functions. Get info
here.
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| Alaskans and their cars throughout the years |
The museum is in chronological order starting from the back. It beings with the “Veteran Era.” The Veteran Era is technically a component of the Brass Era, and refers to cars manufactured in the early 1900’s. It was marked by a sort of haphazard approach that went a tad overboard with up and coming technologies. The Veteran Era saw fuels ranging from kerosene to coal oil to petrol to diesel. They utilized quad-engines, gas/electric hybrids, and multi-valve engines among others.
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| The 1898 Hay Motor Vehicle |
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| 1899 Hertel |
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| 1903 Columbia |
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| 1903 Toledo |
Next to the different cars were antique clothes (men’s, women’s and children) that were typically worn during that time period.
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| The 1904 Blackmobile |
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| 1903 Cadillac |
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| 1905 Oldsmobile |
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| 1904 Rambler |
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| 1906 Compound |
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| 1907 Cartercar |
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| Cartercar undercarriage with state-of-the art break and reverse system |
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| 1908 Rambler |
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| 1909 Oldsmobile |
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| 1912 Premier |
Next up was the “Brass Era,” defined as an early period of automotive manufacturing. It got its name from the prominent brass fittings on the cars.
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| 1912 Premier |
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| 1912 Peerless |
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| 1914 Woods Mobilette |
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| 1911 Kelsey |
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| 1910 Whiting |
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| 1907 Ford |
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| 1911 Ford |
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| 1913 Argo |
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| Don and Donna’s favorite car was the 1911 Oakland |
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| 1906 Pope-Toledo |
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| 1907 Franklin |
To the left is a section on Alaska and how automobiles, their manufacturers, and their owners had to adapt to the harsh Alaskan climates and rough terrain.
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| 1908 Brush |
Obviously, museum patrons are not allowed to touch the cars on display, yet one of the automobiles was set up as a picture opportunity! This car had a small closet next to it with old clothes and hats you could put on. You could pose in your Alaskan automobile attire in this car and take pictures. Don found a very dapper driving cap and Donna donned a beautiful lace hat with a silk veil.
After I got the donkeys out of the car, we carried on to the other cars popular in Alaska during the 1900’s.
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| 1909 Ford |
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| 1916 Dodge |
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| 1909 Cadillac |
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| 1910 Hudson |
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| 1909 IHC – “The Farmer’s Auto” |
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| 1917 Owen Magnetic |
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| 1918 Biddle |
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| 1919 McFarland |
There was a small area near the front of the museum devoted exclusively to “midget car racing,” or “speedcar racing,” The cars used in these races were called “speedsters,” small (literally “midget” sized) cars, with four cylinder engines. They range from 300 to 400 horsepower and weigh only about 1,000 pounds. Because they are so fast and so small, the sport is very dangerous, and drivers don’t race long distances. Speedcar racing enjoys its highest rates of popularity in Australia, of all places.
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| 1938 Elto |
On we went to the “Nickel Era,” which includes cars made from 1913 to 1929. The Era gets its name due to the fact that most cars that emerged from factories during this time contained all nickel plating (some had combinations of nickel, chrome, and silver).
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| 1920 Argonne |
The Nickel Era was probably my favorite era – the cars were gorgeous, detailed, and intricate. My favorite was the 1921 Heine Velox, a large and very expensive luxury automobile made by Gustav Heine out of San Francisco. Mr. Heine is best known for the 1921 Heine-Velox, of which only four survive today (and one of them is here!). The car had a variety of unique features.
It was the most expensive car in its day, mainly due to the fact that it contained a variety of brand new up-and-coming features that didn’t exist on other automobiles at the time. The heads of its engine were oriented at a 90 degree angle with a different displacement measurement. It also had a different crankshaft and cylinder block design, which was later copied by famous cars such as the Austin. It also had a dash-mounted thermostatic cut-out that helped the car to start in cold temperatures. It also had an under-dash reserve oil tank in case the driver ran out of gas.
On top of all this, the car was only one of three production vehicles that had four-wheel hydraulic brakes, which dramatically reduced stopping distances. This was one of many safety initiatives which the car pioneered. Among others were fender-top mounted dual-beam headlamps, a “horn annunciator” to indicate the car was backing up, and a clear vision windscreen.
The car was also fully convertible – its roof was separated into three sections which converted the car into a town car, a car with a skyward view, and a car with a rear landaulet. The car also had pivoting windows, an open baggage compartment, and a nifty golf-club carrier in the back.
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| 1921 Heine-Velox |
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| 1925 Stutz |
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| 1921 Daniels |
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| 1928 Oakland |
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| 1927 Stutz |
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| 1923 Ford |
Up next were the “30’s Classics” (the name explains itself).
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| 1931 Cord |
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| 1933 Auburn |
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| 1934 American Austin |
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| 1933 Hupmobile |
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| 1932 Chrysler |
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| 1932 Cadillac |
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| 1936 Packard |
One of the coolest parts of the museum was the glass-walled auto-body shop inside the museum where all the work on the cars is done. It was cool to look inside and see them at work.
Around the side and back of the museum were old outdoor-mobiles, including the first snowmachine!
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| They called it a “snow-motor” |
The museum was very cool! I was surprised I had lived so long here in Fairbanks and never visited it! If you’re in Fairbanks in the summer, check it out, it’s a must see!
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