America's Packard Museum

History

The building is a restored Packard dealership transformed into a museum that displays twentieth-century classic Packards and historic Packard artifacts and memorabilia. Originally, The Citizens Motorcar Company sold Packards in Dayton, Ohio beginning in 1908, and moved into what is now the museum building in 1917. Robert Signom II, the museum's Founder and Curator, acquired the building in 1991 and painstakingly rehabilitated it to its original Art Deco grandeur. The original 20' tall porcelain and neon Packard sign, removed from the building in the early 1940s, returned to its former position at the corner of Ludlow and Franklin Streets in 1992, for the grand opening of the museum. Since that time, the museum has grown in size and stature, winning the James Bradley Award of the Society of Automotive Historians in 2004. Car Collector magazine has also named the museum one of its "Top Ten" automotive museums. More than 50 cars are on display, from 1900s Brass Era cars to the streamlined Classic cars of the 1930s and 1940s, and modern Packards of the 1950s, as well as war machines, parts, accessories, and original sales and service literature. A notable highlight of America's Packard Museum is the original Articles of Incorporation of the Ohio Automobile Company, which later became Packard. The museum is a Section 501(c)(3) organization under the Internal Revenue Code. It is open 12 noon to 5pm, seven days a week, year round, and is closed only on Christmas, and New Years Day.