Ok, I’m excited!! Ever since I saw the movie Tucker: the Man and his Dream I’ve always wanted to see a Tucker up close. I’ve never seemed to be at the right place at the right time to see one in person. However, today I was innocently browsing the latest edition of Via Magazine (the AAA magazine) and noticed a review of several car museums in the west, including one from Spanaway, Washington, called the LeMay Museum. Why someone would put (or leave) a collection of cars once listed as the largest on the planet by the Guinness Book of World Records in Spanaway doesn’t entirely make sense to me (not knocking Spanaway, just can’t imagine there’s a ton of traffic to support the museum).
Now, this really surprises me since I spent 4 years of my life haunting the Tacoma (Tacoma melts into Spanaway) environs while finishing my undergrad degree at the University of Puget Sound. Yet, not once did I ever hear of the LeMay Car Museum the entire time I lived there. Moreover, it’s not too far from my sister’s place in McKenna, Wa, so the next time I’m there I will grab my young nephew and go check out the cars. And, among the cars, is the 7th Tucker ever made (pictured above). Too cool :-).
HOLY CRAP .. I just checked out their About page. Here’s their grand plan for a new museum adjacent to the Tacoma Dome on 9 acres: “Upon completion, this $100 million project will be the largest auto museum and attraction in the world …” Make sure to check out the video at the bottom of the About page!
Yep…Harold Lemay passed on a few years ago and left alot of his collection to the city of Tacoma providing they come up with a place to house it. Lemay was a trash collector… You still see garbage trucks with Lemay’s name. Lemay held a car show anually that my dad, myself and my grandfather attended a few times when I was alot younger. Amazing the size of Lemay’s collection. You had to get on bus and visit numerous large buildings where he had cars stored after visiting the show on his estate. Great times and ones I look back on with fond memories.
I guess the phrase, one man’s trash in another man’s treasure, kind of takes on a new meaning.
I gotta say, Tacoma is dreaming BIG with a project scope that matches the size of Lemay’s collection. I’m thinking of approaching this group with my idea, framing it to them as a nice dovetail to what they are doing, but housed in a different city in the Northwest. The draft of my business approach is similar to theirs, except I would limit the scope to the 4×4 world; also, it’s a story that differs a bit from the story they are telling.
– Dave
The museum is actually only a couple blocks east of the main drag through Spanaway ( Pacific Ave I think ) and a few miles from Fort Lewis. I was there about three or four years ago. Lots of cool stuff including trucks. And we didn’t even get to see everything. I had girlfriend that was into cars and she didn’t know about the museum even though she lived 10 minutes from it. I really enjoyed it.
Opps ! I should have said McCord AFB, not Fort Lewis.
You are correct; Fort Lewis is right there too .. you have to drive through Fort Lewis to get to the Roy/McKenna/Yelm Area from Spanaway. McCord is nearby somewhere as well, though I’m less sure where that is (and am too lazy to look it up at the moment 🙂 )
– Dave