Estes-Winn Antique Car Museum

Estes-Winn Antique Car Museum near Harry's On The Hill in Asheville, NC

The Estes-Winn Antique Car Museum, located at 111 Grovewood Road, Asheville, NC, is steeped in the automotive industry's classic history. Moreover, it was founded by Harry's On The Hill founder Harry Blomberg, an auto aficionado who restored antiquated vehicles to original conditions for history and car buffs alike to admire. "To keep these antique cars in optimal condition, the museum employs two auto mechanics (Carl Shook, 88, and Ralph Godfrey, 78), both of whom are former long-time employees of Harry's On The Hill. They run the engines of the antique cars three times a year to ensure the engines don't seize up from lack of use," reports Graham Hollett in The Laurel of ASHEVILLE, an arts and culture magazine, in an article titled "Step Back in Time at the Estes-Winn Antique Car Museum," found in the March 2012 issue.

The article details the variety of cars available at the museum, from a 1927 LaSalle that was found in the basement of a hotel and has since been "beautifully restored" to a 1913 Ford Model T Touring car with a hand crank. "You'll notice the interior roominess of cars like the 1928 Chandler and the 1938 Pontiac. These were made at a time when people kept their hats on while riding in an automobile and needed extra headroom," Hollett writes. "While the 1926 Limousine does sport some of the amenities available at that time (such as roll down curtains and 'jump seats' for additional passengers), additional options included a bud vase mounted in the back seat, a telephone for the back seat passengers to communicate with the driver, and a cocktail bar. This limousine is still driven today in a few ceremonial parades and exhibited at special functions." Other cars on display in the shop had more practical applications, such as the county sheriff's 1922 REO Flying Cloud. "[The county sheriff] would use flags mounted on the fenders to 'signal' his friends engaged in making moonshine that the 'revenuers' were in town. A red flag signified 'danger-get out of town.' A white flag signaled 'all is clear.'"

The collection doesn't stop at Prohibition-era sheriff's gimmicks, however. "The showpiece of the lower level is a 1922 American LaFrance Type 20 Fire Truck. The truck is chain driven and the headlamp housings are made of solid silver. The radiator and other fixtures are made of silver plated brass. The fire truck was in service in ASHEVILLE until it was retired in 1960 and obtained by the museum," Hollett explains. In addition to the cars on display, the museum is a history lesson in an industry that, to this day, remains tumultuous. "To give you an idea just how competitive and dynamic the automotive industry was in those early days, from 1898 to 1978, 2,600 automotive manufacturing companies were started and ultimately failed. The museum is fortunate to have a collection of select automobiles that survived those turbulent times... This car collection is truly a 'must see' ASHEVILLE artistic treasure, and a mecca for every antique car enthusiast," Hollett writes.

At Harry's On The Hill, we tend to agree.