This is rather sudden…
For many, the Sarasota Classic Car Museum in Florida has become a regular pilgrimage to make. After 50 years in the same location, the pillar of car culture is being evicted by New College of Floridaand they have until the end of June to get everything out.
Explore an abandoned car museum here.
If that sounds perplexing, you’re not alone. According to multiple reports, where the museum is currently located is in fact state property. And with New College growing with what the educational institution calls a record-size freshman class, it’s looking to expand. Sarasota Classic Car Museum is officially in the way.
For 20 years the institution of higher education has leased the property to the car museum. Everything seemed to be going well. Understandably, management feels like the rug has been pulled out from under it after being notified of the lease being terminated in May.
Not only do officials have to move the museum cars and other items, they have to pack up and move out the attached dealership and shop. In total, the complex is 55,000 square feet so as you can imagine, there’s a lot of stuff to transport.
Martin Godbey, who runs the museum, told Herald-Tribune that moving a museum can take years and millions of dollars. Since Sarasota Classic Car Museum is small and run as a nonprofit, it apparently doesn’t have much in the way of resources to transport everything, let alone find a new location. He called the prospect of being out by the end of June “a logistical nightmare.”
We’ve seen car museums, just like tracks, get the boot suddenly time and again. It seems like a lot of normies think such places aren’t popular enough to warrant more respect. Sadly, they might be right, unless enthusiasts start to fight back.
Images via Sarasota Classic Car Museum
