Take a trip to the Edge Motor Museum
The Edge Motor Museum is a “must see”new stop for automotive enthusiasts in Memphis.
Over the past few years, several auto museums have been closing their doors and selling off their contents. Bucking that trend is a new auto museum that opened in 2019 in the Edge District of Memphis, Tenn. The new Edge Motor Museum has some famous attractions nearby such as Sun Records, Beale Street and Graceland, each generating a lot of tourist traffic — including to the Edge Motor Museum. Thanks in part to its neighbors, the Edge Museum is off to a good start.
The Edge Motor Museum is located in a historic building that was built in the 1920s as the Cherokee Motors automobile showroom and assembly plant. The building even has its overhead conveyor track still in place. There are three levels to the museum and despite its age, all levels are ADA compliant.
Bob Watkins serves as museum director and Richard Vining is executive director. Both gentlemen are knowledgeable about all of the display cars and are glad to share information. If they are unavailable, every car is accompanied by an iPad providing information about the car on display.
As auto museums go, the Edge Motor Museum is on the smaller side, usually displaying 20 to 25 vehicles. Most of the vehicles are on loan to the museum, with the oldest during our visit being a 1929 Ford Model A speedster; the newest was a 2005 Ford GT with 521 miles. The vehicles are rotated often so what is displayed one month probably won’t seen the following month or so. The inaugural exhibit is titled American Speed, which tracks the rise, boom, plateau and fall of the American sports car from after World War II to 1974.
The city allowed the closure of Marshall Street in front of the museum for a car show in the fall of 2020 that was very well attended. The museum is now planning shows for Spring and Fall to be annual events. The city also accepted an offer by museum personnel to decorate light poles along Marshall Street during the holiday season. The one-of-a-kind decorations are chrome antique automobile wheel covers inside green wreaths.
Available for purchase in the gift shop are a wide variety of items including model cars, car puzzles, T-shirts, baseball caps and auto-related souvenirs. Candles are sold, with the second most popular scent being Burnt Rubber.
The Edge Motor Museum is a non-profit museum dedicated to the preservation of historic vehicles and education about the history of the automobile. Museum memberships are available and include unlimited visits, library access, gift shop discounts, free use of a meeting area, plus other benefits. Donations are appreciated and are tax deductible.
The Museum is open 363 days a year, closing only on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, and 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Edge Motor Museum
645 Marshall Ave.
Memphis, TN 38103
901-441-2277
edgemotormuseum.com
If you like stories like these and other classic car features, check out Old Cars magazine. CLICK HERE to subscribe.
Want a taste of Old Cars magazine first? Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter and get a FREE complimentary digital issue download of our print magazine.
*As an Amazon Associate, Old Cars earns from qualifying purchases.