The history of the CAM started in 1982 when a group of volunteers came up with the idea of having an automobile museum in the Sacramento area. Within days of the initial meeting, the California Vehicle Foundation was incorporated and a year later it was approved as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
As luck would have it, around this time, Edward Towe, owner of the world's largest and most complete collection of Ford vehicles was looking for a new venue to house his collection. It was soon arranged that most of the Towe collection would move from Montana to California.
1986 saw the conversion of a 72,000 square foot warehouse into a Museum and the arrival of Towe's vast collection. That year, the Museum celebrated its grand opening and a legacy was born. Since then, the Museum has incorporated all makes and models into the collection. In 2009, to reflect this change the Towe Automotive Museum became the California Automobile Museum.
The California Automobile Museum is a spacious 72,000 square foot Museum, home to over 150 vehicles of various makes and models, ranging from the early 1900s to alternative power vehicles of the future.
The Museum's mission is to preserve, exhibit, and teach the story of the automobile and its influence on our lives.
The Museum is open daily from 10am to 6pm, taking the last admission at 5pm and stays open until 9pm every third Thursday of the month.
Phone: (916) 442-6802
Karen McClaflin / Cell (916) 505-9262
Fax: (916) 442-2646
2200 Front Street
Sacramento, CA 95818