PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — A true hidden gem is tucked away in the Gateway Center Business Park just off U.S. 19 in Pinellas Park.
The Tampa Bay Automobile Museum is full of antique cars as part of a family-owned collection. In total, they have 83 cars in the collection and usually about 75 on display.
"There's cars here that you won't see anyplace else. In fact, 13 of these cars are one of one the only ones in the world, either the only ones made or the only ones left. But in all cases, they're very unusual cars that you would rarely see in any museum in North America," Allen Morin, Tampa Bay Automobile Museum Director said.
The museum has been in Pinellas Park for years but they constantly get people who are just finding out about it.
"I worked for 20 years, two miles from here for a car magazine, and I had no idea this was here until I retired and drove by here and walked in," explained Morin. "I thought I knew a lot about cars until I came in here, and it was a humbling experience. So we get that a lot for people that are around here that this is a hidden treasure."
Everything you find inside has a story.
"This is unusual in such a small community. And it's not on a big highway or, you know, this big prominent location. So it is unusual. The technology behind some of these cars, people think of modern cars technology like hybrids or electric cars. We have cars here that are over 100 years old that have hybrid technology, similar to what you would see in a Prius today, or a Tesla. We have those cars being made in Ohio over 100 years ago. So we have a lot of astonishment when people come in. And they had no idea that that was existing not only at all but made in Cleveland, Ohio in some cases," said Morin.
General Admission is $12. Click here for more information
