I'm not a car person. My children aren't car-people. When the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum kept popping up as a highly recommended Fairbanks attraction, I pretty much just wrote it off. I've seen my share of old cars at the shows my papi used to take us to.
I was wrong.
Tucked at the end of a twisty road behind two apartment complexes, the nondescript blue building and its modest sign don't look like much. Inside, lovingly and immaculately kept, are fabulous pieces of history. The first known car in Alaska, built by hand by a young man in order to get to his lady love's house faster than her other suitor. A pair of the first attempts at a snowmachine. Fringed canopies and velvet interiors, ladies' buggies and tiny racecars, rickety crank engines and sleek running boards and glistening chrome--out of the dozens of cars on display, all but three run. Antique costumes and accoutrements relevant to the time-period accompany the vehicles.
What started out as a reason to leave the house became an enjoyable afternoon for its own sake. The girls each had their favorite cars and clothes, and the knowledgeable docent--a shrunken but spry older gentleman--was pleased to have such a boisterous and curious audience for his stories and anecdotes. Only Claudia was less than enthusiastic, but three-year-olds aren't really people and should just be ignored.
There isn't much else to say, so enjoy the pictures. If you ever find yourself in Fairbanks with an hour or so to kill, stop on by.
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