Travel

A Visit To The National Corvette Museum

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National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky

The first night’s stop on our northwest road trip was Bowling Green, KY.  And thanks to making good time on I-40 and to gaining an hour with the move into the Central time zone, we arrived in time to visit the National Corvette Museum.  It’s hard not to love the Corvette, even if you are a long-time Ford fan.  The museum is nicely done, with an excellent collection of Corvettes from all years, along with concept cars and a scattering of other makes from the early years.

National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky
National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky
National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky
National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky

One thing I had forgotten about was that in 2014 a portion of the museum floor collapsed into a huge sinkhole, sending 8 priceless cars plunging into the abyss.  The sinkhole has been filled in and the floor has been rebuilt.  Several of the cars were damaged beyond repair, but they were returned to their original place in the museum as they were recovered.  A frightening sight and reminder not to mess with nature!  The museum’s website has some information about the sinkhole and the exhibit they created to tell the story.  It’s pretty interesting, especially the timelapse of the effort to fill in the hole!

1984 PPG Pace Car. Cars damaged in the sinkhole collapse on February 12, 2014 at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. These cars were deemed to be unrepairable but were returned to their original position on the floor once the building was repaired.
Cars damaged in the sinkhole collapse on February 12, 2014 at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. These cars were deemed to be unrepairable but were returned to their original position on the floor once the building was repaired.

An unexpected bonus of our visit was a display of cars and car art by legendary artist Ed “Big Daddy” Roth of Rat Fink fame.  I remember idolizing his work as a kid along with cars by designer George Barris, and I’m pretty sure that at one time I had built plastic models of a few of these cars.  That was a long time ago!

“Rat Fink” exhibit – custom cars and art by legendary car designer and artist Ed “Big Daddy” Roth at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky
“Rat Fink” exhibit – custom cars and art by legendary car designer and artist Ed “Big Daddy” Roth at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky
“Rat Fink” exhibit – custom cars and art by legendary car designer and artist Ed “Big Daddy” Roth at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky
“Rat Fink” exhibit – custom cars and art by legendary car designer and artist Ed “Big Daddy” Roth at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky

I’ve posted a sampling of photos from our visit here on this page, but for those who want to dig deeper I’ve created an album from our trip on my Adobe Portfolio page and have added a gallery of more photos from the museum.  Enjoy!

I would have brought this one home with me but I wanted a red one. 🙂

 

6 thoughts on “A Visit To The National Corvette Museum”

  3. I like the look of Corvettes, though more the older models than the later ones which to me, are losing the ‘Vette look a little and becoming a little more generic looking. But I would not say no to that white one, that’s for sure 🙂
    Must have been a fun place to go through.

    1. It’s interesting, isn’t it, that despite all the tools available to designers these days the cars have all started to look the same, at least to the casual eye. The new Corvette looks like any other supercar at a glance. But you don’t have to look at the name plate to identify an older Corvette, Mustang, Camaro or other classic.

      And yes, if it had been offered I would not have turned down the white one. But for money? Red all the way! 🙂

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