The National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa has moved into a new and much larger building. Museum special projects director, Mark Mederski, says they needed more space to show off all the exhibits. “We’re trying to put the machines and the objects in context if you will, give them a good setting so people understand how they played a role in motorcycling, and put more space between the machines as well,” Mederski says.
He says the old building didn’t allow visitors to look at the exhibits all the way around. The museum began in Sturgis, South Dakota and moved to Anamosa in 2001. It includes over 275 motorcycles. They have bikes going back to 1903 and then all the way up to 2002, from all corners of the world. “The American collection is fantastic and probably the strongest, but we’ve go some great machines from England, Japan, Germany, a great collection of military bikes,” Mederski explains.
The displays include bikes from Evel Knievel, Indian Larry and Steve McQueen. Mederski says you don’t have to be motorcycle lover to enjoy the museum. “We’ve got a very significant collection of motorcycle toys, an incredible collection of graphics, including original painting and prints,” Mederski says, “advertising art, advertising signs, things like gas pumps, original packing…American and European trophies, so there are a lot of very interesting objects.”
Mederski says the museum is a work in progress right now as they get everything set up, but he says they are open Monday through Sunday for visitors.
Find out more at: www.nationalmcmuseum.org.
Photo courtesy of the National Motorcycle Museum