Greg O’s Garage: An “S” from the Long Island Automotive Museum Sign
Henry Austin Clark Jr's Long Island Automotive Museum in Southampton is long gone, but a very small, visible piece of the original sign lives on.
Greg O.
1948
When Henry Austin Clark Jr. opened the Long Island Automotive Museum in 1948, the building simply used a painted sign on the building.
1952
Within the first few years, the original sign was removed, and individual letters stretched across almost the entire front of the building seen here in 1952, four years after opening.
1992
After sharing his automotive collection with the public for 32 years, Austin Clark closed the museum permanently in 1980 due to declining revenues.
For the next 37 years, the vacant quonset huts deteriorated from neglect and rust with letters falling off the front of the building with the first few gone by 1992.
2009-2011
Cut from plywood, the 16 inch remaining letters are still hanging on almost 20 years later in this 2009, and the next 2011 photo.
2019
Finally being sold for $5.1 million in 2017, the building sat for a few more years until the buildings all came down.
This photo from 2019 was one of Howard Kroplick's last visits to the site before the buildings were demolished. Most of the letters were gone by this time.
Looking at the building from the street, Howard noticed one of the sign's letters on the ground on the right-hand side of the building and salvage a piece of the once great museum. One of the 2 'S' letters, with this one probably from the 'muSeum' portion of the sign due to tits location towards the right.
A little white paint to clean it up and its ready to be displayed again at Waterfront at Roslyn Garage as one of the last remaining artifacts of the actual building.
2019 Visit
2022
Comments
Every moment of my visit with my Brother and my parents remains gratefully etched in my memory. I was about ten years old. The cars on display we’re dreams come true. There were parts to a Bugatti scattered on the side of the building including the grille and front emblem. The gift shop was precious. I bought some treasured postcards, a plastic model of the Maserati that won Indy and a Gilmore Special Indy winner for my Brother Dennis. We even ate our homemade lunch in the parking lot in front of the building. I recall being especially thrilled when the museum was featured on the cover of Road&Track;. My son Gram still has that Model of the Maserati. We also treasure the postcards. Hang on to that S! Maybe it can be used in a future sign for a future Long Island Car Museum!
I love that you have the “S” letter, Howard. Thank you for showing the time series of the building. While his exceptional collection of vehicles have been long dispersed, Henry Austin Clark Jr.‘s amazing literature collection still exists at the Henry Ford Museum- I have had the pleaure to access it.
Could you tell me about some of the unusual cars that were on display when the museum was open?
Only made one visit, but I loved that museum!
I was there in the mid 60s with my parents.
I still remember that glass entryway. The gift shop and the Amazing cars. I remember it being a bit dark inside this building. My dad bought a blue bugatti type 35 MOY matchbox car for me. We were treated to a ride on the Stutz firetruck on some dirt roads behind the museum.and I had a blast with the hand crank siren.there were some double decker buses kind of abandoned that I checked out in the back as well.
Years later in the Mid 80s I found it abandoned but still an ancient Gulf tanker truck from the teens parked outside rusting away….some great memories there - thanks for the article!
Long Island has 2 great aircraft museums, Cradle of Aviation and American Air Power (and for anyone who doesn’t know, the latter, at Republic Airport, has a number of planes that still fly), but no automotive museum. I wish we did, perhaps on Museum Row - this one closed 12 years before I moved to Long Island.