Auburn Cord Duesenberg
Automobile Museum
Honoring America’s Classics in Auburn’s original Art Deco masterpiece
ByMatthewLitwin•PhotogrAPhybyriChArDLentineLLoD
etroit may be considered the
home of American automobile
production, but a sizeable
epicenter of the industry was
positioned inside the borders of Indiana.
Consider this: The 2½-mile Indianap-
olis Motor Speedway was long respected
as one of the most demanding proving
grounds the industry relied upon during
the prewar era, accompanied by 249 other
motorsports facilities within the Hoosier
State. Joining these colosseums of speed
were no fewer than 357 manufactures,
82 of which were located inside India-
napolis alone.
Hoosier natives included Blackhawk,
Overland, and Stutz; Waverley, Ander-
son, and Elcar. Many were mere meager
attempts on paper. Most have been nearly
forgotten. Others, like Studebaker, are
both fondly remembered and critiqued
back into hypothetical existence. Then
there were the few manufacturers that aretruly world renowned: Auburn, Cord, and
Duesenberg.
Coveted by many, owned by few,
the trio often represent the pinnacle of
American styling and engineering among
countless enthusiasts. Spoken of in rever-
ence, their stars shined brightly during
the Art Deco era and a troubled fiscal
environment.
There was more to the story beyond
the obvious, and that history has been
ceaselessly conveyed and celebrated at
the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile
Museum. Based in northern Indiana, in
the town of Auburn since its founding in
1900, the facility is far from a contempo-
rary, purpose-built memorial. Advertised
as the “Home of the Classics,” the campus
includes three structures that are a story
unto themselves, beginning with a Service
and New Parts Department building
constructed by 1923. The latest structure
housed an inventory of new parts and adistribution center on the basement level,
while the ground floor served as work-
space for the construction and testing of
experimental cars.
Within the year, Errett Lobban Cord
was hired as Auburn’s general manager
to reverse the company’s foundering
fortunes. Cord’s contract carried a cost
beyond his modest income: first refusal to
purchase controlling interest if successful.
By the close of 1925 production, Auburn
output had nearly doubled—to 4,044
units—and, by 1927, it had risen beyond
14,500 cars. Now in control of Auburn,
Cord launched his expansion plan with
the construction of another edifice in- Aptly named the Cord L-29 build-
ing, it coincided with the front-wheel-
drive’s creation and introduction for 1929.
The ground floor was utilized for the final
preparation and shipment of new L-29s
while the basement became another space
for experimental development. After pur-
museumprofile
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