The Forney Museum of Transportation is a unique, one-of-a-kind museum that is dedicated to the history of transportation. The 70,000 square foot museum features a fascinating collection of over 600 items and artifacts relating to historical transportation, ranging from automobiles, bicycles, and buggies to steam locomotives, carriages, aircraft and more.
Established by Mr. J. D. Forney in 1960, the museum started with just a single 1921 Kissel from his private collection and slowly grew over the years into the renowned institution it is today. Located in Denver, Colorado, the Forney Museum of Transportation’s mission is to collect, exhibit and preserve artifacts and items of historical, cultural and technological interest relating to transportation for both the education and pleasure of the community.
Collection
The Forney Museum of Transportation currently houses a collection of more than 600 items, ranging from motor cars and bicycles to steam trains and fire engines, staying true to its motto of “Anything on Wheels.”
Highlights of the collection include Amelia Earhart's 1923 Kissel 'Gold Bug', an 1888 Denver Cable Car, Union Pacific 'Big Boy' Steam Locomotive #4005, a 1923 Case Steam Tractor, and a Stutz Fire Engine. Other unusual items in the collection include a 500 Piece Matchbox Collection, an array of motorcycles from India made between 1913 and 1953, and a Denver & Rio Grande Dining Car.
Unique pieces in the collection include the ‘1916 Detroit Electric Opera Coupe’ – a car produced by the Anderson Electric Car Company in 1907 which was famous for its 'chainless' direct shaft drive, which appealed to mainly women drivers. Another beautiful automobile in the collection is the 1923 Hispano-Suiza Victoria Town Car, a six-cylinder, a six-wheel car built in Barcelona by Leon Rubay that featured in the 1933 film My Lips Betray and other war movies. A 1934 12-cylinder Pierce-Arrow Limousine is also on display, as well as a 1927 Rolls Royce, a 1912 Renault, and a Big Boy Locomotive.
Education
The Forney Museum of Transportation offers an array of tours, including guided group and educational tours. Guided tours are conducted by knowledgeable staff and explore the history of the museum, the interesting artifacts in the museum’s collection, and the history and evolution of transportation. Guided tours need to be booked at least two weeks in advance.
Self-guided tours allow visitors to enjoy the museum and its collection of fabulous items at their own pace. The Museum also offer educational tours, which focus on specific topics and coincide with the educational goals of the Colorado State Educational Standards. Such topics include technological developments and industrial advancements in transportation, including Henry Ford’s assembly line, Westward expansion and industrial development, early technologies and the tools used to make them work, early aviation pioneers, such as Amelia Earhart and Frank Vandersarl, and technology, consumerism, the rise of suburban living and how the motor car is the core of the American lifestyle.
Plan Your Visit
The Forney Museum of Transportation is located at 4303 Brighton Boulevard in Denver is open Monday through Sunday from 10:00 am to 4 pm. Museum parking is available on site and is free.
The Forney Museum offers its facilities to rent for public and private functions from conferences, social gatherings, meetings, parties and more. The main Exhibit Hall can cater for up to 500 standing guests and 350 seated guests in a banquet style, and the Meeting Room has a capacity for 100 standing guests and 60 seated. Amenities in both the Exhibit Hall and the Meeting Room include a special service area and staging area for caterers, a lectern, chairs and tables available for presentations, wheelchair accessibility, and separate space for check-in, gift tables, or silent auction tables.
4303 Brighton Boulevard, Denver, Colorado 80216, website, Phone: 303-297-1113
