By Robert Tate, Award-Winning Automotive Historian and Researcher
Images Courtesy of Brooks Stevens Archives and the Robert Tate Collection
Published 10.16.2024
The Brooks Stevens Automotive Museum and Industrial Design office complex (Robert Tate Collection)
For many years, the Brooks Stevens Automotive Museum (pictured above) was a very exciting place to visit. It featured many great-looking and historical automobiles on display.
The Museum opened its doors on September 2, 1959 and always had over 60 classic vehicles on display at any one time. The collection featured popular classics, vintage automobiles, antiques and popular sports cars that belonged to famous people.
1919 Paige Daytona (Robert Tate Collection)
Not many people know who Brooks Stevens (June 7, 1911 - January 4, 1995) was. He was an automotive mechanical engineer and vice president of design for the Cutler-Hammer Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Stevens was also a big fan of auto racing.
1929 L-29 Cord Speedster (Robert Tate Collection)
Over the years, Stevens was a creative automotive designer that was involved in many vehicles. For example, in 1960, he helped design the 1962 Hawk for the Studebaker design team. He also designed the popular 1963 Studebaker Lark Wagonaire model, as well as the compact Jeep XJ-100 Wagoneer, which went into production in 1984 as the Jeep Cherokee. Stevens would help design many other future Jeep products.
1929 L-29 Cord Coupe (Robert Tate Collection)
Throughout his career, Stevens was also an auto collector and a great admirer of vintage and classic automobiles. In 1959, he opened a private automobile museum that became very popular. Many of these classic and historical automobiles had famous owners, including King Alphonso of Spain and automaker Wilbur Shaw. Other rare models on display included a 1927 Hispano-Suiza Town Car and a rare 1963 Excalibur GT Hawk Sports Car.
A 1938 Talbot Lago (Robert Tate Collection)
The Brooks Stevens Automotive Museum was located at 10325 N. Port Washington Road in Mequon, Wisconsin. Stevens said, “A great deal of automotive innovation and aesthetic design is on display, as well as approximately 18 cars in the design of which I have personally had the pleasure of collaborating.”
When the museum first opened its doors to the public, it offered 12,500 square feet of exhibition space. The models on display were part of Stevens’ personal automotive collection. The museum also displayed many great-looking post-war automobiles that many enthusiasts liked and admired.
The 1963 Excalibur Hawk Sports Car (Robert Tate Collection)
Stevens also founded Brooks Stevens Design Associates, an industrial design firm with headquarters in Allenton, Wisconsin, in 1944. Stevens along with Raymond Loewy, formed the Industrial Designers Society of America.
The front cover of the Brooks Stevens Museum brochure featuring a Hispano Suiza Town Car (Robert Tate Collection)
During the late 1980s, the museum served as the construction site for the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile fleet models. The curator for the Museum at the time was Alice Preston.
The 1934 Miller Indianapolis race car (Robert Tate Collection)
On January 4,1995, Brooks Stevens passed away. Unfortunately, the Museum bearing his name closed in 1999 due to a lack of funding. Both Stevens and his museum will always be remembered.
Biography
Stevens, Brooks. “Brooks Stevens Automotive Museum” Catalog.
Lamm, Michael & Holls, Dave. “A Century of Automotive Style: 100 Years of American Car Design.” Lamm-Morada Publishing Co Inc., 1996-97.
Strohi, Daniel. “Lost Museums: Brooks Automotive Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.” Hemmings Magazine.