Tucson, AZ - Franklin Auto Museum

Gary and I are not car people. To us, a car is what gets you around, plain and simple. We want it to be reliable, carry all our stuff, not cost too much and be comfortable. We have a Jeep Liberty: not cool like a Wrangler nor plush like a Grand Cherokee. Middle of the road. A car: reliable, cheaper, comfortable and it carries all our stuff. Now, my brother’s ego is wrapped up in his TRUCK. And, believe you me, if I err and call it a car, I am quickly corrected.

        ‘It’s a TRUCK, Nancy.’

So, a car museum is probably not our first choice. But. . .

Hidden behind walls, off a dirt road in Tucson is a pretty cool museum dedicated to the Franklin Car which was in production from 1902 to 1934. Difficult to find but a real treat to see all the old cars lovingly restored or in their original state. We had another tour scheduled for 1:00 pm and, since this museum opened at 10:00, we figured we had enough time to visit and enjoy. But, first a bit of history. Of course - you expected this didn’t you?

The H. H. Franklin Manufacturing Company built the most successful American direct air-cooled cars from 1902 to 1934. Throughout its history, it was a luxury brand competing with other up-scale cars of its day and sold about 150,000 cars over its 30 years. Its most sophisticated car, the V-12 came into production in 1932 - right when the Great Depression was taking its toll on American wealth. Franklin’s V-12 was just too large and too expensive for the times. However, the Franklin had quite a loyal following and many of these owners preserved these cars long after production ceased. That’s where Thomas H. Hubbard came into the picture.

The Franklin factory was quite large.

Born January 3, 1925, in Worcester, Massachusetts, he became an engineer but it was restoring old cars where he found his passion. In 1954 he restored his first car, a 1909 Reo - the one on the right. Look at the luggage carrier in back. Classy. And a rag top at that. With a windshield for the rear seat - which was a common accoutrement on luxury cars in the 20’s and 30’s..

Like this rear seat with its own glove compartments, windshield handlebars for those tight corners and arm rests. However, note that, even though there is a convertible top, it does not touch the car. Still breezy with the top down.

After this, he became well-known in the classic car circuit for his attention to detail and fine workmanship. He restored several cars for the late William Harrah, founder of Harrah’s casinos and developed a sizable Franklin collection of his own. When he died he left his home, his Franklin automobile collection, a large collection of Native American artifacts given to him by his aunt and a large endowment to be used as a museum in perpetuity.

Hubbard wanted to preserve “a small but delightful window into our past one that excites the imagination, especially of younger viewers, and helps people understand how things change and how things that may no longer be practical for today’s conditions, yet can be worth preserving for their beauty. Few things do this as well as the automobile.” — Thomas H. Hubbard, April 12, 1992.

And here we are. Our guide was Tom, who has been here for quite a few years. He’s from South Dakota and works here from September when the museum opens to May when it closes for the summer. Ask him anything about Franklins, he knows it. Look how narrow the front windshield is, not much of a line of vision.

This is the main room of the museum with some of the spectacular cars in it. Look at those huge headlights which, being only 6 amps, didn’t light the way very well. The bumpers are pure steel - better than the plastic bumpers we have today. And, those fancy wheel hubs. The car was luxury down to the finest detail.

Here’s our docent, Tom, who’s describing the car in front of us. When the car came, it was missing the leather that held the spare onto the car. So Tom went to a saddle maker to have some new straps made.

And, of course, every car ought to have a place for your golf clubs.

This is a 1931 Sport Phaeton. Those running boards served a dual purpose. They not only gave you a step up to get into the car, they prevented the road dirt and dust and rocks from coming into the car. You’d get pretty muddy if you didn’t have them. Again, note the rear windshield.

Cute little rumble seat and a steel step to get into it. Kinda breezy I would imagine.

Gary’s drooling over this little number. Two tone even.

And, the rear windshield folds down.

Here you can see the directional blinkers, the windshield wipers and the steering wheel on the right - one made for England.

The Franklin automobile fell on hard times during the Great Depression of the 1930s, along with many other fine luxury car manufacturers. It’s new car of 1934 was the V-12 series of which only 200 were built. It was longer, taller, heavier, more powerful than previous cars and - more costly. The grill itself is 4” taller than any other car being made. In the Great Depression? Poor timing.

One car even had seating for 4 in the rear. 2 of the rear seats folded up into the back of the front seats.

After the automobile was developed, there were many who wanted to take their new ‘toy’ across the country and many chose the Franklin for its reliability and sturdiness. One of them was L.L. Whitman I found some descriptions of the trip including this one.

Here’s the style that they drove across country in although this is a 4-seater. And, a hamper on the side.

Here’s how to get into the rear seat.

Here are L.L. Whitman and his partner Caris in 1904 as they arrived in New York City at the wheel of a Franklin after crossing the US from San Francisco in 33 days.

Here are Carris and Whitman in their automobile surrounded by other Franklins.

Driving cross country was considerably different then.



We also liked the car ads on he walls of the museum.

And, there it is - the Franklin Auto Museum. Pretty cool and, even for us two non-car people, a fun find in Tucson. Now we’re off for the Mirror Lab.

“The car industry today is taking a different direction. A Lexus is a fancy, extra nicely finished Toyota. In the 10’s and the 20’s, cars were really different. They had their own personalities. They were like people."