International Towing Museum

Last updated
International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame & Museum
International Towing Museum Logo.png
International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum entrance.jpg
Museum entrance in 2017
International Towing Museum
EstablishedOctober 1995;29 years ago (1995-10)
Location Chattanooga, Tennessee
Coordinates 35°01′01″N85°19′23″W / 35.016923°N 85.323146°W / 35.016923; -85.323146
PresidentGlenn Thompson
Website towingmuseum.com

The International Towing & Recovery Hall of Fame & Museum features restored antique wreckers and equipment from the tow truck industry. Located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the museum also displays related toys, tools, equipment, and pictorial histories. [1]

The first tow truck was created about 3.5 miles (6 km) away from the museum at the Ernest Holmes Company in Chattanooga. The collection of tow trucks at the museum ranges from the early days of the automobile and includes miscellaneous antique toys and memorabilia.

The International Towing and Recovery Museum was dedicated in October 1995 and is a non-profit organization.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Marx and Company</span> American Toy Company

Louis Marx and Company was an American toy manufacturer in business from 1919 to 1980. They made many types of toys including tin toys, toy soldiers, toy guns, action figures, dolls, toy cars and model trains. Some of their notable toys are Rock'em Sock'em Robots, Big Wheel tricycles, Disney branded dollhouses and playsets based on TV shows like Gunsmoke. Its products were often imprinted with the slogan "One of the many Marx toys, have you all of them?"

Tonka is an American brand and former manufacturer of toy trucks. The company was founded in 1946 and operated as an independent manufacturer of popular steel toy construction type trucks and machinery, until its sale to Hasbro in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tow truck</span> Truck used to move motor vehicles

A tow truck is a truck used to move disabled, improperly parked, impounded, or otherwise indisposed motor vehicles. This may involve recovering a vehicle damaged in an accident, returning one to a drivable surface in a mishap or inclement weather, or towing or transporting one via flatbed to a repair shop or other location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Toy Hall of Fame</span> Hall of Fame in Rochester, New York

The National Toy Hall of Fame is a U.S. hall of fame that recognizes the contributions of toys and games that have sustained their popularity for many years. Criteria for induction include: icon status ; longevity ; discovery ; and innovation. Established in 1998 under the direction of Ed Sobey, it was originally housed at A. C. Gilbert's Discovery Village in Salem, Oregon, United States, but was moved to the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, in 2002 after it outgrew its original home.

McKenzie Arena is the primary basketball arena for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) in Chattanooga in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It replaced Maclellan Gymnasium, a 4,177-seat gymnasium now used for women's volleyball and wrestling. Originally called UTC Arena, it was renamed McKenzie Arena on February 21, 2000, in honor of athletic supporters Toby and Brenda McKenzie of Cleveland, Tennessee. The arena opened on October 8, 1982. It was designed by Campbell & Associates Architects with David J. Moore as the on-site architect/construction administrator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AEC Matador</span> Weapon

The AEC Matador was a heavy 4×4 truck and medium artillery tractor built by the Associated Equipment Company for British and Commonwealth forces during World War II. AEC had already built a 4×2 lorry, also known as the Matador in 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artillery tractor</span> Specialized heavy-duty form of tractor unit used to tow artillery pieces

An artillery tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, is a specialized heavy-duty form of tractor unit used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights and calibres. It may be wheeled, tracked, or half-tracked.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pioneer Acres Museum</span> Agricultural Museum in Alberta, Canada

Pioneer Acres Museum is an agricultural and industrial museum located just north of Irricana in Rocky View County in southern Alberta, Canada. The museum is one of the largest agricultural and industrial history museums in Alberta with a collection of thousands of artifacts. Pioneer Acres Museum shares Alberta stories from the beginning of settlement to present day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Farm Toy Museum</span> Toy museum in Iowa, USA

The National Farm Toy Museum is a museum located in Dyersville, Iowa, that specializes in preserving and displaying scale models, replicas, and toys based on farm equipment. The initial idea of the museum came from the founders of the Ertl Company, Dave Bell and Claire Scheibe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of Radio and Technology</span> Museum in Huntington, West Virginia, U.S.

The Museum of Radio and Technology is a museum in Huntington, West Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scammell Pioneer</span> Tractor unit

The Scammell Pioneer was a British 6×4 tractor unit used in World War II as an artillery tractor, recovery vehicle and tank transporter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vehicle recovery</span> Towing and recovery of automobiles

Vehicle recovery is the recovery of any vehicle to another place, generally speaking with a commercial vehicle known as a recovery vehicle, tow truck or spectacle lift.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fire Museum of Memphis</span> Fire Museum in Memphis, Tennessee

The Fire Museum of Memphis is located in Fire Engine House No. 1 on 118 Adams Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. In the heart of downtown Memphis, the FMOM is considered the premiere fire museum in the country, dedicated to documenting and promoting the local history of fire fighting and educating the public in fire and life safety. The FMOM hosts fire departments both nationally and internationally in their quest to emulate their success. Working with the University of Memphis to validate their Fire Prevention Public Education Curriculum, the Fire Museum of Memphis is the first of its kind to capture data, testing their Fire Prevention effectiveness. Local schools are offered free admission with bus transportation reimbursement, drastically impacting a fire fatality rate that was two and one half times the national average when the museum opened in October, 1998. The museum provides interactive exhibits as well as video documentation. In 2014, the museum underwent 1.5 million dollars in renovations.

Buddy L is an American toy brand and company founded in 1920 as the Buddy L Toy Company in East Moline, Illinois, by Fred Lundahl.

<i>Highway Thru Hell</i> Canadian documentary series

Highway Thru Hell is a Canadian documentary television series that follows the operations of Jamie Davis Motor Truck & Auto Ltd., a heavy vehicle rescue and recovery towing company based in Hope, British Columbia. Quiring Towing, Aggressive Towing, MSA Towing, Mission Towing and Reliable Towing are also featured in the series. The show focuses on the hardships of operating along the highways of the BC Interior, especially the Coquihalla Highway (Coq).

The Golden Age of Trucking Museum is a defunct trucking museum in Middlebury, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1998 by Richard and Frances Guerrera, it was non-profit organization dedicated to trucking that focused on trucks of the 1950s. The museum was dedicated on September 23, 2002 and housed in a 32,000 square foot building. It featured a collection of historic and antique vehicles including the first registered car in Connecticut, a 1928 Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company dump truck. Among the trucks in the museum were Mack Trucks, GMC and Autocar Company trucks, including a 1963 Mack B61 motivated Guerrera to found the museum. The Golden Age of Trucking Museum also featured a collection of toy trucks, hats, state license plates and images relating to trucking. Throughout its entire operation, the museum ran a deficit and it closed after a 2009 fund raising campaign failed. The museum's final day of operation was on July 20, 2010. The economic impact of the museums closure was expected to be low, but according to Steven Frischling of the Boston Globe. the Golden Age of Trucking Museum made its mark on the auto world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redland Museum</span> Local museum, toy museum in Queensland, Australia

The Redland Museum is the local history museum of South East Queensland's Redlands region, situated in the suburb of Cleveland. It collects and preserves Redlands' social history to the present day.

Ernest W. Holmes Sr. was born in Hobbs Island, Alabama. He became the inventor of the first tow truck when he fastened various parts to his 1913 Cadillac. He then founded Ernest Holmes Co, which still spiritually lives on through Miller Industries. He later would also serve a term as a member of the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga and the American Society of Automotive Engineers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miller Industries</span> Heavy-Duty Tow Truck Manufacturer

Miller Industries is an American tow truck and towing equipment manufacturing company based in the Chattanooga suburb of Ooltewah, Tennessee. Its primary subsidiary, Miller Industries Towing Equipment Inc., manufactures a variety of light- to heavy-duty wreckers, car carriers, and rotators under several brand names, including Century, Vulcan, Chevron, and Holmes. Miller Industries also operates international brands with Boniface (U.K.) and Jige (France). It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock ticker symbol, MLR.

References

  1. "International Towing & Recovery Museum".