Entry No. 12 — the Boston file — filed under: antique cars
Larz Anderson Auto Museum
America's oldest continuous car collection, housed in an 1888 Carriage House modeled on the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire, holding 14 of the original 32 motorcars amassed by Larz and Isabel Anderson starting with a 1899 Winton Phaeton — the couple's first 'horseless carriage.' Isabel's will bequeathed the whole Brookline estate to the town on condition the fleet stay together forever as the 'Larz Anderson Collection.'
The story
Most people buy a car, drive it until the transmission dies, and trade it in. In 1899, diplomat Larz Anderson and his heiress wife Isabel bought an 1899 Winton Phaeton—a four-horsepower 'horseless carriage'—and decided that when they were done driving it, they would simply park it in their stable and leave it there. They repeated this habit year after year, amassing 32 brand-new motorcars alongside their horse-drawn carriages and sleighs. To store the fleet, they hired Boston city architect Edmund M. Wheelwright in 1888 to design a brick carriage house modeled on the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire in France, outfitted with wood-paneled interiors and marble-lined stalls.
When Isabel died in 1948, her will left the entire 64-acre Brookline estate to the town under one strict condition: the vehicle fleet had to stay together forever as the 'Larz Anderson Collection.' That single clause turned an ultra-wealthy couple's refusal to discard their toys into America's oldest continuous car collection. Fourteen of those original pre-1930 motorcars still sit inside the exact carriage house where Larz and Isabel parked them, spared from the sterile white pedestals and glass barricades of typical modern automotive museums.
What makes the building genuinely strange isn't just the age of the vehicles—it's the friction between Gilded Age aristocratic luxury and early automotive trial-and-error. Walk the floor and you're looking at primitive steering tillers, brass carriage lamps, and leather seats shaped like Victorian parlor armchairs. You didn't hear it from us, but while most locals treat the property as a standard weekend park, the real draw is inside the dark, heavy carriage house, where the original mechanical survivors still smell faintly of turn-of-the-century gear oil and brass polish.
What it's like
Pulling up to 15 Newton Street brings you into a 64-acre public park, but heading toward the carriage house feels like stumbling onto a French chateau dropped into South Brookline. Inside, the vibe is dim and quiet, scented with vintage leather and oil; you can walk right up to the permanent 14-car Anderson fleet parked in former horse stalls, then head upstairs to inspect penny-farthing bicycles and rotating exhibit displays. On summer weekends, the lawn outside gets packed for loud, crowded car shows, so if you want to inspect early brass-era controls in peace, visit on a quiet weekday afternoon. If you trailer a car in for a weekend lawn event, note that trailer parking is strictly banned inside the park grounds—you'll have to unload and park the trailer out on Newton Street.
The move: Walk the 64-acre park, then step into the chateau-style carriage house to pick a favorite among the pre-1930 motorcars and carriages, and picnic on the lawn afterward.
- 📍 Brookline
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 15 Newton Street, Brookline, MA 02445
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Forest Hills Cemetery — Pair the Andersons' preserved Gilded Age auto fleet with a walk through a 275-acre Victorian garden cemetery less than two miles away holding Daniel Chester French's eerie 'Death Staying the Hand of the Sculptor' bronze.
- Franklin Park - Overlook Shelter Ruins — Follow up a tour of Brookline's preserved French-chateau carriage house with a short drive to Frederick Law Olmsted's 1890s stone field house ruins in Franklin Park.
- Coolidge After Midnite (Coolidge Corner Theatre) — Contrast daytime turn-of-the-century automotive history with late-night cult genre screenings inside an Art Deco former Universalist church in Coolidge Corner.
- Warren Anatomical Museum — Match early brass-era mechanical oddities with 19th-century medical specimens on display at Harvard Medical School's free upper-floor gallery in the Longwood Medical Area.
Good to know
How many of the original Anderson family cars are on display?
Fourteen of Larz and Isabel Anderson's original 32 motorcars remain at the museum, displayed alongside their horse-drawn carriages and sleighs.
Do I need to pay museum admission to walk around the park?
No, the surrounding 64-acre Larz Anderson Park is a free public park with walking paths, a pond, and skyline views; admission is only required to enter the carriage house museum.
Why is this considered America's oldest car collection?
Starting with their 1899 Winton Phaeton, the Andersons never sold or scrapped their retired vehicles, keeping them continuously preserved in the same 1888 carriage house where they remain today.
What is the rule for bringing a vehicle trailer to a lawn event?
Trailer parking is strictly prohibited inside Larz Anderson Park; drivers must unload inside the grounds and park their trailers out on Newton Street.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · Wikipedia · Reddit
last checked: 2026-07-20