Entry No. 13 — the Butte file — filed under: offbeat-museum
Piccadilly Transportation Memorabilia Museum
This is the public showcase for 25 years of transportation memorabilia hoarded by collectors who hit more than 100 countries chasing license plates, highway and subway markers, advertising art, and petroliana. Vintage cars including a Volkswagen Beetle and an Edsel sit among the road-sign clutter. Admission is free with a suggested three-dollar donation, and the whole thing has the obsessive, jammed-shelf feel of a single fixation taken to its limit.
The story
In an 1892 brick building on West Broadway that previously housed a furniture shop, lodging house, and theater, someone took the urge to hoard roadside culture past sane limits. Founded by local historic building restorer Jeff Francis, the Piccadilly Transportation Memorabilia Museum acts as a public sanctuary for a quarter-century of relentless transit scavenging. The core collection pays tribute to master collector Roy Alan Carson, who spent decades traveling across all 50 states, every Canadian province, and over 100 countries to haul back thousands of license plates, petroliana, and transit markers.
What you step into is a dense, physical shrine to a century on the move. Vintage iron like a Volkswagen Beetle and an Edsel sit wedged among original gas pumps, enamel oil logos, Burma-Shave roadside posts, and subway shields. Walls are smothered knee-to-ceiling in international license plates from vanished jurisdictions and remote corners of the globe. The environment is so unfiltered that film scouts emptied modern fixtures to shoot scenes here for the Western series 1923, dressing the interior as a 1920s car dealership.
What it's like
Step off Broadway Street and you are immediately squeezed between rows of floor-to-ceiling enamel, reflective metal, and aged chrome. There are no slick touchscreens or velvet ropes—just narrow pathways flanked by bumper-to-bumper relics where a vintage Edsel sits under a canopy of highway signs and gas pumps. It has the obsessive, unvarnished feel of a private vault where every available inch of wall space carries a license plate you've likely never seen before. Admission is free, though dropping three dollars in the donation box is standard courtesy. While summer hours run Memorial Day through October 1, schedules can be irregular, so call ahead before heading up the hill.
The move: Wander the road-sign maze together and challenge each other to spot a license plate from a country neither of you can place.
📍 Before you go Open Memorial Day through October 1, Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; off-season by appointment only, so call ahead (406-723-3034) since hours can be irregular.
- 📍 Uptown Butte
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 20 W Broadway St, Butte, MT 59701
Hours: Added 2026-06-24 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Old Butte Historical Adventures - City Underground Tour — Walk down Broadway after examining road signs to explore what lies beneath Uptown's sidewalks in a preserved Prohibition speakeasy.
- Under the Gallus Frame Antique Mall & Mercantile — If staring at decades of collected roadside gear triggers your own urge to scavenge, head around the block to browse multi-vendor antique stalls.
- Mai Wah Museum — Trade vintage license plates and auto signs for local history at a museum set inside Butte's historic 1899 Chinatown buildings.
- 51 Below Speakeasy — Cap off your sign-spotting tour by descending a staircase into a hidden basement cocktail bar tucked beneath The Miner's Hotel.
Good to know
How much does it cost to get in?
Admission is free, though there is a suggested donation of $3 to help cover upkeep and display maintenance.
When is the museum open?
Regular operating hours run from Memorial Day through October 1, Monday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. During the off-season, tours are available by appointment only by calling 406-723-3034.
Can you buy license plates from the museum?
Yes. While the display items stay put, the operators sell thousands of surplus vintage license plates online through their site, felix2.com.
Was the museum used as a movie set?
Yes, the interior was converted into a 1920s automobile dealership for location filming on the Yellowstone prequel series 1923.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · Roadside America · southwestmt.com
last checked: 2026-06-24