Entry No. 29 — the Phoenix file — filed under: classic cars
Martin Auto Museum and Event Center
A private collector's assembly (now a nonprofit museum) of 170-plus vehicles spanning pre-war classics, muscle cars, hot rods, customs, and rare European imports, each displayed with the kind of engineering backstory only an obsessive owner would bother researching.
The story
Most car collections feel like corporate tax shelters or sterile auction house holding pens. This Glendale repository is something else entirely: a non-profit museum housing over 170 vehicles, assembled through the decades by Mel Martin, a former Phoenix gas station owner who ran the M&M station and put his earnings straight into iron and sheet metal.
What makes the collection worth your time isn't just shiny paint—it's the relentless mechanical granularity on display. Pre-war classics sit alongside raw muscle cars, custom hot rods, and obscure European imports. Instead of vague, PR-approved placards, each vehicle carries the kind of hyper-specific engineering backstory only an obsessive mechanic would bother researching and recording.
What it's like
Stepping off West Thunderbird Road into the massive, climate-controlled showroom feels less like a formal institution and more like gaining access to a private, hyper-organized vault. You're free to wander row after row of vintage metal without velvet ropes forcing you ten feet back. Go on a quiet afternoon, compare decade-by-decade body lines with whoever came with you, and make sure to grab a shot next to whatever low-production oddball is parked on rotation.
The move: Wander the climate-controlled showroom floor together picking out which decade's design you'd actually want to drive, then grab a photo by whichever oddball rarity is on rotation.
- 📍 Glendale
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 4320 W Thunderbird Rd, Glendale, AZ 85306
Hours: Added 2026-07-19 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve — Trade a century of combustion engine design for 5,000-year-old Hohokam and Patayan petroglyphs carved into basalt boulders just four miles north.
- Arizona Doll & Toy Museum — Keep the vintage preservation streak going by swapping full-scale hot rods for century-old tin toys and mechanical wind-ups in old Catlin Court.
- Curious Nature — Balance a floor full of high-gloss automotive horsepower with a natural-history cabinet of taxidermy, skulls, and wet specimens down in the Melrose District.
Good to know
What types of cars are in the museum?
The collection includes over 170 vehicles spanning pre-war classics, muscle cars, hot rods, custom fabrications, and rare European imports.
Who founded the Martin Auto Museum?
It was established by Mel Martin, a collector who originally owned and operated the M&M gas station in Phoenix.
Can the venue be rented for private events?
Yes, the facility functions as both a public museum and an event venue capable of hosting gatherings for up to 500 people.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · everafterinthewoods.com · Wikipedia
last checked: 2026-07-19