The Wheels of Yesterday Museum was located on Route 50 about a half west of town in the old Villani Furniture building. Opened in 1996 to house Granville Trimper’s collection of antique and classic cars, it was a popular tourist attraction in West Ocean City. At its peak 45 vehicles were on display.
Items in the museum included Jack Benny’s 1917 Overland, a 1929 Ford fire engine, a 1955 Nash Metropolitan and local legend Bo Ruggerio’s 1964 Rolls Royce. In later years, an eye-catching double-decker Greyhound Scenicruiser bus was parked beside the building.
Antique gas pumps, kiddie pedal-cars and slot machines from Ocean City’s World War II era were also on display while a gift shop rounded out the Wheels of Yesterday Museum.
The museum closed following the 2012 season and the building was later demolished. Today a motel occupies the site of one of Ocean City’s unique attractions.
To purchase one of Bunk Mann’s books, click over to www.vanishingoc.com.
Photo by Brandon Seidl