BOYERTOWN MUSEUM OF HISTORIC VEHICLES TO HOST ITS 58TH ANNUAL DURYEA DAY

BOYERTOWN MUSEUM OF HISTORIC VEHICLES TO HOST ITS 58TH ANNUAL DURYEA DAY


Saturday, August 31, 2024 – The Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles is pleased to announce it will host the 58th Annual Duryea Day on Saturday, August 31, 2024 from 9 am to 3 pm at the Boyertown Community Park, located at 419 South Madison Street in Boyertown. Each year the Museum, in partnership with the Pottstown Region A.A.C.A., hosts an antique & classic car & truck show and flea market, intended to strengthen community ties and raise important funding for the Museum’s operations and the maintenance of its collections and facilities. Hundreds of vehicles will be on display throughout the park, and, for the first time, the Brandywine Baseball Club will play two games of baseball according to rules enacted by the National Association of Baseball Players on December 9th, 1863 (commonly referred to as “1864 rules”). The featured vehicle make this year is the Volkswagen. Members of the Lehigh Valley Dutch Dubbers will display their vehicles. This year’s show will also feature several delicious food trucks and vendors including Johnny’s Pizza, Moyer’s Catering, Mister Softee, Cosmic Kettle Corn, and Helpings Hands. Day-of-show registration for show vehicles is also available—all makes, models, and years are welcome.

Spectator admission is $10 for adults, free for ages 12 & under. Spectator admission includes both the Park and Museum. Shuttle service is available between the Park and the Museum throughout the event.
Event attendees should stop by the Museum, too. New to the Museum’s collection: an early 20th-century “Tip Top” tourist cabin. Acquired in August 2023, this example of early roadside architecture has undergone extensive restoration and is now on display in the Museum’s main gallery. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, tourist camps and courts were common overnight accommodations for newly budding motorists. Earlier hotels catered to the needs of railroad travelers and were often located in big cities, so these camps began popping up along major roads to accommodate the needs of those traveling on roadways. In their early days, the structures that populated the camps were typically singles, hosting one person or couple at a time, and looked and functioned like one-room homes. As these lodgings became more popular, business owners expanded, offering more units for rent and modern amenities, like phones, gas, cafes, swimming pools, and sometimes air conditioning. These more modern accommodations began to be known as tourist courts. The term “motel”, a combination of “motor” and “hotel”, implying more available space, was popularized in the 1940s. “Motel” and “tourist court” were both used through the mid-century before the latter fell out of popularity with the general public.

The 58th Annual Duryea Day is sponsored locally by Truist, Gabelsville Athletic Association, Quigley Bus Service, Morell Funeral Home, and Suburban Water Technology.

The Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 1965 by Paul and Erminie Hafer. The Museum, located at 85 South Walnut Street in Boyertown, Pennsylvania, preserves and displays examples of Pennsylvania's road transportation history in the former factory buildings of the Boyertown Auto Body Works. Over ninety locally manufactured cars, trucks, carriages, bicycles, and motorcycles are on display, as well as three examples of roadside architecture--a 1921 cottage-style Sunoco gas station, a 1938 Jerry O'Mahony diner, and an early 20th-century “Tip Top” tourist cabin. The Museum is open seven days a week, 9:30am-4pm. Contribution rate is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and AAA members, and ages 12 & under are free. For more information, call 610-367-2090 or visit www.boyertownmuseum.org.

Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles
85 South Walnut Street
Boyertown, PA 19512
610-367-2090
Facebook: Boyertown.Museum
Instagram: boyertown_museum
www.boyertownmuseum.org