Step Back in Time at Old Car City: America’s Largest Classic Car Junkyard is Now a Unique Open-Air Museum
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White, Georgia – Head north from Atlanta and you’ll find a roadside attraction unlike any other: Old car City, a sprawling 34-acre landscape overtaken by the ghosts of american automotive history. What began as a humble general store in 1931 has transformed into the world’s largest classic car junkyard, and now, a captivating open-air museum.
Forget sterile displays and velvet ropes. Old Car City offers an immersive experience were over 4,000 vehicles - some dating back to the 1930s – are slowly being reclaimed by nature. Trees sprout from hoods, vines creep across windshields, and rust paints a hauntingly lovely patina on rows of forgotten American cars, trucks, vans, and even school buses.
From Store to Museum: A History Rooted in Wartime Scarcity
The story of Old Car City is a testament to American ingenuity and adaptation. During World War II, the Lewis family, who ran the original general store, recognized a critical need: access to spare parts. With resources diverted to the war effort,rubber and metal became scarce. They pivoted,transforming their business into a salvage yard,dismantling vehicles to sell their components.
Initially,the lot held just 40 cars in the 1970s. But over the decades, the collection grew exponentially. The turning point came when current owner Dean “mayor” Lewis made a pivotal decision: to preserve, not dismantle.He ceased selling salvage parts and reimagined the entire property as a museum, a unique art installation where rusted metal and the natural world intertwine.
Meet “The Mayor” – The man Behind the Machines
Dean Lewis, affectionately known as “The Mayor” by locals, inherited a legacy steeped in automotive history. Growing up surrounded by classic cars, he developed a deep connection to these relics of the past.
“The mayor” didn’t just inherit Old Car City; he actively built it. He tirelessly scoured auctions, recycling yards, and private sellers, acquiring crashed and junked vehicles to add to his ever-growing collection.He expanded the property to accommodate the influx, driven by a passion for preservation.
And don’t expect to haggle for a vintage part. “The
