New England Motorcycle Museum

The New England Motorcycle Museum is a motorcycle museum located in Rockville, Connecticut.[4]

New England Motorcycle Museum
New England Motorcycle Museum is located in Connecticut
New England Motorcycle Museum
Location in Rockville, Connecticut
Established2018[1]
Location200 West Main Street, Rockville, Connecticut, U.S.
Coordinates41.865546°N 72.460127°W / 41.865546; -72.460127
TypeMotorcycle
Visitors10,000 (2019)[2][3]
OwnerKen Kaplan
Websitewww.newenglandmotorcyclemuseum.org

History

The museum in the Hockanum Mill, a 207-year-old textile mill that had been abandoned in 1951. In 2013, Ken Kaplan, founder of the museum, purchased the 11-acre property and began to restore to use to house his computer company and motorcycle dealership, and to establish a motorcycle museum.[5][6] The restoration of the building took just under seven years. The exterior and interior of the building had to be restored, and debris on the property had to be removed. Fifteen 50-gallon drums of lead paint chips and arsenic were removed from the building.[7] Over $6.5 million has been spent on opening the museum, including $4 million in state loans and donations from the Town of Vernon.[8] The museum grand opening was held on August 25, 2018.[9]

Collection

The New England Motorcycle Museum has nearly 200 vintage motorcycles, dating from 1920 to 2021, making the museum the largest collection of vintage motorcycles in the Northeast, and one of the largest motorcycle museums in the country.[10] The museum contains motorcycle memorabilia as well as a motorcycle library.[11]

References
  1. Vasile, Zachary. "Motorcycle museum to open doors Saturday". Journal Inquirer. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  2. Buckler, Matt. "Rockville's Ken Kaplan gets his own Discovery show". Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  3. Dehnel, Chris. "Vernon Motorcyle Business Featured On Discovery Channel Show". Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  4. Altman, Jim. "Motorcycle museum set to open in Rockville". fox61.com. Fox61. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  5. "Hockanum Mill - Vernon". ct.gov. Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  6. "New England Motorcycle Museum". Gluseum. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  7. "New England Motorcycle Museum In Home Stretch". RIDE-CT. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  8. "New England Motorcycle Museum Stalled". RIDE-CT. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  9. "New England Motorcycle Museum Finally Opens". ride-ct.com. RIDE-CT. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  10. "New England Motorcycle Museum". New England Motorcycle Museum. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  11. Dunne, Susan. "A Look At Six Of The 200 Bikes You'll Find At Connecticut's New England Motorcycle Museum". courant.com. Hartford Courant. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
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