Overview

From Carriages to Cars

Learn about the profound impact the car had on American life at the Frick Car and Carriage Museum.

The installation begins with selections from our collection of  Frick family carriages, and through a loose chronological installation explores the transition from carriage to car and its impact on technology, neighborhoods, and our social and personal lives. Highlights of the collection include a Brewster & Co. Basket Phaeton carriage designed for elegant summer outings, a powerful 1909 Stanley Steamer, a custom Rolls-Royce purchased by Henry Clay Frick, and his daughter, Helen’s 1931 Lincoln. Enjoy climbing in and taking your picture in our hands-on touchable Ford Model A.

For wealthy families during the Gilded Age, stables, carriages, and eventually automobiles (and chauffeurs) were necessities. The carriages at the Frick are a unique example of a family collection and illustrate the variety of carriages a wealthy family needed to fulfill social expectations. 

 

Program Information

From Carriages to Cars

Location: The Car and Carriage Museum
Admission:

Admission to the Car and Carriage Museum is free.

Most of the cars in the collection were donated by  local  businessman, collector, and transportation historian G. Whitney Snyder (1921–1999). The cars, ranging in date from 1898 to 1941, illustrate the huge transformation that took place as the automobile became an essential part of twentieth-century life.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, elegant carriages and well-bred horses driven by coachmen gave way to the noisy, fast, and alluring automobile. In the early years of automobile production, design cues were often taken from the carriage styles people were accustomed to, and the gasoline engine was not necessarily the norm. Many independent auto manufacturers around the world tinkered with different methods of powering their cars, and electric, steam, and gasoline powered cars were all available. Manufacturing also was not yet centralized, car production was regional, with small, quirky companies (and large successful ones) all trying to put their own individual stamp on the horseless carriage. The vehicles on display in the Car and Carriage Museum help to tell that story of America at that time of growth and transition.

Exhibition Highlights

Highlights of the collection include a Brewster & Co. Basket Phaeton carriage designed for elegant summer outings, a powerful 1909 Stanley Steamer, a custom Rolls-Royce purchased by Henry Clay Frick, and his daughter, Helen’s 1931 Lincoln. Enjoy climbing in and taking your picture in our hands-on touchable Ford Model A.

1903 Brewster & Co. Basket Phaeton carriage
1903 Brewster & Co. Basket Phaeton carriage
1909 Stanley Steamer
1909 Stanley Steamer
1914 Rolls Royce
1914 Rolls Royce
Helen's 1931 Lincoln
Helen's 1931 Lincoln

It's free to visit The Frick Pittsburgh.