This September, car enthusiasts will have a chance to own some incredible pieces of automotive history. After nearly 15 years of existence, Chicago’s iconic Klairmont Kollections will be closing its doors on September 14, 2025. A handful of days later, on September 19, the museum’s incredible collection of about 295 cars will roll across the Mecum Auctions block. Along with them will be over 1,000 pieces of road art. It’s a sad end for one of the greatest car collections in America, but the historic cars will get to live on with collectors.
I visited the Klairmont Kollections for the first time last year, and I was simply blown away. This museum is nestled between the sprawl of America’s Second City, and when you approach the Klairmont Kollections building, it doesn’t even look that special. Then I stepped inside and discovered cars that I did not know even existed. I found other cars that I thought had been long lost to time. While the Klairmont Kollections might not have the eclectic nature of a place like the fabled Lane Motor Museum, this museum has historic cars that you are unlikely to ever see again.
Chicago car enthusiasts noticed something odd about the Klairmont Kollections earlier this summer. The museum’s site had a statement saying: “We apologize for the inconvenience, but the museum is closed until further notice.” Meanwhile, the museum’s social media accounts had been deactivated, and the official website link died. The Klairmont Kollections is a staple of Chicago car culture, and everyone wanted to know what was going on. As it turns out, the museum is preparing to sell its collection in a gigantic Mecum auction. The museum is slated to reopen, just in time to close for good.
This is all very sad. I love reading and writing about car and motorcycle history. There are innumerable vehicles that would simply not exist anymore had it not been for museums preserving their history. These vehicles aren’t just rubber and steel, but they tell stories, and transportation museums keep that history alive for generations to learn about.
The Klairmont has cars that you just don’t see anymore, like a 1947 Tatra T87 and icons like a replica Tucker ’48. The museum even has a slew of bombastic autos that never entered production, like the 1962 Vortex X-2000.
I wrote about that car when I last toured the museum:
Jerry Woodward, one of the greatest creative car builders in the U.S., started with a 1952 Lincoln V8, designed it for a 3-wheel design, a delta shape, and other futuristic features. It took Woodward six years to assembler and complete the design of this Vortex, building this vehicle for the streets and highways of Utah.
Jerry Woodward claimed the vehicle can take a 90-degree turn at 60 mph, though there is no proof of this. The Vortex has a tubular steel frame in the front of the vehicle for safety purposes, the headrests contain radio and TV speakers, electric fans are linked to the V8 engines with thermostatically controlled temperatures.
Only one Vortex was ever made, and it was originally named the X1970-Vortex. It was renamed to the X-2000 to emphasize that the vehicle was a look into the future at the time. It’s been in the Klairmont collection since 2013, and it’s one of the vehicles slated to roll across the auction block. This is a car that you just won’t see anywhere else,e and who knows if it’ll ever be seen again once it gets sold to a collector.
This is going to be the case with so many of the rare vehicles contained within the Klairmont Kollections. Thankfully, the public will have one last shot to get a look at these fine rides. I will try to be one of those people and take one last look at a legendary collection before it’s sold off. I might even try to buy something, too.
There isn’t yet a public-facing explanation for why the museum is closing, but it likely has to do with the fallout of its founder’s passing. Larry M. Klairmont passed in 2021 after a life of thrilling adventures, and his museum, which was officially opened to the public in 2018, was passed on to his family. Now, Klairmont’s collection and legacy are being passed on to other enthusiasts.
Klairmont’s story sounds like the American dream. Here’s what I wrote last year:
Larry M. Klairmont was born in 1926 to a poor family. As a boy, he worked odd jobs selling shoes and delivering Chinese food to help support his family. At 16, he enlisted in the military and found himself on the battlegrounds in World War II. Reportedly, Klairmont fought in the deadly Iwo Jima and Saipan battles. He came out of the other end of his military service with two Purple Hearts, two Silver Stars, and a Bronze Star.
In 1952, Klairmont was able to take advantage of America’s post-war boom by opening the famed Imperial Cleaners. The enterprise quickly grew to 100 stores and for a decade was Chicago’s largest dry cleaning business. It wasn’t long before Klairmont found a new passion: Real estate. Klairmont started by buying the oldest building in Highland Park and then refurbishing it. That became a whole business under the name of Imperial Realty Company. Klairmont would find historic buildings in and around Chicago, restore them, and put them on the market. If you live in northern Illinois, chances are you continue to see Imperial Realty everywhere. The company leases space to such big names as Dollar Tree, Walmart, and Subway.
The fortunes from Klairmont’s businesses allowed him to donate to charitable causes, but also to live his childhood dream of collecting fascinating cars. According to the Chicago Tribune, Klairmont studied cars while making his Chinese food delivery runs as a kid. When he returned home from the war, his first car was a 1935 Plymouth. That was only the start. Later, he’d buy a 1951 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn. The Chicago Tribune notes that Klairmont hated how the car drove and how it didn’t even have heat or air-conditioning, but people around Chicago couldn’t get enough of his $9,000 Rolls. Klairmont soon learned that some cars could be investments as his Rolls-Royce went from being a relatively inexpensive car to being worth $125,000 or more.
Like many car enthusiasts, Klairmont became hooked and began collecting tons of cars that he enjoyed with his wife, Elaine, for an incredible 57 years. Elaine would pass in 2008, and two years later, Klairmont met Joyce Oberlander.
At the time, Klairmont had been sitting on a huge collection of 600 cars, which were stored in Klairmont’s numerous properties spread out all over Chicagoland. Oberlander, who would become the co-creator of the Klairmont Kollections, suggested that Klairmont put all of his cars in one place. Klairmont apparently loved this idea and chose a 100,000-square-foot building that used to be a printing facility. The Klairmont Kollections was established in 2011, and at first, it was open to charities and community groups. Then, the Kollections became a non-profit museum and fully opened to the public.
How awesome is the Klairmont Kollections? It hasn’t even been fully open to the public for a decade, yet, for many enthusiasts, it’s easily one of the coolest museums in the nation. I’m with those people. Sadly, all great things come to an end, and Chicago will miss the Klairmont.
The Auction
Thankfully, while the museum will be closing, Klairmont’s legendary collection will go on. Mecum is hosting the Larry’s Legacy: From the Larry Klairmont Collection auction on September 19, ending on September 21. Mecum says:
This auction celebrates the lasting impact of the late Larry Klairmont, whose lifelong passion for preserving automotive history led to the creation of one of the most extraordinary car museums in the country. Headlining the collection is the legendary Golden Sahara II, a futuristic custom car icon that captivated America’s imagination in the late 1950s, and the one-of-a-kind 1926 Rickenbacker Eight Super Sport that is believed to be the only example still extant today.
With an incredible array of rare, unique, and historically significant automobiles and collectibles, the Larry’s Legacy auction will stand as a fitting tribute to Larry Klairmont’s memory and vision, offering collectors and enthusiasts the opportunity to own a piece of his remarkable story.
Mecum has published the incredible list of cars that will be sold next month, and here are some highlights. Each caption contains a link with more information.
2002 Lincoln Continental Concept Sedan
1937 American Bantam Frankskar Roadster
1947 Tatra T87
If you love your vehicles with fewer than three wheels, you’re in luck, because Klairmont loved collecting vintage Vespas. A ton of them will be crossing the auction block, and I have my eyes on a few of them.
Nearly all of the vehicles in the Klairmont Kollections are in spectacular condition. These are cars, microcars, and scooters that pretty much don’t exist anymore in the shape that you’ll find them in the Klairmont. Sadly, this means that it’s unlikely that many of these vehicles will go for prices that the average enthusiast can afford. If that sounds like you, the museum is also selling off over 1,000 pieces of road art. Those pieces, as well as the little scooters, will probably go for prices that you and I should be able to pick up.
As of right now, the Klairmont Kollections museum is in a weird state. It’s officially no longer open. However, the museum is slated to crack open its doors for just two more days, September 13 and September 14. It’s that time, Mecum says, when bidders will be able to see the vehicles in person before the auction. These two days will also be the final two days that the museum will ever be open to the public before its permanent closure. Ticket sales from the final two days will benefit the Larry’s Legacy Foundation. Mecum says to visit its Larry’s Legacy: From the Larry Klairmont Collection page, as more details will be added soon.
So, if you want to catch the greatest car collection in Chicago and one of the best museums in the nation, you have only two days left to see it. I’m considering hosting an Autopian meetup that weekend, so stay tuned for more information.
Museums are awesome. Museums also have expenses. In a world where so many care little for preservation of the past I fear we’ll see this repeated again and again. I personally think there’s great value in museums and keeping those things of the past where people can see them and learn. The value is definitely not monetary and I fear most only think monetary value is all that matters.
I don’t know what they did to promote that museum while it was in operation, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
I’ve been to Chicago dozens of times over the last two decades and never heard of this place until now.
I feel the same way — I LIVED in the Chicagoland area and never heard of this place.
They had a display at the auto show a couple years ago, which was the first I’d heard of them after living in the city for 20 years.
Same, I’m within driving distance and have driven farther for dumber stuff.
I’ve lived in the Chicago area for 35 years and didn’t hear about the museum until a few years ago. Something about it popped up in my Facebook feed and I was like “There’s a car museum in Chicago?” I looked it up and was shocked by how much stuff they had, so I made sure to visit. They did start becoming more active on social media and getting their cars out to various events, but yeah, it really was a hidden gem.
I guess there’s no comprehensive list of items yet? “as more details will be added soon.”
Not that I could afford any of the cars, the Gremlin is cool. But maybe the art pieces, Chicago is only 4ish hours away.
It looks like they have updated the Lots on Mecum.
That said, the first time I loaded them, a lot of cars were missing. Five minutes later, and they all popped up. Weird.
Had the opportunity to see several museums that unfortunately closed after the owner died. The cars end up getting sold and into new collections. There was a museum in Tupelo Mississippi and the private collection of Richard Kughn were both great collections that I got to see.
they should just move the museum to DC or something where there are already a bunch of cool and free museums.
What a shame. Sad how many collections turned museums don’t survive the passing of their founders.
I have never heard of this one, and it’s much newer than my time in Chicagoland so I wouldn’t have had a chance to visit (I went to law school at NIU when dirt was new).
So. The museum was only open a few years.
That’s 7 years already!
I’m pretty sure I saw the Golden Sahara II at the Petersen in LA last week. It must have been on loan.
That’s what I thought too, I saw it there in June. The mecum link confirms it’s currently on display there.
Interesting assortment to be sure, but I can’t be sad about anything that spells collection with a K.
/pedant
You have no idea how hard it was to intentionally replace ‘C’ with ‘K’, but I’ll forgive the museum because it is so cool. 🙂
I heard that if you override autocorrect to leave the “K” it puts you into “dumbass mode” and changes ALL the C’s to K’s.
I get the ick reaction but I think it’s a riff on Kustom Kulture (as in hot rods and related aesthetics), not the other thing.
There’s a ’72 Citroën SM to be auctioned. I had a ’74, and I’d love to have another one in my life, but I’m not sure about all the work and potential heartache that goes with that.
I’m 3.5 hrs away and have never heard of this place. Wow.
As I’ve been told, many museums like this, ones that showcase the collection of a single individual or family, they operate at a loss to be a tax write-off for the costs associated with the storage facility and the vehicle upkeep costs. When the owner of the collection dies and their assets move into new hands, the new owners often just see a money losing business and need to liquidate.
That purple ’70 Super Bee. I would do questionable things to acquire it.
I now see where early Hot Wheels got all of its designs.
Awe man! I’ve been meaning to go see that place. This will be the second time I’m seeing a museum on it’s last weekend before it gets auctioned off, thanks to your stories. I’m definitely going that weekend.
That’s a shame, they had an interesting snf diverse collection.
I had some deings with them over the last few years and the vibe was kinda weird the last few.
They would be super into events and promotion and then radio silence and pop up with new contacts and renewed enthusiasm.
I am very interested in what the story behind it closing is, I had been under the impression they had significant operating capital…
I wonder if family prefers money over museums…
Agreed – the diversity of the collection was what I loved. I’m not a classic American Iron guy, so a museum full of that doesn’t work for me, but I love to see some of them and then turn my head and see a Tatra
It’s funny that you mention the 1947 Tatra. When I visited, it was on the 2nd floor parked next to some kind of red Ferrari. I work and commute in an affluent area, so I see Ferraris pretty often. I basically ignored the Ferrari, but made sure to check out and photograph the Tatra. It was funny to see such different cars right next to each other.
sad to be the bearer of bad news, but the 300SL is a replica…
https://www.mecum.com/lots/1151423/1955-mercedes-benz-300sl-gullwing-replica/?aa_id=704100-0
Yikes. Those proportions are… unfortunate.
And 4X4 ground clearance!
Oh! ew… and not a good replica, either. Damn.
Was wondering why it had GM Rally wheels on it. Oof.
Yeah, I just saw that. There is always the Jaguar coupe or the Espada.
I think my second choice is the Espada.
It’s a real shame that this is happening. Based on grapevine rumblings it sounds like it was a combination of internal politics and money that led to the closing. Such a fun collection, it’s a shame it’s getting broken up.
Ah, heirs wanna inherit. As in money or properties. Unless one wants to continue the family business, whatever it might be, they’ll almost always just want to cash out. And this? Loses money but lots and lots of valuable assets? Yeah, they can’t get out from under it fast enough.
I have simple tastes. A silver over red Mercedes 300SL gullwing for me, thanks!
I’ll be bolder and ask for the blue and tan tartan seats. Much obliged.
Sadly I think we’re going to see this more as the people who curated these collections pass away and their relatives either can’t or don’t want to continue operating them as museums. We already lost two car museums in the L.A. in the last two years alone for this reason.
Few seem to have made long term operational preparations unfortunately.
When the family has to have a conversation that goes something like, “Do we continue running Dad/Uncle/Grandfather’s car museum in his honor even though it doesn’t make much/any money or do we sell and divide the cash?”, unless they are SUPER into cars, the answer is quite clear.
Even as a car guy, it’s an easy choice for me. I’d keep a dozen or fewer of the ones I think I’d actually drive and cash in on the rest.
Yes, the one in El Segundo (Automotive Driving Museum- they would take visitors out for around the block drives in vintage cars) and the Mullin. I think some of the most important ones from the Mullin went to the Petersen. Any others closed that I am missing?
I am also surprised at the number of private collections that open upon request to car clubs. Lots of hidden treasures in tilt up buildings
Those were the two I was referring to. I never made it to the Mullin, sadly, but spent a fair bit of time at the Zimmerman, including getting a ride in a couple of classic cars.
We spent a delightful day at the Mullin. An older gentleman basically gave us a private tour lasting several hours in which he shared decades of knowledge about these rare cars.
I want to be there – birthday gift to ME. Maybe stop by your train museum as well. Been a couple of years since I’ve been to Chicagoland.
I love that the last photo mentions the Bricklin and completely ignores that 300SL behind it. That is the most Autopian thing I’ve ever seen…
-50 Autopian points for ignoring the Espada in the background, though.
Or the Talbot Lago Teardrop coupe.
I really wish the rich guys who found museums would take the time to set up an endowment so their museums don’t die when they do.
The worst example of this is Paul Allen. At least his Flying Heritage museum was sold mostly intact to a new owner, but much of the Living Computer Museum ended up in the dumpster.
Yeah, Paul Allen was a sad case. Not a lot you can do if your heir is also your executor, doesn’t give a crap, and is determined to get at the money.
My god there was more than enough money in his estate for ANYONE!
Personally I’d be off the radar, living comfortably on some lush island somewhere. Travelling and seeing the world as suited.
Seems like there’s two kinds of wealthy people: “never enough” and never heard of ’em.
I’d prefer the latter, no desire for fame or to be fawned over. Drive the Volvo 240 Turbo Wagon and the W116 S Class. Quality is luxury.
Yeah, I’d donate most of it and rarely be seen on the plenty-enough-to-get-by left. Except when I’d tour Europe in my Iso Grifo, of course.
I worry about the Lane long term, pray he has made provisions. Same with Leno.
I believe Jay Leno has worked something out involving the Audrain
One of my friends bought the Burroughs L5000 from the Living Computer Museum auction and got it shipped out to Ohio. Luckily, his project Miata was roadworthy at the time (previously missing both an engine and a transmission) and so he was able to stage the thing in his garage until we could take it apart to haul up his apartment stairs a piece at a time…
We’ve been able to power up the hard drive interface cards and see binary data coming out, but now he’s neck-deep in reversing the actual system boards and backplane to determine what the actual bits mean…
It is still a shame that the LCM collection couldn’t stay together, but it does sound like a different museum bought everything that didn’t get auctioned off, so at least it didn’t all get scrapped:
https://www.geekwire.com/2024/paul-allen-estate-sells-remaining-living-computers-artifacts-and-systems-to-museum-near-atlanta/
The world needs more bubble-topped cars. Imagine fitting a bubble to convertible Geo Metro with an LS swap.
Oh my gosh. Someone needs to make this happen.
I’m saddened that you made no mention of the Cyclops II replica at the front of the microcar line, it makes me feel like a very old man.
Since you’re here Mercedes, we could go with a bubble-topped Smart ForTwo. Might need to extend the hood a bit for that LS swap tho.
Not a bubble top exactly, but I remember seeing pics of a Metro that had the roof compressed onto the left side with a flat panel over the former passenger side. A bubble would be a lot cooler (figuratively, definitely not literally), but I don’t think the builder had aesthetics as a high priority.
That Tatra is so freaking cool.
…also, I would give a kidney to have that Goggomobil as an autocross car.
Sounds like a death trap, you might want to keep that kidney just in case