PARKLAND, Wash. — There’s a custom roadster that pays tribute to shock-rocker Alice Cooper, an art car in the shape of a woman's stiletto, and a truck Robin Williams drove in the movie Toys.
These are just some of the vehicles you'll find at Lemay Collections at Marymount. They’re joined by more than three-thousand automobiles that caught the eye of Harold “Lucky” LeMay who made his fortune getting rid of other people’s garbage.
When he died in 2000, his widow Nancy decided sharing the world’s largest private collection of automobiles with the public was the best way to honor her husband.
“He always said ‘I don't smoke. I don't drink. I only have one vice and that's vehicles and automobiles and trucks’,” she laughs.
Some of that collection can be found in Tacoma at LeMay-America’s Car Museum. But this place is different.
For one thing, they offer Model T driving lessons at the old military academy. And you will need lessons. Tin Lizzies have the accelerator on the steering wheel.
A visit to LeMay Collections in Parkland is like going on a giant treasure hunt through your most eccentric neighbor's garage, if your neighbor owned thousands of cars, that is.
Harold LeMay wanted to preserve history, of all kinds.
In fact, this collection isn’t just about cars. There are showrooms set up for
70 motorcycles, 300 radios, and 400 boat motors.
Sensory overload? Sure.
But you'll also get a sense of the man who left it all behind.
“Like everybody said, life with Harold was an adventure,” says Nancy LeMay.
LeMay Collections at Marymount is open Thursday through Sunday for both guided tours and self-guided tours.
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