We heard there was an interesting automotive museum in South Bend so we decided to check it out when we were in South Bend this week. The Studebaker National Museum consists of three floors that display everything from carriages, wagons, automobiles, "sleighs", military vehicles and trucks. The first thing I noticed when we entered the museum was how well the air conditioning worked! It was at least 95 degrees when we arrived. We bought tickets to both the Studebaker and History Museum (which included a tour of the Oliver Mansion adjacent to the museum). I was amazed to learn the earliest Studebaker automobiles were electric and had an approximate 70 mile range. I tried to learn how charging was accomplished but was unable to. There was a display of carriages along with some presidential carriages including the one that transported Abraham Lincoln to the Ford Theater the night of his assassination. Of huge interest was seeing the evolution of automotive design through the years. It could be argued that many cars today look alike. That certainly was not the case 50 or more years ago. Studebaker manufacturing sites were in South Bend, Detroit, Chicago and Hamilton Ontario with the last car coming off the assembly line in in 1966. This was an excellent way to spend a few hours. The museum also includes a gift shop and snack bar. read more

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This is a well done museum and there is also a history museum inside. Worth a stop. There also a mansion next door that you can tour.

While visiting my hometown of South Bend, IN, I had the chance to experience this local museum. The Studebaker Museum building is shared with the South Bend History Museum. It has a cafe, plenty of on-site parking and tours are available. Its main focus is to tell the automotive history of the Studebaker company and its vehicles over the years. One of the "National Treasures" is the carriage Abraham Lincoln rode to Ford's Theatre the night of his assassination. There are several other U.S. Presidential carriages also on site, as well as many models of the various Studebakers produced throughout the years. The museum is handicapped-accessible and has three floors of exhibits. There is an elevator as well as wide staircases. Hours of operation are Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday noon to 5pm. There are various categories of entrance fees (adults, seniors, children, etc.) which are quite reasonable. It truly is an excellent museum experience! read more

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Like the Ford museum in Detroit... this place is full of transportation stuff.... We spent 2-3 hours looking thru this place. So cool... well worth the visit for any motor head or the avid car enthusiast. Please... check it out read more

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My family loves this museum. We visit it on the same day every year and we look forward to it all year long. The muppet car is our favorite car there. My teens have a photo from when they were very young in front of the muppet car and want to recreate the photo when it is restored and returned. When they were younger they enjoyed the mechanic play area! We also love the Bonnie Doon area and the cars from the '50s. I could do without the wagons. I work for a nonprofit with disabled adults and Studebaker staff have been extremely generous with letting us bring clients to the museum. This is greatly appreciated, as finding fun, accessible age appropriate places can be a challenge. Studebaker is a wonderful asset to the South Bend community. read more

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A spectacular museum. Never knew how cutting edge the company was. Amazed they built an EV in 1907! Staff were great. Gorgeous cars. read more

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This was the second trip for my friend, and my first. He wanted to go back because the first time through, he only photographed the cars and did not take time to read the plaques. He sent me a full set of his car photos, so when I went, I was able to find other angles and plaques that interested me. I am a volunteer at another car museum, taking photos and walking the exhibit floor, so I know about car museums. I've also visited many. From this experience, I can say that this is an excellent museum. The displays are open curated well and easy to photograph. Mixtures of plaques to read for information, plaques with historic photographs and the cars are a nice balance. But wait, there is more. This is not just one museum but TWO. There is a history museum as well. Exhibits there on our visit told about Notre Dame, Great Lakes Shipwrecks, and a tribute to Knute Rockne. All kept my attentions. We did not allow enough time to see the final basement exhibit. Better planning for the next time is needed. They have a snack bar, which was nice. In the gift shop, I had the chance to get some early Christmas shopping in. read more

Wow...who would have thought this place holds an amazing collection of carriages to cars produced by the Studebaker family. So much history. Truly an amazing, fun, stop. Carriages made for Licoln, Grant, McKinley. Race cars Protypes, army, sports car family cars from 30s, 50s and 60s. We'll worth a couple of hours. A hidden gem. read more

Studebaker National Museum - Cars from Al Capone days. - Museums Near Me - South Bend, Indiana

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AWESOME. I had low expectations going in, but I still never made it through all of the museum. I saw all the Studebaker stuff and was so impressed by the sheer volume of displays and information available. This is an ALL DAY LONG experience. Take it all in! Truly fun stuff. Lots for the kids to do if you have 'em! read more

This museum was better than anticipated. I'm not a car person, but even I found some things to get excited about. I grew up in South Bend and thought I had seen and knew it all about Studebaker, but the museum does a great job showing you not only the cars, but telling the stories. We had a blast. My only regret was not having time to visit the other half of the museum. Lucky for me, having family in SB means I'll be back so I'll get to visit again! read more

I really enjoyed my visit to the museum, definitely set aside some time to explore. There's plenty to see, from Studebaker vehicles to dollhouses, women's baseball, and other local exhibits. Everything was interesting and worth checking out. read more

Wealth of history is to be found in this museum! I love small town car museums and this is my favorite by far. There are 3 levels of vehicles to see and so much to read. I enjoyed the interactive displays the most such as the floor panels where we could walk over to see what floors felt like decades ago. Great and timeless experience for all ages. read more

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They a great collection and a very friendly staff. I highly recommend a visit. You will be pleasantly surprised by the amount of vehicles on display. read more

I know nothing about cars, and I enjoyed my time at the Studebaker National Museum! You should take my review with a grain of salt, because not only do I not know anything about cars, but I know even less about Studebakers, so my experience is from an outsider's point of view. We visited the Studebaker National Museum with young children, and they had a nice time looking at the pretty, shiny cars. There are three floors of cars! They're all arranged according to decade, so you can start at the top floor and make your way down through history. Ground floor is where kids can play! There's a pretend car that kids can work on and change tires, replace a muffler (at least, I think it's a muffler) and do other mechanic-type stuff. It kept my kids entertained for several minutes. In fact, I had to drag them away from this area so we could leave. This museum is located in the same building as The History Museum, so you can hit both in the same visit, if you wish. read more

We were in the area and decided to stop for a visit. If you are in to vintage cars, this is the place for you. I learned about the history of the company, including that they started making horse wagon. read more

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Learning about the Studebaker family and to see the carriages and gorgeous automobiles they produced over 114 years is an amazing experience. Plus, they have the carriage that Lincoln took to the theater on the night he was shot; what an amazing piece of history! read more

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I have zero car knowledge, but even I can appreciate the display at the Studebaker Museum! It's so satisfying seeing the rows and rows of cars through history. Every inch is so informative, with signs and displays pointing out notable moments in the company's timeline. Unlike museums in large cities, this one was so comfortable to browse because it didn't feel like we were being herded around in large groups of tourists. Highly, highly recommend a visit! read more

Studebaker National Museum - Museums Near Me - South Bend, Indiana

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Awesome layout and history. Brought back memories of the farm equipment and old horse carriages and old cars.

What a great experience! Anyone who has a moment to spare while passing through South Bend will find that moment well-spent here. Sadly, to some - perhaps many - the name Studebaker probably rings no bell. Having closed it's doors more than 55 years ago, the few remnants of what were once impressive vehicles are in collectors' hands. And here. While visiting relatives here, thanks to $49 flights on Southwest Airlines from LAX to MDW, we were encouraged to give it a shot. Museums in CA have all been closed for the past year thanks to COVID. This is a true piece of history that was so important to the South Bend region for far more than a century. I had no idea they began by making wagon wheels, then wagons, buggies, and electric cars long before making gasoline powered cars. And I don't ever remember seeing any of the beautiful vehicles of the 1920s and 1930s that bore the "S" hood ornament. My mom owned a 1950 "bullet nose" coupe before she married my dad in 1951 ... because she used to have a photo of herself standing next to it. And I can vividly remember the day I saw my first Avanti on the street in Woodland Hills, CA as an 11-year-old ... a snow white beauty! Too bad they don't have the room to display the entire collection ... I would gladly have spent another couple of hours taking it all in. There is genuine transportation history here, including buggies, broughams, barouches, and Phaetons that carried US presidents, including the one that carried Lincoln to Ford's Theater one fateful spring evening. But that's not all. There is a gallery dedicated to the Oliver Chilled Plow I never knew existed, an exhibit dedicated to the All-American Girls' Professional Baseball League founded by William Wrigley (when women weren't men), of which South Bend had one of the four teams, and an exhibit called "Voyages" that carries one through several hundred years of American history and innovation. The only COVID casualty here was closure to visitors of the Studebaker home adjacent to the museum at the corner of Washington and Chapin. But still a magnificent example on the outside of hand-cut stone masonry. Don't pass an opportunity to visit a truly NOT BORING museum. read more

Studebaker National Museum - Studebaker House, South Bend, IN -- 6 Mar 2021 - Museums Near Me - South Bend, Indiana

Wonderful walk through history and handicap accessible! Really enjoyed looking at all the restored cars and military vehicles! The History Museum is also really cool with a close look at women's place in baseball! Even a Kalamazoo team uniform on display! read more

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If your a car enthusiast, an American History fan, or have $8 and are looking for something to do, than the Studebaker National Museum is for you. To gain access to the museum, you have to first enter the Center for History Museum's entrance and purchase your ticket and then make your way down the hallway to the Studebaker Museum. The museum consists of three levels: Main Level- Offers a small cafe for snacks, a gift shop, and the Beginnings to 1934 cars and carriages. The first stop is a photo op for you to take your picture in a Studebaker Car, so have your cameras ready. As you walk through this section, you will learn about the early history of the company. The selection of cars includes a variety of offerings, including as of late July 2014, they are showing some of their President collection, as well as the President Carriage collection which includes Presidents Grant, Harrison, Lincoln, and McKinley carriages. Lower Level- The primary display on this floor consists of Studebaker's contributions to the Military, including a water wagon. To your left as you enter, you will see a two level rack that houses cars that are currently not on the main floor displays. Upper Level- This is one of my favorite levels. It displays cars from 1935- present. One of the best sections is towards the back. It is a mock 50/60s drive in and even has a small counter with a few bar stool seats to sit on. There is a working jukebox with selection of the "latest hits" to listen to. It costs. $0.25 for two songs or $0.50 for 5 songs, so bring your quarters along if you wish to hear some tunes. Also on this floor, you will find Fonzzie Bear driving a Studebaker used in one of the Muppet's' Movies. Overall, the Studebaker Museum is worth the time and money to see. read more

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I enjoyed walking the three floors to learn about a brand that started with horse-drawn wagons and progressed to architectural pieces of art that were once called cars. When you see the cars of the 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s, you wonder why our cars are so boring in design. Chrome, etched glass, gloss finishes, and curves made the cars of those times modern pieces of ART in comparison to the car brands of today. Personally, I miss the art read more

What a spectacular collection of an iconic automobile. The company history and significance in the growth of the country was fascinating. I hope to get back to South Bend some day and go through this extraordinary museum again. read more

Visited the museum while in South Bend and really enjoyed it! Lots of vehicles and history in this building to look at, the displays are nicely laid out and very informative. Everything is very clean and well taken care of. It was a wonderful way to spend the day! read more

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My high school graduating class had our 40th reunion here recently. Amazing collection housed in this museum. Highly recommended!

This museum is a car enthusiasts dream and even offers interesting tidbits for those not as into cars. The museum starts off with wagons and carriages which is very intriguing to see. They give a lot of interesting facts regarding all the exhibits. Even if you're not a car fan, there are still so many interesting historical facts. The presidential carriage exhibit is so amazing to see and just imagine that that is what presidents rode in. Just seeing how life was years ago is just so interesting. The rest of the museum has no shortage of cool cars and fun facts. There's even an exhibit for military vehicles. We spent HOURS in here reading every fact board and looking at all the exhibits. You could glance through quickly and still be amused by the vast array of exhibits from carriages to cars to the military exhibit to design drawings. There are even some interactive portions where you can step on different examples of what roads were like in specific eras and a display car that is available to sit in for photo opts. read more

Cool museum but a little depressing in how a company can go from thriving to out of business because they wouldn't hold out to the unions so 7000 people lost there jobs because of greed well enough of my ranting great selection on studabakers 3 levels they also have the carriage that McKinley and Lincoln were in just before there assassinations (bummer) read more

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Great place to visit for car buffs, great collection of Studebakers from every era. The history behind this company is extremely interesting. read more

This museum has so many fun spots..car history extraordinaire, the Oliver house (farmers would recognize this as a top plow brand) and also the local home of the All American Professional Girls Baseball League. The museum more than exceeded my expectations! read more

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There are some neat cars and motorcycles on display, but a museum's first job is to educate. Sadly, the Studebaker National Museum does a poor job of this. Just a month after my visit, I can't say I know that much more about Studebakers or the Studebaker factory that I didn't know already. I can say that the museum gives horribly short shrift to the workers who built the cars. You know, the people who actually made the company profitable and without whose often exploited labor the Studebaker brothers could never have risen to national prominence? Did you know that the first UAW local, which actually predated the UAW itself, was founded in nearby Mishawaka, which was also the location of one of the country's first sit-in strikes? Now you know, but you don't know because of the Studebaker Museum; I know because I read it in a magazine. One would think that a museum might be interested in presenting, even broadly, the Studebaker Corporation's historical, changing relationship with its labor force. What effect did labor policies have on the workers, on the company's bottom line? How did the company interact with the union? Did that relationship change over time, with different leadership? You'll find the answers to none of these questions. Studebaker's demise is presented as the direct result of changing tastes. Because people's tastes just change overnight, and multimillion-dollar corporations don't try to keep up with or influence those changes--nope, nothing to see here. Thousands of people lost their jobs because hundreds of thousands of other people simply changed their minds. In the hallway that leads from the front desk to the museum itself, there are hilarious historical excerpts from local newspapers. Take some time and read these. You might learn a lot more about Michiana than from anything you'll read in the museum itself. read more

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Another amazing Indiana car museum, the Studebaker Museum is full of important cars (and wagons, and carriages) made by Studebaker. I knew little about the company other than the name, but now am becoming an enthusiast. The museum is well laid-out, the cars are nicely restored, information is plentiful (sometimes including notes on the restoration, the first I've seen,) and the staff is helpful. The price was reasonable, $8 I think, and well worth it. Next door is a local history museum which I unfortunately didn't have time for. But I'll be back, for it and for another visit to the Studebaker one. read more

Here I thought we were just going to see some great American automobiles that defined the post war time. But no, not at all, this is a real full scale museum with a wonderful house museum attached, and a local history museum as well. So Car Guys, your not so automobile thrilled other halves will have something to enjoy, as you look at some amazing cars. You will plan to spend a few hours there, then once there you will spend the whole day there. The tour of the Oliver House, is amazing, and a real glimpse into the life of an industrial giant of the golden age. The Studebaker Museum, is really great. Did you know they started out making wagons, or that they believed that gasoline engines were not the way to go, but electric was? How about the Mr. Ed Show in the early 1960's was all about marketing the Studebaker. Plus plenty of examples of their product line, lots of great exhibits, including special ones, while we were there, there was one on kids designing cars, and a traveling one on cars of the stars. Because of the traveling cars of the stars exhibit, the hall was pretty crowded, and I would have liked a more chronological display of the products and the evolution of them. Plus it would be nice if they had an audio tour that you could take. Lots of memorabilia about the marque. Also visit the club room to touch and feel current owners and enthusiasts. I would suggest staying at the Oliver House Bed and Breakfast, just around the corner, it is perfect combination with the tour of the Oliver Mansion, and you could not choose a better location. read more

Had the opportunity to attend a wedding reception at the Studebaker Museum. The $8 entrance fee was waived for the attendees. In addition to the reception, the entire museum was open to the guests to tour at their leisure. The displays were very informative. The many cars and other displays showed the evolution of the company and its cars. They displays also describe the impact that Studebaker had on South Bend. Interestingly, Lincoln's carriage - the one that took him to the Ford Theater that fateful evening - is owned by the city of South Bend and is on permanent display at the museum. The Studebaker museum is a nice walk back into history and a worthwhile tour. If you're in South Bend, try to find time to take it in. read more

This museum can easily be overlooked if you are from this area. It is a great treasure to have in our area. It seems like they're always improving it. You will get a rich history lesson of our Sb and see it as it once was, a booming industrial town. There are a lot of nice stories about Sb and I love the history of it, not many cities have a good back story. I enjoy the Oliver Mansion the most. When the Mansion was donated everything was left inside, even the toothbrushes. read more

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Jiminy Christmas! is what you might exclaim when you see their selection of cars (and if you're 9 yrs old and stuck in the early 50s) 3 levels of studebakers ranging from the beginning to the end. While I was there, they had a display with three of the old indy 500 cars. Want to see the car from the original muppet movie? get to the studebaker museum! It's an inexpensive way to spend a few hour and very nicely laid out. read more

My husband and I enjoyed seeing the history and the Studebaker cars in this museum. We didn't know the background and by the time we were done we felt well informed about the family and the plant. The cars on display were shiny and nice looking. read more

Great history / car museum in South Bend area that is easily a couple hour visit if you take your time to read most/all of the stuff. There is something about this place that is so captivating. read more

Stopped by the museum today. I was quite impressed. They had lots of vehicles as well as Studebaker history. Other brands of cars were there too. The displays were very nice. Everything was clean and kept up well. I spent more time there than I had planned. We also visited the Oliver mansion, which was also on the property (think farm plows). It was an large late 1800's mansion containing most of the original furnishings. The house has beautiful woodwork and is most impressive. Tours are limited in size though, so sign up early. read more

I came here in December of 2012. I toured the Oliver Mansion as well as the Studebaker Museum. The Studebaker was laid out nicely and wasn't too large that you would get bored. Plan to spend a couple hours here and maybe an hour or so for the Oliver Mansion tour. Studebaker had many amazing cars and had a great exhibit on Presidential Carriages including Lincoln's Carriage. Everyone who worked there were knowledgeable and helpful. If you are into antique cars this museum is definitely a must see! Our docent at the Oliver Mansion was great as well. They show you a short movie prior to the tour. The house is gorgeous and it is always great to take in a beautiful piece of history. Since I went in the winter we didn't walk around the gardens, but in the summer I'm sure it is equally as gorgeous. Overall, this is a great afternoon to spend with the family and kids. read more

It's pretty good and enjoyable. They need more Studebakers and less Chrysler minivan(!).