Dodgers fans: Start your engines in Philadelphia

If the Dodgers-Phillies series doesn’t get your heart racing, the Simeone Foundaton Museum in Philadelphia just might.

Dodgers fans visiting the city of Brotherly Love for the NLCS baseball playoffs may want to take in the museum, which contains 60 meticulously restored racing cars, including a 1909 American Underslung, a 1916 Stutz Bearcat,  a 1964 Cobra Daytona Coupe and a 2002 NASCAR Dyno Mule, among other works of art.

Even if you’re not a big auto racing fan, these models of form and function are something amazing to behold as studies in engineering and artistry. The opening page of the museum says, “The first race was conceived when the second car was built.” When you look at some of the pre-World War I cars, you may be as startled as I when you realize how closely competition came on the heels of the manufacture of the first car.

The collection was amassed by Dr. Fred Simeone, a Philadelphia neurosurgeon, and opened about a year ago near the airport. If you’re staying through the end of the month, you can watch a Demonstration Day (the last for this year) at which visitors get to see some of the vehicles close up. The Oct. 31 demo will feature the Alfa Romeo Monza and the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900A.

The museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, closed Mondays and open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays. For information:  (215) 365-7233, www.simeonefoundation.org.

— Catharine Hamm/Times Travel editor

Photo: The 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza, left,  and a 1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900A.  They will be used at the Demonstration Day at the Simeone Foundation Museum. Photo courtesy of the museum

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This entry was posted on Monday, October 19, 2009 at 5:58 am by Catharine Hamm and is filed under East Coast, Family & Kids, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.