Sustainable Growth

While a destiantion car museum is our ultimate goal, the PNWTCF anticipates breaking ground on such a facility in the mid 2030s. The impact we envision will not wait that long. Our sustainable growth plan includes three distinct phases:


  • Outreach & Awareness
  • Tangible Presence
  • Museum Planning & Opening


In each phase we will build toward our ultimate goal of opening a world class car museum in Bellingham or another Whatcom County city. Within each step we will strive to deliver exceptional experiences through automotive history education, community driven events, pop up displays, car shows and multigenerational membership stewarding.

Modern car showroom with sports cars, people, and a waterfront view under a curved wooden roof

Phase 1: Outreach & Awareness


As we begin our journey toward opening an auto museum, we will connect with the community at large, as well as local governments, business owners, municipal authorities and tourism professionals to build impactful relationships that help steer us toward success in partnership with regional individuals and organizations.


Through research, events, and strategic connections, we will identify the most pressing needs of the car community in Whatcom County and surrounding areas while also capturing valuable data that will influence the final museum plan.


In this phase we intend to establish meaningful events, both ticketed and public, as well as member only opportunities, that fuel our mission of telling the stories of our community through the vehicles that are built, used and enjoyed here. Expect events such as automotive history classes for youth and adults, car talks with local collectors, and scenic drives curated by our dedicated team members.

People welding and repairing orange off-road vehicles in a spacious workshop with tools and lifts

Phase 2: Tangible Presence


Creating a proof of concept will be not just be a method of providing validity, but testing future museum programs, exhibits and other opportunities. Our goal is to secure 5,000 to 10,000 square feet of space for a museum that is open to the public and allows us to further our community outreach.


In this phase we will continue our programming while also finalizing the development plans of our future home, a purpose built transportation museum and car culture center. As we pursue a long-term, temporary building, the PNWTCF may also utilize short term opportunities to launch pop up car museums, lasting days, weeks or months, all while illustrating the vision of our long term goals.

Classic cars displayed in a garage showroom, including green, red, and white vintage vehicles.

Phase 3: Museum Planning & Opening


Following research, relationship building, community outreach and testing, we will begin the development of our final museum plan. It may include a number of features, many of which are outlines on our Museum page. As construction probability increases, we will turn our focus to land acquisition followed by architectural and engineer development.


At the end of this road is a ribbon cutting in front of a yet to be named landmark destination: a car museum in Bellingham, WA.