Patch closing car museum, auctioning contents

Owner Glenn Patch is closing '57 Heaven Auto Museum and auctioning off his collection of 1957 cars and memorabilia.

The museum, built by Patch as part of the Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theatre complex at 1600 W. Highway 76, will close permanently Oct. 23. The collection of 65 restored vehicles, including models from every major American manufacturer, will be auctioned Oct. 24.

"Part of the issue with the collection is that, as spectacular as it is, we don't have a different set of cars to show visitors next year," said Tim Mahoney, CEO of G.E.P. Inc., Patch's umbrella company. "This is such a unique collection, and 60 percent of the visitors to Branson are repeat visitors; unless we had a way of refreshing the collection, we really built in our own obsolescence."

A four-day preview event is scheduled at the museum today through Sunday; admission is required. Hours are 9 a.m.-8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and 9 a.m.-noon on Sunday. Staff with Illinois-based Mecum Auctions, which was hired to run the process, will be at the museum to answer questions and pre-register auction bidders. Organizers expect up to 1,000 bidders and cars selling for up to $100,000.

Memorabilia includes clothes, movie posters such as Doris Day in "The Pajama Game," and toys without computer chips. There's also a vintage kitchen with pink appliances and a DeSoto Adventurer with an in-dash record player.

"The cars back then had so much personality," said Tom Christmann, marketing manager for Mecum Auctions. "There's plenty of fin available."

For more information on the auto auction, which is open to the public and will be held in the theater with photos projected of the autos up for bid, visit www.mecum.com.

Mahoney said G.E.P. Inc., has received several proposals for the 30,000-square-foot museum space, adding that the company has been leasing the entire Dick Clark theater complex to Las Vegas, Nev.-based The Legends Group since the end of 2008.

"We had operated all the businesses out of that facility, and what we're doing is stepping back to the real estate side," Mahoney said, noting that entertainment-related companies have expressed interest in the museum space. "We have a long-term lease (for the rest of the theater), and that will continue uninterrupted."

Patch published several national magazines, including Computer Shopper and Shutterbug, which he sold in the late 1980s to Ziff Davis Media, publisher of computer and technology magazines. Patch owns 7,000 acres at the Branson Creek community development, site of the Murder Rock and Branson Creek golf clubs and the Branson Airport.

SBJ Web Editor Jeremy Elwood contributed to this story.