Newport Car Museum’s Gift Shop is Hidden Gem

The Newport Car Museum Gift Shop in Portsmouth, R.I. does not require an admission ticket to the Museum in order for a visitor to shop there; however, there is a suggested offering to be made at the door – that of a great big smile. Among the Gift Shop’s car-related treasures are wall art, die-cast cars, puzzles, books, T-shirts, belts, wallets, and a wide variety of car-themed novelty items for both adults and kids. In addition, regionally-appropriate gift items range from lobster platters to stuffed sharks and seemingly have been curated to make people laugh or, at the very least, forget about the outside world for a while.

“The shop has SO MANY cool things,” said repeat customer Christina Levitan of Nashua, New Hampshire. “Seriously, there’s something there for everyone! I’m a huge fan of the Buckle Down collection.” (Buckle Down makes high-quality SeatBelt belts and cutting-edge buckles and wallets, among other things.)

The Gift Shop, which occupies 1800 square feet of the more than 70,000 that create the footprint of the Newport Car Museum’s seven galleries, is a gallery unto itself, echoing the bold, cheerful colors of the museum’s specially commissioned artwork and significant private collection of more than 95 beautiful, rare and otherwise interesting cars that cover eight decades of automobile design.

Making people happy was a tenant in the Museum’s original design (it opened in 2017) and in the approach it takes to welcoming the public every day from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., when the Gift Shop is also open. The Founders, Maggie and Gunther Buerman, wanted the Museum to be a place where people come to have fun and indulge themselves in art, whether it’s the art of the cars and how they are creatively displayed, or the art of the Mid-Century Modern Furniture that is situated throughout the Museum, or the art of the Gift Shop space itself.

More About the Newport Car Museum

The Newport Car Museum tells the story of Ford/Shelby, Corvettes, World Cars, Fin Cars, Mopars, American Muscle Cars, and Porsches. Within 18 months of its opening, it was included in USA Today’s “Top 10 Best New Attractions” and named Yankee Magazine’s “Best Specialty Museum.” It also has won an award from the National Association of Automobile Museums for its originally produced historic videos.

Tickets can be bought at the door or online at www.newportcarmuseum.org where more information and directions are available. Regular admission: $20/adults; $16/Seniors, Military, Students; $10/Ages 5-12 (with an adult); Free/Ages 4 and under (with an adult).

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For more information, go to www.newportcarmuseum.org or contact Wayne Lee, Museum Director, at 401.835.2371, wlee@newportcarmuseum.org.