J. A. Cooley Museum — Attraction in San Diego

AMAZING! I highly recommend this museum. It might be small but it's jam packed with so many artifacts. Not only one of a kind cars, but so much more! We literally spent a couple of hours looking at all the displays and cars and I'm sure that we only noticed 10 percent of the things available to see. A return visit is definitely in order, not only to see what we might have missed but to see the awesome family that runs it! I left feeling like a part of their family. J.A. Cooley himself reached his eternal reward a year ago, but his faithful daughter Carmen, her husband and her mom, the matriarch of the family keep things running. Carmen's knowledge and enthusiasm is unmatched. She told us the story of each car and gave us hands on demonstrations of the old Edison Phonographs, compete with the vintage, crackly sound of technology 100+ years old.

Everything in this museum has a story and there's more "everythings" than you can shake a stick at. Finally, a word about the train store located on the premises. Secretly it's been my dream to have a model railroad layout. Looking at all the vintage trains and accessories available for purchase made me feel like a 56 year old kid in a toy store. I couldn't resist buying a few things just to display on a shelf.

I hope you go and let the stories unfold before you. Cue up the old soundtrack to the Twilight Zone, you'll be transported to a different time and a...

Mr Cooley's museum is one-of-a-kind. Private collections this impressive are rare: antique automobiles (the kind Jay Leno would love to own), toy trains, phonographs, lamps, telephones, spitoons, clocks, and you name it! The best part is, a visit costs only $5 per person, and the museum is lovingly attended daily by Mr Cooley himself and his wife, who will both regale you with stories about each item and how they acquired it. The highlight for me was an Edison prototype wax cylinder player, or maybe even the phonograph that once belonged to JP Morgan himself. But for many, the highlight will be the 1885 Benz Patent Motor Car, which the owner brags is original. It's what might simply be called the first ever automobile, and it's hiding in plain sight right here at an unassuming strip mall in San Diego. Go for the history, and stay for the cool stories. A great place for kids to learn, but make sure they look and don't touch. There's lots of "fragile" on display. If you're nice, Mr Cooley will probably play one of the phonographs for you. Do remember to bring quarters to feed the meters out front...

I had a great time at this museum. They have 1 of 1 vehicles that you can't see anywhere else. If you take interest in old music, photography, or model trains, the J.A. Cooley museum is the place for you. you will find walls filled with old cameras. display cases full of old model trains. Dozens of old phonographs, most of which work. I was fortunate enough to hear a few of them and it was amazing. For $5 you can't go wrong. although Mr Cooley isn't around anymore, his wife and daughter still are and they know the history of everything in their museum, able to retell the history of various vehicles and notable moments in the vehicles life up to the day it was parked on the museum floor. I highly recommend going to...