The Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners near Kalamazoo opened a 4,000-square-foot event center that leaders say completes the complex’s abilities to serve larger groups. Called The Summer House, it began operating in May with an official launch in July. “We used to have to rent a lot of tents in order to hold bigger parties,” says Ashley Wendland, the museum’s director of special events. “Now that we have a bigger space, we’re not renting tents and destroying the lawn.”
Set in the center of the museum’s 90-acre campus, The Summer House features an indoor/outdoor fieldstone fireplace, a wraparound patio, custom-designed bar, and retractable glass doors that make it possible to bring the outside—and a large number of cars—in. There’s not a kitchen, but a cafe area is available for caterers to use for staging. Other amenities include audiovisual equipment, and total seating capacity is 250. Revenue from event rentals will directly support the museum’s mission to tell the history of America through the automobile. “Anybody who sees it has been in awe of it,” Wendland says, noting the event center will operate in spring, summer, and fall. “I just love the space.”
