Potential bidders check out the ‘Gasoline Alley’ part of the Milhous
Collection during the auction preview Saturday in Boca Raton.
Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Emily J. Minor
For years they’ve been coming here, often dressed in their finest, to ogle and gawk at this collection of everything from cars and pipe organs to funhouse mirrors and a retired toy soldier — from FAO Schwarz, of course.
Indeed, looking back, this magical place was perhaps one of Boca Raton’s best secrets, except maybe with the charity crowd.
The Milhous Museum was never open to the public, but it was popular for nonprofit events and collectible conventions. Through the years, Boca Raton brothers Paul and Bob Milhous amassed a collection that was nothing short of historically fascinating: old cars, rare organs, tractors, furniture, artwork, carnival banners, turn-of-the-century firearms, Tiffany lamps, porcelain signs — and a whole ode to the American automobile in an exhibit they called “Gasoline Alley.”
Paul Milhous said collecting the finds was “an extraordinary journey.”
But after four decades of compiling a curious collection, the brothers — distant cousins of President Richard Milhous Nixon — decided it was time to sell.
And so recently, on two, warm back-to-back Florida afternoons, the public came to buy at a sale held by two prominent auction houses, RM Auctions and Sotheby’s.
“Now it’s time for others to enjoy these wonderful pieces,” said Paul Milhous, 73, a native of Indianapolis who with his brother ran successful manufacturing and printing businesses. Their prosperous livelihood supported a shared love for what they call “mechanical musical instruments, motorcars and collectibility.”
This merry-go-round sold nearly $1.5 million.
Now, Paul Milhous says it’s time to enjoy the family, vacation in their second homes and walk away from this hobby of cramming as much fun as possible into a 40,000-square-foot space.
The collection began about 50 years ago when Bob Milhous, now 75, bought his first antique automobile. As years went by, the size of their collection forced them to move five times, each space larger than the last. At the end, that one antique car sat aside 28 others — including an ultra-sweet Pontiac with a “pull-out radio” that could be removed from the dash and taken off for a picnic on the beach.
Paul Milhous and his brother, obviously kids at heart, have long called their museum a “big toy box.” After walking through the museum, David Redden, a Sotheby’s vice chairman, called it “an extraordinary experience.” Several thousand prospective buyers packed the The Milhous Museum, 791 Park of Commerce Drive in Boca Raton, the last weekend in February.
But while everything on the block that weekend was both stunning and impressive, the real beauty of the Milhous brothers wasn’t just what they found, but rather what they did once they found it.
One of their favorite pieces was the 1913 Welte Wotan Brass Band Orchestrion, originally from the Bob-Lo Island Dance Hall in Detroit. A rare piece that cost $4,716 when it was built — a lot of money back then — the brothers had it painstakingly restored, said Paul Milhous.
“We undertook an extensive restoration of the piece bringing it back to its former glory,” he said.
An organ music aficionado, Milhous says he loved the great sound produced by more than 400 pipes, orchestra bells, a bass drum, tympani effect, two snare drums, cymbal and triangle.
The brothers said they were holding back nothing for themselves, although we have to imagine they stashed away a little something special. And while it was hard to determine what was most stunning at the weekend auction — the organs, the old tractor, the old neon gas station signs — perhaps the highlight of the collection was the 46-foot custom carousel, complete with 42 animals, two chariots and its very own Wurlitzer Organ.
All told, the winning bids were expected to total around $40 million, an auction spokeman said. Organizers were still adding up the sales at presstime.
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