National Automobile Museum National Automobile Museum The National Automobile Museum, located just south of the Truckee River in Reno, Nevada, displays historic automobiles from the late 19th century and from throughout the 20th. Most of the vehicles displayed are from the collection of the late casino owner William F. Harrah, and so the museum is sometimes referred to as The Harrah Collection. The museum opened in 1989. William F. Harrah had collected approximately 1,450 automobiles, which he stored inside warehouses in Sparks, Nevada. It was the world's largest collection of historic automobiles, and was opened to the public. When Harrah died in 1978,
William F. Harrah on the lake side of highway 50, Harrah's Tahoe, on the mountain side at the old Stateline Country Club. The hotel tower opened in 1973. Harrah also owned the Zephyr Cove restaurant past Cave Rock which offered slots and blackjack. Harrah expanded to Las Vegas in 1973 by purchasing the Holiday Casino on the Las Vegas Strip from Shelby and Claudine Williams. The property was close to the successful Sands Casino and across from where the Mirage now stands. Harrah trusted his top executives, and while he spent time walking his properties and demanding that things were perfect, he delegated