Welcome to Palm Beach’s most diverse destination!!
The Museum at Ragtops Motorcars is the host to a variety of fun endeavors. “A must see destination!” according to the New York Times. Starting with its Historic designated three story Museum built in 1925 as the Palm Beach Cadillac- LaSalle dealership, the largest building of its kind at the time North of Miami.
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Ragtops has evolved
into an ever
changing delight. |
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Originally founded as an antique and special interest collectible automobile dealership, it drifted into the special events industry almost by accident. Now capable of entertaining up to 1,500 guests using both the three story building and the Tropical Art Deco venue also on property, the constantly changing automotive inventory creates a very impressive backdrop to the actual events held on a constant basis.
After re-energizing the entire organization by the addition of a new operating event arm, the Museum embarked on a series of large scale renovations that have long time vendors applauding the upgrades.
 Both venues have received attention to the exterior of the properties, along with numerous interior amenities. With the constant flow of music throughout both venues, it is almost impossible not to tap your foot, and almost break out into song, as you stroll down memory lane.
Not only is Ragtops (for those unfamiliar with the term, it is an American almost slang word for convertible automobiles) a Museum and an Internationally known special events facility, the main building is the home to a Wi-Fi ready, unique Café Carbucks, where the public will be able to spend more time enjoying the architectural pleasures of the site, surrounded by absolutely beautiful vintage automobiles.
The Museum is open Monday thru Saturday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with docent guided tours available, and your corporate or private event can be scheduled for any day or night required. We are conveniently located in downtown West Palm Beach and invite everyone to come see why we definitely will become….”Your new favorite place!!”
| 1980 |
"RAGTOPS" starts with three cars (sure, we remember them . . . a '56 Thunderbird, a '67 Mercedes 230 SL and I still have our '72 350 SL - what loyalty!) at Tyler's Gas Station, corner of Lakeview and Olive. Our first buying customer still stops in with his '76 Cadillac convertible! |
| 1981 |
Sherri joins the firm . . . need I say more???? |
| 1982 |
We expand into "Lakeview Battery" building, one office, one desk, one phone, two chairs, six cars and a $25,000 line of credit. Chrysler comes out with a "ragtop" . . .thank you, Lee! |
| 1983 |
We get appointed as the authorized Avanti dealer just in time to go head to head with the improved Jaquar that cost less! |
| 1984 |
Sales are improving, we add an office, two employees and start seeing "RAGTOPS" license plates all around town! |
| 1985 |
"RAGTOPS" is sitting on a gold mine and we sell the land to people who proceed to build a $30,000,000 building. (Can you imagine how many cars we could put in there!) |
1986
1987 |
We continue buying and selling "ragtops" with Sherri having all the fun running a Lamborghini/Lotus dealership. We move into yet another gas station, and have 25 convertibles this time! |
| 1988 |
December 1 - Major Step - We go into a 1927 honest-to-goodness dealership building, a great home for our collection of stuff, including pedal cars, old signs, '50's memorabillia & room for over 100 cars! |
| 1989 |
With the support of our automotive-minded bankers, we are able to hold our own with the "Big Boys" and offer an incredible selection of cars. (P.S. ...we have to change Sherri's business cards - we get married October 21 - the first Party Perfect!) |
| 1990 |
People like our way of doing business and record sales result. We think it is a combination of the right cars, at the right price, with the same people helping our customers year after year. We now have eight super employees. |
| 1991 |
We build the soda fountain that makes everyone remember their youth and our "Special Events" plan to lease out the building to private parties worked out well. Our Ragtops T-shirts are in ll countries and 20 states as are our cars! |
| 1992 |
We are charging right ahead with all our exhibits and have become something of a local attraction. Everyone seems to enjoy what we do and especially how we do it! It's a great time to buy a convertible! |
| 1993 |
A new attitude change - and America is ready for it! So are we! Party Perfect is booming, car sales are up, prices are steady and our gift shop is full of automotive surprises. |
| 1994 |
"Have a RAGTOPS Day" is our philosophy ...simple, isn't it? Everyone is doing fine and we have surprises for the fall. We are becoming a destination and we enjoy the satisfaction we give and receive! Tell your friends about us! |
| 1995 |
We are still improving on our concept and people are encouraging us to open in other cities. Not Yet! The collector car market is improving, and we enjoy our best year to date! |
| 1996 |
Our home town bank is behind us 100%, we offer financing on all of our cars, have air conditioned the third floor and can accommodate up to 700 guests inside and 300 guests outside for our private and coporate parties. We add 26,500 sq. ft. to our operation to hold 100 cars! |
| 1997 |
It's here - Bumpers Diner! Our 1954 vintage silver diner sits on our lot across the street, we go on the world wide web and get ready to announce our next ventures! |
| 1998 |
Everything gets a fresh paint job, including our additional "new" building that can hold up to 50 more cars and 500 people for sit-down dinner and stand-up dancing! More and more clients take advantage of our "Alumni Program" . . . Let us explain it to you! |
| 1999 |
We now provide easy-access off-street parking while you visit, and brace for the construction project on Dixie Hwy. As always, we are worth the effort to get here! We add "The Garage Club," a convenient automobile indoor storage service, in our new space. |
| 2000 |
We acquire the building next door, where we had eight convertibles and one employee fifteen years ago! It is now " The Station at RAGTOPS", featuring vintage and contemporary station wagons, with a very unique gift shop, filled with one of a kind items. Unlike the main building, where the decorative memorabilia is not for available for purchase, everything you see in "The Station" can be yours. Station wagons are hot, and again we seem to be in front of the wave! |
| 2001 |
Plans are active to move The Diner from across the street onto west side property, and road construction is due to be completed in October! Over seventy vehicles in stock and and fun, innovative special events still being designed by Sherri. Big news will be announced by the end of the year! We always provide a unique experience when visiting us, and look forward to seeing you often. |
| 2002 |
Everyone has said, this is like a Museum, so we decided to listen! We reinvented ourselves again to better serve our visitors by becoming The Museum at RAGTOPS, to compliment Club LaSalle at RAGTOPS, and The Station at RAGTOPS. We add two great docents who really like what they do and it shows. Of course, a large portion of our inventory is available for purchase, but we also bring in special automobiles just for exhibition on occasion . Our tour hours are Monday thru Saturday , and we of course welcome all group sizes! Please come see what we like to refer to as "an everchanging work in progress !" Our special events division is excelling in their efforts to provide a totally unique experience for their guests. When you come in, take the time to read the letters on the soda bar...we couldn't have written a more complimentary selection of comments if we had tried! We thank everyone for their kindness! |
| 2003 |
We find that with all of the unrest in the World, a visit to The Museum at RAGTOPS offers a great relief from the pressures of reality. We display automobiles approaching 90 years old, and create a haven of a more pleasant eras. Our constant program of improvements usually makes no two visits the same. We have been featured in The New York Times as the place to visit while in the West Palm Beach area, and are finally realizing just how special a place we are fortunate enough to have to display our automobiles and to share with our guests! Current projects include the addition of dozens of palm trees to the property, along with the creation of a very private outside atmosphere on the pad at Club LaSalle. The Station is still evolving, and is ready for use as a very special venue in a matter of minutes, not days!
As a side light, we have been invited to participate in this year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, and we are over the top excited about it! Of course, it's not us who have been invited, but our automobile, the 1,400 original mile 1940 Bantam Hollywoood Convertible. So, if you are out there in Pebble Beach from August 14 to the 17, wave your Ragtops hat to us as we pass by...slowly but assuredly!
Thank you for your wonderful support.
Sherri & Ty Houck
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