Barber Museum Undertakes Major Expansion
Birmingham, Ala. (September 2) – The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, already home of the world’s largest motorcycle collection, is undertaking a major expansion.
The current Barber Museum, which opened in October 2003, is 144,000 sq. ft. in size. The addition will add 84,650 sq. ft., resulting in a five-story museum about a quarter-million square feet in size.
“We won’t have trouble filling the expansion,” said Jeff Ray, the Museum’s executive director. “We have many motorcycles in storage, and we are constantly adding to the collection.”
In March 2014, Guinness World Records named the Barber Museum as the world’s largest motorcycle collection, with 1,398 motorcycles.
The architect for the expansion is Williams Blackstock of Birmingham. The general contractor is BL Harbert International, also based in Birmingham.
The Barber Museum will remain open during construction. Visitors to the Barber Museum, the Barber Vintage Festival on October 9-11 and the Honda Indy Grand Prix next April will be able to see construction underway. Project completion is scheduled for Fall 2016.
The Barber Museum expansion is part of a series of capital improvements being made to the Barber Motorsports Park over a two-year period. They include the Barber Proving Grounds (opened in October 2014), a 440-foot-long pedestrian bridge from the Museum to the infield (opened April 2015), a classroom building overlooking the Proving Grounds (under construction), and new garages for Mercedes-Benz and other customers (also under construction).
“This expansion will help keep us as the benchmark for motorcycle collections worldwide,” said George Barber, the Barber Museum and Park founder. “People visit Birmingham from all over the world to see this museum and its collection, and we want to continue to ‘wow’ them with what they see. With programs and events like the Porsche Sport Driving School, the Mercedes-Benz Brand Immersion Program, the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama and the Triumph Superbike Challenge, it’s important that we always present an impeccable image for our sponsors and fans.”