The last car Elvis Presley ever purchased is permanently located 50 miles northwest of Atlanta … the 1977 Cadillac Seville sits in an eclectic museum known as Old Car City USA.
In this feature, “City Lights” producer Summer Evans visited the rural town of White, Georgia, to see this crown jewel and adventure through the 32 acres of American-made cars housed there.
Before Old Car City was both a photographer and classic car enthusiast’s paradise, it was owner Dean Lewis’ family’s small general store. His parents opened it in 1931.
In the 40s, they transitioned it into an auto salvage yard. They would sell car parts to locals and automobile collectors. Lewis has lived in Bartow County his entire life. He’s now 86 years old and is known as the “mayor of Old Car City.”
The property is filled with rows and rows of antique cars. They’re covered in pine straw. Some have busted-out windows, missing doors, or no wheels. What were once painted in vibrant colors of bright orange and electric blue have faded in the Georgia heat. The chrome finish on the metal bumpers have rusted over time.
Leather seats and steering wheels are missing from some cars, replaced with the Earth’s greenery. Surrounding trees push through the floorboards and hoods as if it’s no inconvenience that the cars are standing in their way. These vintage treasures are preserved by the environment that surrounds them.
Lewis knows each car in the lot down to the make, model, and year it was built. He points out several vehicles that hold a special place in his heart, like the original 1946 Ford truck from the TV movie “Murder in Coweta County” starring Andy Griffith and Johnny Cash.
Another element that adds to this unique museum is the smaller pieces of artwork by Lewis. All of these are created on his preferred medium—Styrofoam cups.
In the upstairs gallery of the Old Car City office, there are thousands upon thousands of Styrofoam cups … each etched in pen with an original design. Lewis’ private office holds his most prized pieces that he has spent hours doodling on. He says each design is not pre-planned; he draws whatever enters his mind that day.
Lewis’ ingenuity in giving used products a new life as works of art is one of the many reasons people from around the globe visit. Lewis said he has no plans to retire … and is a permanent resident of Old Car City, USA, similar to the vehicles themselves.
