mendenhall's museum

The tour we had was outstanding. Mrs. Mendenhall knew everything about the museum and everything in it. It was an outstanding collection of memorabilia probably the only one like it in the world. There are multiple rooms and buildings. My husband wanted to move in! Worth every penny of the admission price. Bring a camera.

The have a fantastic selection of old gas pumps, globed type as well as the real old gravity fed units. Their cars were very cool. Highly Recommend you visit when they are open to the Public.

We visited the Museum as part of the Vapor Trail Vettes Corvette Club. We contracted the museum visit and tri-tip dinner for $35 per person with a 40 person minimum. We had an unbelievable event. Arrived at 4PM and the neon signs were already turned on. The Buellton weather was perfect for an outdoor visit and dinner. We were personally greeted by the owner and started looking over the outside exhibits. After seeing what we wanted to see outside we started looking over each garage that included gas pumps, signs, race cars, and lots of local racing history. The dinner bell rang sharply at 6PM and we enjoyed a perfectly prepared Santa Maria Style tri-tip dinner with all the fixins including appetizers of freshly grilled sausage over the oak fire and lots of beverages. As we finished dinner the sun was setting and I took some beautiful neon sign photos. We stuck around and admired much more of the petroliana and the owner even fired up the 13K mile 1960s Mustang with a 390 engine. Everyone really enjoyed the museum and we took a Vapor Trail Vettes member group photo before anyone left. Great evening, and if you enjoy auto history make sure you add this location to your visit list as you are driving the Central coast. They do not have operating hours, but the owner did state if you call ahead he will open up the museum for a visit, just call ahead, 805-689-2402. For a museum visit there is not a minimum number of people and the entry is a reasonable $15 per person for the visit only. Check out their website at www.mendenhallmuseum.com or their Facebook page for more information.