Although it’s a fairly well-worn tale by now, the abandoned car museum in the ghost town of Shaniko, Oregon, is always a fascinating read. These vehicles were supposedly collected by a single individual who was a bit of a Mopar fanatic, and the cars largely hailed from the 1940 and 1950s. That individual died in 2008 and the fate of the museum has been anything but certain as rumors indicate the widow and her sons are looking for top dollar for any car in the collection – which includes a 1956 Chrysler Imperial coupe. Find the story here on RoadTrippers.com. (Image above courtesy of Joe Kline/The Bend Bulletin)

Thanks to reader Steve B. for the find. These pictures originated on FerrariChat.com, and I’m sure the poster that shared his photos did not expect the story to be cited time and again. The community of Shaniko is a ghost town with a colorful past, as it was formerly the leading wool exporter in North America. Like so many towns out west that went bust, Shaniko attempted to hold on by its fingernails by marketing itself as a tourist destination. I imagine the car museum was originally intended to provide the eye-candy necessary to get passers-by to stop in and visit, and at one time, these old dames must have been plenty eye-catching.

The photos are quite old by now, but visits by photographers and urban explorers at later dates seem to indicate not much has changed. Some items of value have been pilfered over the years, but explorers like this one who visited in 2012 note that the cars are merely dustier and seemingly not vandalized, and no one seems worried about paying rent to keep the lights on (it’s OK, there aren’t any.) In this picture, that’s a vintage ambulance in the foreground and the beautiful Imperial coupe is the one I have my eye on, second from left. What else do you see?

Here’s the outside of the museum, with another forlorn classic rotting away in front – but given the dry climate of the desert west, I’m not sure “rot” is actually a phenomenon that exists out here. The latest news report I can find from the Bend Bulletin indicates that a media magnate purchased the bulk of the community in the mid-2000s but had his plans go awry when the 26 or so remaining residents opposed his development goals. He cancelled his revitalization efforts while holding onto the properties, but I haven’t been able to determine if that includes the abandoned museum. Are any locals able to shed more light on the current state of the museum?