A Story of Heritage

The philosophy is simple - cars are meant to be driven and must be appreciated that way.

WHO WE ARE

We preserve and showcase the cars, artifacts, and knowledge of the American automobile industry, primarily focusing on middle market cars from the 1920s to 1950s, when the industry excelled in cutting-edge designs and technology for average consumers.

Our Vision

Our vision is to empower future generations to preserve, restore and drive the cars that defined America through our curated collection, educational support, preservation of knowledge and offering restoration services to the public.

the History OF THE NB CENTER

  • Nicola Bulgari’s passion for American automobiles grew out of his childhood experience in post-war Italy.

    “It started when I was very young,” he explains. “My family were all interested in cars; my elder brother, Gianni was an accomplished racer who drove in the Targa Florio and at Daytona. Yet I had completely different ideas. I never flirted with racing cars. All my life I have loved sedans, which are more useable, and so much more dignified. I bought my first when I was five years old, in 1946, when my father took me to Lugano, in Switzerland. Italy was very gloomy after the war, but with all the lights, the shops, the Buick taxis, Switzerland was like world. So I bought a little Dinky model of a 1939 Buick, which I still cherish - the first item in the collection.

  • “It's important to remember that in those days, at least until 1941, American cars were the best in the world. In Italy, and elsewhere in Europe, they were more popular than anything else. Why? Because in Italy, for example, we produced either cheap Fiats or very expensive, highly engineered cars, and there was nothing in-between that was so reliable, well-built and affordable. I grew up seeing an enormous number of American automobiles, driven by the Allied troops who stayed until 1948. All the embassies had American cars, and the Vatican ran a fleet of American limousines, some of which we now own. It was the same in Britain and its colonies. Many people now don't believe this, even in America, because the Second World War changed everything. Even as a young man I sensed that. So I was devoured by a desire to learn, to understand this golden age of automobile design, this age of innovation, quality and craftsmanship. My dream was to save all this incredible history before it disappeared, or was forgotten. That would be a tragedy.

  • “In time I began to buy real cars, but it has taken years to amass the current collection. It has been a gradual, evolutionary process. For example I had a very good friend by the name of Bernie Berman. His wife was interested in Tuscan cooking and started a school for Americans in Florence, and because Bernie was a very fine automobile collector I was introduced to him by another friend, Dee Pollard from Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Sadly, Bernie couldn't see much of a future for his collection. He wasn't getting any younger, and his family weren't interested. So he sold us some of his cars. He also had a restorer, Keith Flickinger, a wonderful man; and he eventually became the person who help make the vision in Allentown a reality. So we began renting part of Keith’s garage, and then we bought a little place of our own, in Allentown.

  • “It has been a very slow process, almost 20 years, to get to where we are now, with cars in America and in Italy, a wonderfully skilled and dedicated group of people to restore and maintain them, and education and training programs to engage future generations. For example we offer financial and material support to establishments such as Rome’s Istituto Salesiano Teresa Gerini Torlonia and the Pennsylvania College of Technology, and students may also gain invaluable experience in The NB Center’s own workshops in Rome and Allentown, helping to develop the knowledge, skills and experience required to maintain historic vehicles as living machines rather than static museum pieces. The NB Center collection is not only a work of preservation but a celebration, and a legacy for the future.”

LOCATIONS ACROSS THE GLOBE

ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA

ROME, ITALY

SARTEANO, ITALY

The NB Center's home in America

The NB Center campus in Allentown, Pennsylvania is the very embodiment of the philosophy of The NB Center for American Automotive Heritage. Designed to make the most of the mission of saving the automotive artifacts, heritage and skills that were critical to the middle of the automotive market in the Twentieth century, it is a place where cars are rescued and preserved for future generations. But, this is just the beginning. Unlike many traditional museums, our cars are treated as functional historical objects, not static display pieces. The campus is 27 acres with two miles of internal roads laid out in an interlinking system that connects all buildings on site.This allows maximum driving opportunity in a controlled space. All cars are maintained in running and driving condition at all times and are regularly driven.

Beyond the cars, the Allentown campus is a place of gathering for collectors, historians and preservationists from the world over. The core of the property is the former Boulevard Drive-in movie theater with one of the largest functional outdoor movie screens in the US. Of the 14 buildings that make up this campus, the Lodge event building at the center of the property is perhaps most impressive. Home to the projection system for the screen and space for gatherings and events of all types, the building serves a multipurpose role.

The Lodge was built from scratch to pay respects to the rich agricultural heritage of the region. A painstaking re-imagination of a Pennsylvania Dutch style barn melded with the architecture of Tuscany, the intricate stonework that makes up the outside walls of the building and roughhewn floors and beams of the interior were constructed by artisans using recycled materials from two barns in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. 

To the north of the Lodge is the visitors center, which serves as the entrance for guests to the property. This building provides visitors a panoramic view of the grounds.

Built into a hillside overlooking the entire site, the building will welcome guests with displays explaining the many facets of the NB Foundation and The NB Center on the upper mezzanine level with a display of cars restored in our own shops on the lower level. The building will also serve as an event space for informal gatherings and small groups.

The remainder of the NB Center’s many buildings are dedicated to the multiple needs of restoring, preserving and housing American automotive history. Five collection storage buildings, four restoration buildings, The Machine Shop, property maintenance building and other support services make-up the campus. 

The on-site gas station is not just a visual tribute to a Sinclair gas station from days gone-by, it is a fully functional fueling station offering two grades of fuel for all the cars and support vehicles at the center. Our dedicated shop space currently has the capacity to execute three complete car restorations at one time plus a dozen or more maintenance and small projects. Most work is done in house including metal fabrication, wood working and upholstery.

Construction of the main portion of the Allentown campus was completed in 2016. The opening was celebrated by hosting the 50th anniversary meet of the Buick Club of America. Over 700 cars, their owners and invited guests enjoyed all The NB Center campus had to offer for the very first time. A program of constant improvements and additions is ongoing. One of the exciting future projects will be the creation of a service center to work on customer’s old cars where student technicians will be working alongside professionals to hone their skills and knowledge to become the next generation of old car technicians. 

To our knowledge, there is no equivalent facility in the world. Together with our facilities and staff in Italy, The NB Center for American Automotive Heritage will serve as a repository for American automotive history and heritage and a center of learning for generations to come.

The NB Center Italy – fROM ROME to Sarteano

Millions of people come to marvel at the remains of ancient Rome, The Eternal City. Yet who can say that the artefacts of our own age are less worthy of preservation? We live in an era of planned obsolescence – a 1920s philosophy for which GM President Alfred P. Sloan bore much responsibility – so the products of the recent past may seem less precious to us. It is only when things are lost – old cars, for example – that we regret losing them. Countless enthusiasts all over the world devote a great deal of time and effort to the preservation of automotive history. Nevertheless in Europe, the extent of The NB Center’s work with American cars is unique. Only a couple of miles from the Colosseum, tucked away in a city backstreet, The NB Center’s Rome garage is a fascinating place.

Decorated with vintage signs and photographs and equipped with comprehensive workshops, a smart function room and cozy living quarters, not to mention hundreds of books and models on illuminated glass shelves, The NB Center’s Rome garage is the heart of an automobile preservation operation unparalleled outside America. Nowhere else in Europe will you find such an array of pre-war Buicks, Cadillacs, Oldsmobiles, Packards and Pontiacs, nor such dedicated and painstaking efforts to restore and maintain them in perfect driving condition.

Numbering almost 100 cars, The NB Center’s Rome collection is a rare resource and a palpable reminder of the global influence of US automobile design before WW2. “These cars made America,” says Nicola Bulgari. “But what many Americans don’t realize is that they were also incredibly popular in Europe, not least because they were generally more advanced and reliable than European cars of the period.”

Testament to this prestigious reputation are the stars of the Rome collection, a remarkable group of 10 limousines formerly owned and run by the Vatican. Since their acquisition by the NB Center, these wonderfully historic automobiles have all been restored by the skilled and committed NB Center team, who have have learned much from their American colleagues in Allentown; repair and restoration projects are all now managed entirely in-house by the mechanical staff led by Sergio Caudai and by the skilled bodyshop team of Carrozzeria A. Rizza: Alberto, Daniale and Mirko. Their work is second to none and, as far as American automobiles are concerned, unique in Europe.

Helping to ensure that such work continues in future, The NB Center also supports educational establishments such as Rome’s Istituto Salesiano Teresa Gerini Torlonia, founded in 1952, which gives practical and vocational training to young people wishing to learn mechanical engineering, bodywork restoration and electrical skills, not least through internships with associated companies that may lead to full-time careers.

In the lovely hills of Tuscany, 100 miles north of Rome, lies the ancient municipality of Sarteano. Inhabited for thousands of years, this area contains some of the most important tombs of the Etruscan civilisation, dating back to the 4th Century BC and beyond. It also contains some interesting 20th Century artefacts.

Located in a quiet corner of the Sarteano suburbs The NB Center occupies two beautifully refurbished buildings – the newest a former shoe polish factory, the other a simple warehouse – where an ever-changing selection of cars is kept ready for excursions into the Tuscan countryside.

The NB Center’s mission is not merely to preserve and promote America’s automotive heritage, but to maintain a living collection in full working order. Driving historic cars, whether for comparative research or pure enjoyment, is an essential part of the collection’s activity in both Europe and the USA. Yet the Sarteano garages are more than mere storage facilities. They are equipped with libraries and hospitality areas, not to mention the glass display cases full of model cars, and in their high-quality interior finishes they more resemble prestigious automotive museums than functional car parks. The difference, of course, is that here the collection is anything but static. The delightful and largely traffic-free roads of Tuscany beg to be driven, and so do the cars themselves.

From week to week the pool of available vehicles here may include any of those that are normally kept at The NB Center’s garage in Rome, but in addition to the pre-war and post-war classics the Sarteano facility hosts newer, more potent machines – Camaro, Corvette, Firebird and more – which may demonstrate how much (or how little) progress has been made over a century of automotive development. Documentary and photographic research is fascinating, but the only way properly to judge an automobile is to take it out on the open road. Cars were made to be driven!