J.A. Cooley Museum

The J.A. Cooley Museum is located on the corner of Park and El Cajon Boulevards in North Park. On display are 15 cars from 1886 through 1933, along with 25 categories of antiques represented by collections such as model trains, whiskey flasks, spittoons, cuckoo clocks, license plates, beaded purses, phonographs, typewriters and cameras. Jim Cooley is the curator, owner and collector whose collections developed with the help of his visitors who not only admire antique automobiles, but also collect stuff of their own and donated or traded with Jim.

Jim's parents arrived in San Diego in 1873. He grew up during the time when auto travel was more of an adventure than a convenience. Jim remembers the growth of El Cajon Boulevard – from the 1930s gravel road funded by the WPA during the depression, which served as an ideal route for horse drawn wagons to a concrete pavement "truck trail" for the small farmers enroute.