Two weeks before the reveal of the all-new Toyota Land Cruiser, I had the pleasure of stopping by the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum during a family trip in Salt Lake City, UT. Situated just under an overpath within an industrial district, it is a hidden gem to locals who might not have heard of the legendary tales behind the Land Cruiser name. On the outside, it's your standard warehouse with a relatively small sign displaying the museum's name, but inside is a wealth of history and adventure with over 100 Land Cruisers, tons of memorabilia, brochures, collectibles, and much more on display.
The owner, Greg Miller, is an adventurer at heart and in real life, having taken a series 78 Land Cruiser on all seven continents during Expeditions 7 which covered over 58,000 miles. As a true enthusiast of the Toyota brand and more specifically the Land Cruiser model, Greg saw an opportunity to create a place to share the heritage of this model by collecting not only every model and variation of Land Cruiser but also displaying those with unique stories in a way, not many automotive museums have done. First located in Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, Greg and Co. made a move to Salt Lake City in 2015 to provide further access to automotive fans seeking knowledge of the do-all truck, holding events like the upcoming CruiserFest that will have the all-new Toyota Land Cruiser on display for attendees to drool over.
The Land Cruiser Heritage Museum has an impressive collection, upon entering you're greeted by an all-original Toyota Jeep BJ, a set of FJ20s, FJ40s, and FJ60s at the very end until you wrap around to see FJ55s and FJ70s along with some imported Prados. If you turn the other way you will see a great display of Land Cruiser's side models, the Brazilian Bandeirante, Blizzards, an ultra-rare PX-10, and a pair of MegaCruisers next to Expeditions 7 LCs, and some Japanese fire trucks. While walking through the museum you're able to read a detailed history of each vehicle or listen to an audio tour by scanning QR code which is also available free online in case you can't make it, but even if you've gone through the full exhibit virtually, nothing beats seeing metal in the flesh. As you exit, you go through the same place where you entered but now it's time to peruse the vast collection of memorabilia and collectibles, even buying your own as they have LCHM merchandise and a few hard-to-find Land Cruiser Hot Wheels for sale.
Overall, I was very impressed by everything the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum had to offer. For just $18 for adults, and discounted prices for other age groups and veterans, you're able to have an intimate look at roughly 100 vehicles and the staff on site are extremely knowledgeable and passionate, able to expand on any information not already available on the detailed plaques on display. The museum is relatively kid-friendly, of course, there's a strict no-touch policy but any child that has inherited the car disease will love seeing these massive-to-them trucks in person and up close. With a new Land Cruiser going on sale soon, I'm curious to see if this location expands or adds something new to their exhibit with a new injection of LC fanaticism sure to take hold of the off-road vehicle fans, until then Please enjoy the rest of the photos below.
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