Justice Private Automotive Collection

There are quite a few automobile museums on Route 66. Although I’ve passed by it dozens of times, I’ve never been to the museum that is only 15 minutes from my house. I started the New Year with the privilege of being in the Justice Private Automotive Collection at 2734 E. Huntington Drive in Duarte, California. Wow!

Ed, Zeke, and Gus Justice were all born in rural Paola, Kansas. As boys, Ed and Zeke started “Justice Brothers Bike Rentals” by using their mechanical abilities to fix up old bikes. In 1940, Ed was the first brother who came to Southern California to pursue their love of all things automotive. The Justice Brothers built midget racing cars and also got into Indy and sports car fabrication. They are a NASCAR legend. They are also known for their car care products: brake fluid, oil system cleaner, engine oil supplement, etc.

The Museum was established in 1985. A “museum” is when your private hoarding gets out of proportion, so you have to curate. The collection included more gas pump globes than I can imagine. It includes vintage pumps from Gilmore Oil. Arthur Gilmore found oil on his dairy farm in the Fairfax Farmer’s Market near 1903; at one time, Gilmore had 3000 gas stations on the West Coast. Gilmore Stadium was designed for midget-car racing in 1934. In 1952, the Stadium was demolished for CBS Television City.

And of the course the Justice Brothers museum features cars and race cars – about 150 of them. In fact, even in the parking lot, you can see an overflow. The Mother Road turns 100 in 2026.

Special thanks to the Monrovia Historic Preservation Group for organizing the trip to the Justice Private Automotive Collection. For more information on the museum, click here. For more information about Justice Brothers, go to their company history page.