‘America’s First Sports Car’ Checks-In to Tacoma’s Hotel Murano

Hotel Murano
The Crosley Hot Shot Roadster is on display at Tacoma's Hotel Murano — just in time for Father's Day. Photo courtesy: Hotel Murano.

Submitted by Hotel Murano

Revered for their gallery-like accommodations and world-class art collection, Hotel Murano has long embraced Tacoma’s reputation as a museum-filled destination for art lovers through curated partnerships with the city’s many art institutions. This summer, the art-filled hotel has teamed up with LeMay – America’s Car Museum to outfit the hotel’s lobby with a 1949 Crosley Hot Shot Roadster, giving car obsessed travelers a glimpse of automotive history while on the road in the Pacific Northwest.  

Exploring the role that the automobile has played in shaping our present American society, America’s Car Museum features rotating exhibitions that highlight the history of the automobile industry. The 1949 Crosley Hot Shot Roadster, now parked in the lobby of Hotel Murano, was born from the work of Powel Crosley, Jr., an American inventor and industrialist who found success in the automotive industry during World War II manufacturing car engines to support the war effort. After the war, Crosley continued to produce cars from 1946 to 1952 during which the 1949 Crosley Hot Shot made its infamous debut by many as “America’s First Sports Car”. The Hot Shot parked in the lobby of Hotel Murano is one of 752 produced by Crosley during his post-World War II production and was regarded for being easily modified from an everyday automobile to a longed-for racer – all one needed to do was strip off the windshield, headlamps, bumpers, top, and spare wheel and they were in business.

Conveniently located in the heart of Tacoma attractions, Hotel Murano is less than a ten-minute drive away from ACM where guests can immerse themselves in the Museum’s world-class collection of vintage cars, trucks and motorcycles. Created for car-obsessed travelers, Hotel Murano’s Get Your Motor Running package offers well-appointed overnight accommodations; two tickets to LeMay – America’s Car Museum; a $20 daily food credit to Bite at Hotel Murano; and daily complimentary self-parking. The Get Your Motor Running package is valid through December 31, 2017, with rates starting from $169 per night, plus tax.

The 1949 Crosley Hot Shot will remain on display at Hotel Murano now through July 2016. More information about America’s Car Museum can be found online at https://www.americascarmuseum.org/  and Hotel Murano can be found online at http://www.hotelmuranotacoma.com/.