JA Cooley Museum

James Cooley personally selected every item in this private collection, a 10,000-square-foot space a mile north of Balboa Park holding forty antique collections. Automobiles built between 1886 and 1981 share the floor with rare cameras, phonographs, model trains, and cast iron toys, tracing more than a century of manufacturing history. The museum opened in 1997 as a way for the Cooley family to share that history with the surrounding community. Private tours and meeting rentals are available by appointment for groups.