The DFW Car and Toy Museum, Texas' largest car museum, has been named Fort Worth Magazine's 2025 "Best of Fort Worth" Reader Pick Winner in the Family Outing subcategory of the Nightlife and Entertainment category. This recognition comes just seven months after the museum's opening in April 2025, signaling rapid acceptance and popularity within the Fort Worth community.
Ron Sturgeon, founder and owner of the DFW Car and Toy Museum, expressed gratitude for the community support. "We're elated by the outpouring of votes," Sturgeon said. "It's genuinely an honor to be chosen by the good people of Fort Worth for a prestigious award such as this." The museum's achievement reflects its successful transition from private collection to public attraction, demonstrating how personal passions can evolve into community assets.
The museum represents the culmination of Sturgeon's four-decade journey as a collector, beginning with toy Mercedes cars over 40 years ago. His interests gradually expanded to include rare and vintage automobile-themed items, race cars, scale models, vintage toys, unique signs, automotive memorabilia, and other historic collectibles. As the collection grew, Sturgeon recognized the need to share these treasures with the public, leading to the creation of the museum concept.
Located in Fort Worth, Texas, the museum occupies more than 150,000 square feet of dynamic display space and features a captivating combination of whimsy and delight. Visitors discover a veritable treasure trove of more than 3,000 vintage collectible toys and an extraordinary, multi-million-dollar collection of more than 200 classic and unique cars. The automotive area showcases rare exotic cars, European masterpieces, celebrity-owned vehicles, unique oddities, and historic race cars, each with its own fascinating story representing decades of automotive innovation and craftsmanship.
The museum's significance extends beyond mere exhibition, serving as an educational resource that preserves automotive history and design evolution. Sturgeon emphasized this broader mission, stating, "At this point, it's more than just a classic car collection. It's an experience. We're proud to offer a space where visitors can immerse themselves in automotive culture. Whether you're admiring a beautifully restored car, reliving childhood memories through our toy collection, or learning about the evolution of automobile design, our museum will leave you inspired."
Among the museum's automotive highlights are modern supercars including a 647 hp 2017 Ford GT and a 986 hp 2022 Ferrari SF90, alongside a row of 1 million rare classic cars. The toy collection features perennial visitor favorites, particularly the carefully curated cache of space toys from the mid-1900s. This includes rare 1950s and 1960s robots such as Gumbo, Electroman, and Big Loo, each with unique historical significance and mechanical complexity.
Gumbo the Robot Dispenser stands nearly five feet tall as a rare Italian coin-operated gumball vending machine from the late 1950s, featuring polished metal construction with orange illuminated eyes and mouth. Electroman, known as "the holy grail" of robot collectors, features stunning lithograph detailing and automatic mouth movement when activated. Big Loo, manufactured by Louis Marx and Company for the 1963 holiday season with limited production of about 5,000 units, stands over 38 inches tall with multiple functions including rocket launching, ball throwing, and water squirting capabilities.
The museum's accessibility policies contribute to its family-friendly reputation, offering free admission to all visitors with ample free parking available. The facility is dog-friendly, making it an inviting experience for families, collectors, and car enthusiasts alike. Additional information about the museum can be found at https://www.dfwelitetoymuseum.com, though the museum continues to operate under its original DFW Elite Toy Museum website while transitioning to its new Fort Worth location.
This recognition from Fort Worth Magazine carries significant weight in the local cultural landscape. For 22 years, Fort Worth Magazine has served as the authority on dining, fashion, culture, travel, and human-interest stories in the western Metroplex, with a circulation of nearly 20,000. The annual Best of Fort Worth competition engages readers in voting for their favorites across multiple categories, making the museum's win a genuine reflection of community preference rather than editorial selection.
The museum's rapid success and recognition demonstrate the growing importance of interactive, family-oriented cultural institutions in urban communities. By combining automotive history with nostalgic toy collections, the DFW Car and Toy Museum creates cross-generational appeal that educates while entertaining. The facility also serves as a private event space, further integrating itself into the community fabric while providing additional revenue streams to support its preservation mission.
The impact of this recognition extends beyond the museum itself, potentially influencing Fort Worth's cultural tourism landscape and setting standards for family entertainment venues. As communities seek meaningful, educational experiences that appeal to multiple generations, the DFW Car and Toy Museum's model of combining personal passion with public accessibility offers a template for future cultural institutions. The museum's success story underscores how private collections can transform into community assets when properly curated and made accessible to the public.
