Pierce-Arrow Limousine

When Woodrow Wilson returned from France after negotiating the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, a new Pierce-Arrow limousine awaited him at the dock in New York to take him back to Washington.  The automobile had just been added to the White House fleet. Wilson favored this automobile so much that when he left office his friends purchased it for him to use.  The car had received its finishing touches at the plant of the manufacturer, the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company of Buffalo, New York, in June 1919.  It was the 120th of the "Series 51" model.

From July, 1919, until the inauguration of his successor in 1921, President Wilson rode frequently in the handsome limousine on official business.  The automobile was distinguished by two special emblems.  On each of its arched rear passenger doors, the Presidential Seal was displayed.  On the front of the radiator panel was the AAA symbol, for in 1917 he was the first President of the United States to join the association. 

A gift to the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace Foundation from Wilson's widow, Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, the limousine has been restored and its engine is in full working order.  It is on display in the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library Museum.

To learn more, click the link below to view our YouTube playlist that consists of educational videos all about the Pierce-Arrow.