- April 23, 2024
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The new 1904 Ormond Garage will house two replica race cars, which were purchased by the city in 2003 and restored after they were damaged by the beach environment.
BY MATT MENCARINI | STAFF WRITER
After three years of fundraising, planning and construction, the 1904 Ormond Garage replica is now officially dedicated.
Although the garage wasn’t completely finished, and the two replica race cars weren’t in place, residents, city officials and representatives of the Motor Racing Heritage Association gathered March 28, at Birthplace of Speed Park, to dedicate the newest city landmark.
“The sole purpose of the Motor Racing Heritage (Association) is to preserve the racing history, primarily here in Ormond Beach,” said Ron Piasecki, the nonprofit group’s president.
Plans for the replica garage were announced in 2010, during the last beach race.
“Every time I drive down Granada this time of year, the Birthplace of Speed banners are up,” Piasecki said. “When you drive into town, you see the old brown signs that say, ‘Birthplace of Speed.’ So we should live and respect the heritage that we have here.”
The original Ormond garage burned down in 1976, with cars still inside, but represented much more, said the Motor Racing Heritage Association’s Dan Smith. He said the first beach race was hastily put together in 1903, and only attracted only two cars. But once a picture of the race made its way north, the popularity increased.
Mayor Ed Kelley praised the garage as an example of a successful public-private partnership, and said it’s another recent example — along with Andy Romano Beachfront Park and the Magic Forest Rainbow Park — of why residents choose to live in Ormond Beach.
The garage will house two replica cars — “the bullet and the pirate,” Piasecki said — that the city purchased in 2003 and had to be removed from the park due to corrosion from the beach environment.
The new replica garage, when finished, will keep the restored cars out of the elements. The Motor Racing Heritage Association said the project cost approximately $25,000, which was raised completely from donations received from residents, businesses, former beach racers, among others.
Piasecki said the first donation the group received for the project was the day it was announced, from former Ormond Beach Mayor Ed Costello.
