As a car enthusiast with more than one car, one quickly starts dreaming about the perfect garage and I think I might just have found it.
Ahh, the garage! I have touched on the subject several times as has my Danish colleague Søren Navntoft, and although our International Editor, Anders Bilidt, mentions it rather more infrequently, I happen to know he too has the need. Yes indeed: For any car enthusiast, the quest for the perfect garage begins with the acquisition of the first classic car. Whether the car happens to be in immaculate condition at purchase or whether you as a person prefer to only tinker with it at an absolute minimum while you let the professionals do the rest, you will soon find that the place where you keep the car sets certain demands. From the very, very basic demands such as “space” to the slightly more comfort oriented such as “lighting” and “heating” to the very upper level of the needs pyramid, which we could call “atmosphere”.
The latter is probably the hardest to agree on, as for some it means shiny metal flake flooring and for others authentic light signs for decoration which naturally must match the make of car. However, a central focal point will always be what concerns the car directly – that is, besides the car itself, I mean. The hand tools, the electrical equipment and a sensible combination of where it is stored and how that looks just plain good. The perfect compromise of it all is a matter to be discussed and philosophised over indefinitely.
And yet the answer is so straightforward: The perfect garage can be found – erhm, in a workshop? Of course it can: One or more buildings which at some point in time served as a professional workshop, and therefore caters for all the practical aspects of handling cars – getting them in and out, storing them for shorter or longer periods and of course also tinkering with them or even undertaking big and complex jobs perhaps even including full restorations. It’s very logical, really. If you are really lucky, could you perhaps find such a place that even manages to also include the atmosphere and some aura? Maybe even some history, so it all comes full circle for someone messing around with old cars? Yes, indeed you can.
I know this for sure because I visited such a place after attending Retro Classics in Stuttgart back in March. For over seventy years this place had served as mainly an Opel workshop, but had over the years been continuously modernized – although certainly not in the often seen brutal way. No doubt the tweaks and changes here and there did not happen with an interior designer at hand, but simply as a result of technical and environmental requirements. In the end though, these requirements and time in general got the better of the old workshop and it lay dormant for years, gradually deteriorating and becoming somewhat worse for wear.
A group of young enthusiasts saw the potential in the substance though and set to work: Today it has been lovingly renovated and put into another use as an event and photo location with a vibe centred around the atmosphere of the very workshop which we all wander around dreaming of. I found the end result absolutely striking.
Everything was still there, as far as I could see: The spray cabin was probably used for something else, and the original work places were now more like viewing places. But to my eye at least; the whole thing came very close to the dream of how I would like to store and work with my own classic cars. And with about 2,000 square meters available, a few friends’ cars could probably find a spot in there too. In fact it shouldn’t even present as much of a problem to live there either – though that aspect might work best for bachelors, I guess.
In short Garage 229, as the place is called, was something near a dream house for me, and I must honestly admit that I have been looking for and at old workshops here on Funen in Denmark since. However, I might just have to get my own basic garage conditions in place first, of course – a matter which I will get back to, hopefully very soon. But in the meantime, enjoy the pictures of Garage 229 – you might find yourself inspired…
Read more about Garage 229 on their webpage here: Garage229.de