It's common for people to park an old car in a barn and forget about it. But in central Oregon there's an entire ghost town with an abandoned car museum at its center. Inside that museum sits a Hupmobile and Plymouths that have been waiting decades for visitors who never come.

These photos were taken last week by a FerrariChat.com member who visited the museum in Shaniko, Ore., when it opened in the 1970s, and had last dropped in nine years ago. Where the original museum was "pristine," the barn holding the cars now appears to be neglected; there's no power, the walls have holes and the windows are gone, although the donations box is still open:

 

It's just really sad to see all these cars rotting like this. Virtually all the emblems and hood ornaments have now been pilfered, along with trim parts and other bits. A fence was put up inside years ago apparently to slow the theft of bits, but it's been pulled down in places and folks just keep slowly stripping the cars.

 

Shaniko is famed around Oregon as a ghost town, even though a few people — 26 at last count — still live there. Several attempts to revive the town have come up empty, although many of its original buildings have been preserved and renovated.

 

The car barn is one part of the village that's resisted improvements to date. Given its condition, there's not much resistance left.