There are only 3000 people in the small town of Momence, Illinois, but they'll soon be joined by a host of James Bond fans coming to visit the Museum of Bond Vehicles and Espionage. Land of Lincoln, meet Q Branch.
The museum is being put together with the blessing of the Ian Fleming Foundation, and will house the largest collection of Bond vehicles anywhere in the world. The collection is owned by Doug Redenius, a Momence postal worker who happens to be a vice-president of the Ian Fleming Foundation.
The facility will sit on the bones of an old car dealership and scheduled to get a complete makeover, with the front glass cleverly sporting an etched "007" logo made up of the names of actors and movies. (Note the seven-shaped window frame.) Vehicles included in the collection are the famous Lotus Espirit submarine from The Spy Who Loved Me and the Aston Martin Volante in The Living Daylights, among many others. The design director on the project, Brian Vitale, is eagerly working on pulling everything together for a 2012 opening date and getting into the spirit, saying, "It's impossible not to hum the theme song as you're working on this project."