Chuck Berry
1973 Cadillac Eldorado convertible
Photo details
Joyride serves the Smithsonian’s 1280 × 853 JPEG delivery derivative byte-for-byte. No crop, resize, retouching, generation or vehicle reconstruction; no readable registration is visible. Responsive presentation may crop displayed edges.
Photo details
Joyride serves the current 960 × 1440 Commons JPEG derivative byte-for-byte. No crop, resize, retouching or generation; a responsive frame may crop displayed edges. This identification portrait is separate from the Smithsonian Eldorado photograph.
The personal Cadillac caught on film
- Connection
- Former owner · museum donation
- When
- Owned and driven · 1986 film use · later donated to the Smithsonian
- Identity
- Individual red 1973 Cadillac Eldorado convertible · Smithsonian NMAAHC object 2011.137.1
Chuck Berry owned and drove this individual red 1973 Cadillac Eldorado. The Smithsonian identifies it as object 2011.137.1 and says it belonged to Berry’s personal Cadillac fleet. Joyride treats that museum record as ownership evidence; it does not infer a trim, engine, transmission or vehicle identification number from the photograph.
The car also carries a documented screen association. The Smithsonian says Berry drove the Eldorado during filming of Hail! Hail! Rock ’n’ Roll, the 1987 documentary chronicling two concerts recorded in 1986. That connection belongs to this owned car, not to an anonymous prop or same-model substitute.
The Smithsonian’s current record credits the car as a donation from Charles E. Berry, so this is a former-ownership story rather than a present-tense personal-collection claim. The museum’s exact-car image is available under CC0 and shows the complete red convertible without a readable registration. A separate Joe Cereghino concert photograph identifies Berry; the portrait is not presented as evidence about the Cadillac.
Where the car went next
- 1973The Eldorado is built
The Smithsonian identifies Berry’s red convertible as a 1973 Cadillac Eldorado; no narrower factory configuration or VIN is stated.
- 1986The Eldorado appears in Berry’s film story
The Smithsonian says Berry drove the car during filming of Hail! Hail! Rock ’n’ Roll, a 1987 documentary about two 1986 concerts.
- Smithsonian object 2011.137.1The car enters the museum collection
NMAAHC records the individual Eldorado with the credit line ‘Donation of Charles E. Berry.’
Sources for this story
The Smithsonian object record binds Berry’s ownership, personal-fleet context, 1986 film use and donation credit to NMAAHC object 2011.137.1. Joyride does not infer a donation date from the object number and does not claim current Berry ownership, a VIN, factory trim, engine, transmission, untouched-original condition, current exhibition status, complete Eldorado family coverage, an exact Joyride catalog profile or game compatibility.
- 1973 Cadillac Eldorado owned by Chuck BerrySmithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture · Collection record · reviewed October 6, 2026 · external source
Object number 2011.137.1, 1973 Cadillac Eldorado identity, Berry’s ownership and driving, personal-fleet context, 1986 film use, donation credit and CC0 exact-car image.
Reviewed
Why this is the actual car
- Photo identity evidence
The Smithsonian object page identifies the photographed red 1973 Cadillac Eldorado as Berry’s owned-and-driven car, object 2011.137.1, and marks the digital image CC0.
The matching photographer, venue, date and vehicle history establish the identification; the chassis stamp is not visible in these photographs.