Kansas Aviation Museum
 Ramp view | |
  Location within Kansas  Kansas Aviation Museum (the United States) | |
Former name | Wichita Municipal Airport |
|---|---|
| Established | April 19, 1991 |
| Location | 3350 George Washington Blvd Wichita, Kansas 67210 USA [1] |
| Coordinates | 37°37′56″N 97°16′25″W / 37.63222°N 97.27361°W [1] |
| Type | Aviation Museum |
| Visitors | 42,205 (2023) |
| Director | Ben Sauceda[2] |
| Website | kansasaviationmuseum.org |
Administration Building | |
| Location | McConnell AFB, Wichita, Kansas |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Architect | Glen H. Thomas |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| NRHP reference No. | 90000908[3] |
| Added to NRHP | June 11, 1990 |
The Kansas Aviation Museum is a museum located in Wichita, Kansas, United States, near 31st South and George Washington Blvd. The building, designed by Glen H. Thomas, was the former Wichita Municipal Airport terminal from 1935 to 1954. In February of 2024, the Wichita City Council approved an honorary over-naming of George Washington Blvd. as "Air Capital Blvd", recognizing the impact that Wichita makes in aviation.
The Museum features many display aircraft including the WB-47E Stratojet, B-52D Stratofortress, KC-135 Stratotanker, Boeing 727, Boeing 737-2H4, Republic F-84F Thunderstreak, Beech Starship, Cessna T-37, Learjet 23, Cessna 500/501 Prototype, Stearman 4D, Texaco 11, Stearman Trainer, 1920 Laird Swallow, 1926 Swallow, 1930 Watkins Skylark SL, 1944 Beech Staggerwing, U-8 Seminole, Mooney Mite, and Lockheed T-33.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Administration Building in 1990.[3] It has also been known as Building One.[3][4]
History and Architecture
[edit]In 1927, the city purchased 640 acres of prairie, the site of airshows dating back to 1924. In June 1930 ceremony, L.W. Clapp broke ground as construction of the administrative building commenced. However, the Great Depression delayed progress until Works Progress Administration funds became available in 1934. On 31 March 1935, the building was dedicated. In 1941, the United States Army Air Corps leased the airport, added the upper control tower, and commenced operations by March 1942. Wings were added to both sides of the terminal as the army's procurement division supervised delivery of Boeing Kaydets and B-29s. By 1944, a take off or landing was occurring every 90 seconds. At the end of WWII, the airport returned to civilian use.[5][6][7][8]
Several luminaries passed through the terminal, including Charles Lindbergh, Eleanore Whitney, Hopalang Cassidy, Fred Astaire, Amelia Earhart, Howard Hughes, and Wiley Post[8]
In 1951, the airport was acquired by the US Air Force for B-47 use, and renamed Wichita Air Force Base. Civilian use continued until 1954, when the Wichita Mid-Continent Airport opened, and the base was renamed McConnell.[7]
The Air Force continued to use the building (called Building One) until about 1984 when they shut the doors and abandoned it marking it off as surplus. It sat empty and partially gutted for at least six years until the Kansas Aviation Museum was formed in 1990 and began work.[9]
The Kansas Aviation Museum is one of only a few museums that allow visitors to enter its exhibition aircraft. The museum operates a once yearly "Play on a Plane Day".[10]
See also
[edit]
- Cosmosphere in Hutchinson
- Combat Air Museum in Topeka
- Mid-America Air Museum in Liberal
- Kansas World War II army airfields
- List of aerospace museums
- List of museums in Kansas
References
[edit]- ^ a b Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) details for Kansas Aviation Museum; United States Geological Survey (USGS); December 8, 2008.
- ^ Kansas Aviation Museum organization page
- ^ a b c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Administration Building / Building One". National Park Service. and accompanying photos
- ^ "ICT History". Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ "History of the Building". Kansas Aviation Museum. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ a b "McConnell AFB, KS". Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ a b Wichita, Where Aviation Took Wing. Greteman Group. 2019. pp. 65, 147, 160, 167. ISBN 9780981518206.
- ^ "Airports and their Stories". AOPA Pilot: 73. May 2014.
- ^ "Kansas Museum Opening Planes". 20 June 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Wings Over Kansas: Aviation Hall of Fame Inductees 1986–1999 List
- Administrative Building from the National Park Service site Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary
- Administrative Building NRHP Application (12 page PDF) - National Park Service
| General | |
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| Neighborhoods | |
| Landmarks and culture | |
| Museums | |
| Event venues | |
| Colleges and universities | |
- Aerospace museums in Kansas
- Museums in Wichita, Kansas
- Military and war museums in Kansas
- Art Deco airports
- Art Deco architecture in Kansas
- National Register of Historic Places in Wichita, Kansas
- Air transportation buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places
- Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in Kansas