TheKansas Aviation Museumis a museum located inWichita, Kansas,United States, near 31st South and George Washington Blvd. The building, designed byGlen H. Thomas,was the formerWichita Municipal Airportterminal 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.
 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,Kansas67210 USA[1] |
| Coordinates | 37°37′56″N97°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 referenceNo. | 90000908[3] |
| Added to NRHP | June 11, 1990 |
The Museum features many display aircraft including theWB-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, andLockheed T-33.
The building was listed on theNational Register of Historic Placesas theAdministration Buildingin 1990.[3]It has also been known asBuilding One.[3][4]
History and Architecture
editIn 1927, the city purchased 640 acres of prairie, the site of airshows dating back to 1924. In June 1930 ceremony,L.W. Clappbroke ground as construction of the administrative building commenced. However, theGreat Depressiondelayed progress untilWorks Progress Administrationfunds became available in 1934. On 31 March 1935, the building was dedicated. In 1941, theUnited States Army Air Corpsleased 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 ofBoeingKaydetsandB-29s.By 1944, a take off or landing was occurring every 90 seconds. At the end ofWWII,the airport returned to civilian use.[5][6][7][8]
Several luminaries passed through the terminal, includingCharles Lindbergh,Eleanore Whitney,Hopalang Cassidy,Fred Astaire,Amelia Earhart,Howard Hughes,andWiley Post[8]
In 1951, the airport was acquired by the US Air Force forB-47use, 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
- Cosmospherein Hutchinson
- Combat Air Museumin Topeka
- Mid-America Air Museumin Liberal
- Kansas World War II army airfields
- List of aerospace museums
- List of museums in Kansas
References
edit- ^abGeographic Names Information System (GNIS) details for Kansas Aviation Museum; United States Geological Survey (USGS); December 8, 2008.
- ^Kansas Aviation Museum organization page
- ^abc"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.andaccompanying photos
- ^"ICT History".Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport.Retrieved25 August2024.
- ^"History of the Building".Kansas Aviation Museum.Retrieved25 August2024.
- ^ab"McConnell AFB, KS".Retrieved25 August2024.
- ^abWichita, Where Aviation Took Wing.Greteman Group. 2019. pp. 65, 147, 160, 167.ISBN9780981518206.
- ^"Airports and their Stories".AOPA Pilot:73. May 2014.
- ^"Kansas Museum Opening Planes".20 June 2014.Retrieved20 June2014.
External links
edit- Official website
- Wings Over Kansas: Aviation Hall of Fame Inductees1986–1999 List
- Administrative Buildingfrom theNational Park ServicesiteAviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary
- Administrative Building NRHP Application (12 page PDF)- National Park Service