1940 Air Terminal Museum
Encyclopedia
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
located in Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at William P. Hobby Airport
William P. Hobby Airport
William P. Hobby Airport is a public airport in Houston, Texas, located from Downtown Houston. The airport covers and has four runways. Hobby Airport is Houston's oldest commercial airport and was the city's primary air terminal until the opening of Houston Intercontinental Airport in 1969...
. Collections are housed in the original art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
building which served as the first terminal
Airport terminal
An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from aircraft....
for passenger flight in Houston. The museum currently exhibits several collections focusing on Houston's commercial aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
history and is operated by the Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society (HAHS), a recognized Texas 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
History
The museum is housed in the Houston Municipal Airport Terminal, an airport terminalAirport terminal
An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from aircraft....
that was constructed in 1940. The terminal building is an example of classic art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
airport architecture from the 1940s. The terminal served Houston during the years when air travelers dressed in formal clothing and embarked for destinations aboard roaring prop liners like the Douglas DC-3 and the Lockheed Constellation
Lockheed Constellation
The Lockheed Constellation was a propeller-driven airliner powered by four 18-cylinder radial Wright R-3350 engines. It was built by Lockheed between 1943 and 1958 at its Burbank, California, USA, facility. A total of 856 aircraft were produced in numerous models, all distinguished by a...
. Designed by architect Joseph Finger
Joseph Finger
Joseph Finger was an Austrian-born architect most active in Texas in the 1930s and 1940s, responsible for a number of Houston Art Deco landmarks....
(who also designed Houston's City Hall
Houston City Hall
The Houston City Hall building is the headquarters of the City of Houston government. It was constructed in 1938-1939, and is located in Downtown Houston. It is surrounded by skyscrapers and very similar to dozens of other city halls built in the southwest United States during the same time...
), the terminal was built to meet Houston's growing role as a center for air commerce in the 1930s. The terminal served as the primary commercial air terminal for Houston until 1954, and was used by various tenants until 1978. In 1978, Hobby Airport's manager James Delong proposed demolishing the 1940 terminal to free up ramp space, but enthusiasts blocked the demolition. The terminal was then unoccupied for nearly 30 years.
Restoration and modern use
In 1998, a non profit organization, the Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society (HAHS), was formed primarily to save the threatened terminal building. HAHS recognized that funding and renovation must be completed in phases, and began a plan to restore the entire building. In later 2003 HAHS contract labor completed the asbestosAsbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
and lead abatement of the north wing of the terminal. The abatement process stripped the original plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
from the interior walls, leaving the non-loadbearing brick walls of the terminal intact.
The North Wing of the Air Terminal was opened to the public in 2004 as the first phase of the museum. The restored North Wing of the terminal housed the museum's collection and gift shop and served as the museum's base of operations while completing fund raising and restoration of the remainder of the building.
The rest of the building completed asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
abatement in May 2008 and completed atrium
Atrium (architecture)
In modern architecture, an atrium is a large open space, often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows, often situated within a larger multistory building and often located immediately beyond the main entrance doors...
and mezzanine reconstruction in February 2009. The full lower floor will be restored to its original condition when funds permit. The museum will spread out and occupy the entire first floor of the terminal building and then begin renovation of the upper floors.
The American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA) designated the 1940 Air Terminal Museum a Historic Aerospace Site. The 1940 Air Terminal is AIAA's 35th aurospace site recognized as a rare example of classic Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
airport architecture. In February 2010 the Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society was presented with a Good Brick Award for excellence in preservation for the 1940 Air Terminal Museum. Good Brick Awards are given annually from the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance.
In 2008, HAHS was granted a license to the oldest hangar
Hangar
A hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...
on Hobby Airport's grounds, a 1929 Great Silver Fleet Maintenance Hangar. The organization will use this hangar to display larger exhibits from the collection, such as two simulators
Flight simulator
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and various aspects of the flight environment. This includes the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to applications of their controls and other aircraft systems, and how they react to the external...
, and HAHS's aircraft collection, which includes a 1943 Lockheed Lodestar
Lockheed Lodestar
The Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar was a passenger transport aircraft of the World War II era.-Design and development:The prototype of the Lockheed Model 18, which first flew in 1939, was constructed from one of a batch of Lockheed Model 14 Super Electras which had been returned to the manufacturer by...
executive businessliner, an S-58 Sikorsky Helicopter that was outfitted for civilian heavy lifting.
Funding and special events
Private foundation
A private foundation is a legal entity set up by an individual, a family or a group of individuals, for a purpose such as philanthropy. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest private foundation in the U.S. with over $38 billion in assets...
and public foundations, as well as individual donors. The museum also operates a Member's Program, which allows special access to some functions for members. The museum and its buildings are also available for private functions.
HAHS currently benefits from several fundraisers:
- Wings and Wheels- Every third Saturday of the month, the 1940 Air Terminal Museum has static displays of aircraft and cars.
- Pops & Props Gala- an annual fundraising dinner and dance.
- Win-A-Plane Raffle- an annual raffle for a beautifully restored vintage plane.
- Hobby Fest- the large, annual Wings and Wheels with several special guests, rides, and prizes.
The Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society
The 1940 Air Terminal Museum is the project of the Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society. The Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society is a Texas non-profit corporation founded to research, promote and preserve the aeronautical heritage of Houston and southeast Texas. The society was founded in 1998 by a group of aviation, architecture and history enthusiasts. The society includes persons from all walks of life, including students and retirees, architects and attorneys, educators and engineers, community leaders and commercial pilots.The Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society is recognized as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization by the Internal Revenue Service. The Society is funded through private and public grants, corporate and personal contributions and net proceeds from revenue generating endeavors such as museum memberships and gift shop sales.
External links
- The 1940 Air Terminal Museum at William P. Hobby Airport
- Houston Airport System — William P. Hobby Airport
- Houston 1940 Air Terminal Museum — pictures on FlickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
- 1940 Air Terminal Museum — pictures on FlickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
- Gonzalez, J. R. "1941 photos show scenes at Houston Municipal Airport." Houston ChronicleHouston ChronicleThe Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
. May 10, 2010.