About Member Meetings: Four times a year, Historic Seattle invites its members and the public to learn about programs and projects of interest taking place in our community and through the auspices of Historic Seattle. Held at sites of historic or architectural interest, these events include social time with light refreshments and a short quarterly business meeting before the program.
The Museum of Flight traces its roots back to the Pacific Northwest Aviation Historical Foundation, founded in 1965 to recover and restore a 1929 Boeing 80A aircraft discovered in Anchorage, Alaska. The restoration took place over a 16-year period and, after completion, was the centerpiece for the museum. In 1968, the name “Museum of Flight” first appeared in use in a 10,000-square-foot facility, rented at Seattle Center. In 1975, the museum acquired Boeing’s earliest manufacturing facility, the 1909 Red Barn, for one dollar from the Port of Seattle, and barged it up the Duwamish River to its current location.
Situated at the southwestern end of Boeing Field (now King County Airport), the restored building was opened to the public in 1983. Since then, the museum has expanded and added to its collections: The T.A. Wilson Great Gallery in 1987; the Challenger Learning Center in 1992; the Wings Cafe and the 250-seat Skyline multi-purpose banquet and meeting room in 1994; the Air Traffic Control Tower exhibit in 1997; J. Elroy McCaw Personal Courage Wing in 2004; the Charles Simonyi Space Gallery in 2012; and the Aviation Pavilion in 2016.
Museum staff will speak about the museum’s important role in preserving and curating flight heritage at the museum itself and at its Flight Restoration Center and Reserve Collection at Paine Field, Everett. This is also First Thursday, and the museum will be open until 9 PM to allow you to explore at your own pace following our meeting.
Free and open to the public. Donations accepted.
Photo: Moving the Red Barn, 1980. The Museum of Flight.