 The front of the Don Sheldon Building | |
  Location within Alaska | |
Former name |
|
|---|---|
| Established | 1967 |
| Location | Wasilla, Alaska |
| Coordinates | 61°34′39″N149°32′42″W / 61.5774°N 149.5450°W |
| Type | Transportation museum |
| Website | www |
The Museum of Alaska Transportation & Industry is a transportation museum located near Wasilla Airport in Wasilla, Alaska.
As part of the 1967 Alaska Centennial celebrations, an effort was begun to collect the history of Alaskan aviation. [a] In June of that year, the Centennial Aviation Progress Museum Committee first met under the chairmanship of Jack Peck. However, within a year the project was taken over by the state, which expanded the scope to all transportation in Alaska. [1] It was developed into the Centennial Train – six former World War II troop cars with exhibits that toured the state. Afterwards, it was placed on display next to the museum. [2]
On 5 September 1973, the museum was destroyed by a fire. 85 to 90 percent of the collection, including at least seven airplanes and many other vehicles, were lost. [3] [b] The museum was already suffering from financial problems before the fire and requested funding from the state to help it recover. [5] Plans were accelerated when nearby road construction forced the train to move. [6]
It moved to an 8,000 sq ft (740 m2) building at the Alaska Stair Fairgrounds in Palmer in 1976 where it became the Alaska Historical and Transportation Museum. [2] [7] The funding from the state; $80,000; came through the following year. [8]
However, in 1985, the Alaska State Fair announced it would not renew the museum's lease when it ended in 1987. As a result, the museum changed its name to the Museum of Alaska Transportation & Industry and began searching for a new location. [9] In October 1990, it began moving to 10 acres (0.040 km2) it purchased on Jacobsen Lake near Wasilla. [10] [c]
Exhibits at the museum include radio communication vacuum tubes, automobile fuel and the Whitney Section House. [12] There are also collections of vehicles including snowmobiles, and agricultural machinery. [13]
