Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

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Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
StevenFUdvarHazy.png
Aerial view of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in 2004
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Location Chantilly, Virginia, United States
Coordinates 38°54′41″N77°26′39″W / 38.91139°N 77.44417°W / 38.91139; -77.44417
Type Aviation museum
Visitors1.6 million (2017) [1]
Website airandspace.si.edu/visit/udvar-hazy-center

The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, also called the Udvar-Hazy Center, is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM)'s annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia. It holds numerous exhibits, including the Space Shuttle Discovery, the Enola Gay , and the Boeing 367-80, the main prototype for the popular Boeing 707 airliner.

Contents

The 760,000-square-foot (71,000 m2; 17-acre; 7.1 ha) facility was made possible by a $65 million donation in October 1999 to the Smithsonian Institution by Steven F. Udvar-Házy, an immigrant from Hungary and co-founder of the International Lease Finance Corporation, an aircraft leasing corporation. [2] The main NASM building, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., had always contained more artifacts than could be displayed, and most of the collection had been stored, unavailable to visitors, at the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility in Silver Hill, Maryland. A substantial addition to the center encompassing restoration, conservation and collection-storage facilities was completed in 2010. Restoration facilities and museum archives were moved from the museum's Garber facility to the new sections of the Udvar-Hazy Center. [3]

Architecture and facilities

Entrance view with observation tower Udvar-Hazy Center center outside view.jpg
Entrance view with observation tower

Designed by Hellmuth, Obata, and Kassabaum, who also designed the National Air and Space Museum building, the Center required 15 years of preparation and was built by Hensel Phelps Construction Co. [4] The exhibition areas comprise two large hangars, the 293,707-square-foot (27,286.3 m2) Boeing Aviation Hangar and the 53,067-square-foot (4,930.1 m2) James S. McDonnell Space Hangar. The Donald D. Engen Observation Tower provides a view of landing operations at adjacent Washington Dulles International Airport. The museum also contains an IMAX theater. [5] A taxiway connects the museum to the airport. [6]

An expansion of the Udvar-Hazy Center is dedicated to the behind-the-scenes care of the Smithsonian's collection of aircraft, spacecraft, related artifacts and archival materials. On December 2, 2008, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center received a gift of $6 million for phase two from Airbus Americas Inc. — the largest corporate gift to the Smithsonian Institution in 2008. [6]

The wing includes:

A further expansion of the collections center was approved in December 2016. [9] The addition will be made up of three additional storage modules on the south side of the building. [10]

Main exhibition display area Panorama of the interior of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.jpg
Main exhibition display area

Collection

The center was opened on December 15, 2003. The Udvar-Hazy Center displays historic aviation and space artifacts, especially items too large for the National Air and Space Museum's building on the National Mall, including: [5]

The museum is still in the process of installing exhibits, and 169 aircraft and 152 large space artifacts were on display as of May 2012; [5] plans called for the eventual installation of over 200 aircraft. [17] The current list is maintained at the Objects On Display page of the Smithsonian Institution NASM Collections site.

Events

A number of events are held at the museum throughout the year. [18] These include lectures, book signings, sleepovers, and events for children. Some of the museum's larger events include Air & Scare for Halloween, [19] an open house, [20] and Innovations in Flight: Family Day and Outdoor Aviation Display. [21]

Media appearances

The center made its first media appearance in the 2009 film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen . The center remained open while filming took place, although certain areas were closed. [22] The SR-71 that is on display in the museum is featured as the vehicle mode for Jetfire, a Decepticon who switches sides to become an Autobot, in the film. In the film, it is referred to simply as the National Air and Space Museum.[ citation needed ]

See also

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References

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  2. Small, Lawrence M. (December 2003). "A Century's Roar and Buzz: Thanks to an immigrant's generosity, the Steven Udvar-Hazy Center opens its massive doors to the public". Smithsonian . Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  3. "Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center History". Archived from the original on July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  4. Triplett, W. "Hold everything!" Smithsonian. Vol. 34, December 2003, p. 59.
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  6. 1 2 3 4 Ezell, Linda Neuman; Museum, National Air and Space (2004). Building America's hangar: the design and construction of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum. ISBN   9781904832072. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  7. Irvine, Madison (October 11, 2017). "Experience the History of Wartime Aviation at Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center". Argunners Magazine | Military War History Website. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  8. National Air and Space Museum Receives Gift from Airbus for Phase Two of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Archived January 11, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  9. "Commission Action" (PDF). National Capital Planning Commission. December 1, 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  10. "Executive Director's Recommendation" (PDF). National Capital Planning Commission. December 1, 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
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  17. "Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Looking Ahead" Archived December 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Accessed September 30, 2006
  18. "Events | National Air and Space Museum". airandspace.si.edu. Archived from the original on February 8, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  19. "Air & Scare | National Air and Space Museum". airandspace.si.edu. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  20. "Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Open House | National Air and Space Museum". airandspace.si.edu. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  21. "Family Day and Outdoor Aviation Display - Innovations in Flight Aircraft Display". Innovations in Flight Aircraft Display. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  22. Keith Knight (June 7, 2008). "More High-Fliers at Air & Space". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 7, 2008. Retrieved October 27, 2017.