History
The museum was first opened to the public on February 15, 1963 in the Food and Beverage Building, which had been built in 1915 for the Panama–California Exposition. In 1965 the museum was moved to the larger Electrical Building.
On February 22, 1978 the Electrical Building and the Museum were destroyed in an arson fire. Several one-of-a-kind aircraft were destroyed, including the Beecraft Wee Bee, the world's lightest aircraft, and her sister craft the Queen Bee. A reproduction of the Spirit of St. Louis, built in 1967 by some of the same people who built the original, was also destroyed, along with more than 50 other aircraft, an extensive collection of artifacts and archives, and the International Aerospace Hall of Fame. Owen Clarke, the museum's executive director, said of the $4 million in losses, "This is unbelievably tragic. When you've spent that length of time acquiring history, building something up to where it had international prestige, then see it all disappear in a couple of hours, what else can it be?"
Before the fire, plans had already been under way to move the museum to the larger Ford Building, also in Balboa Park, which had been built for the 1935-36 California Pacific International Exposition. Even though several important historic aircraft were lost in the fire, much of the collection on display was dated or insignificant. The museum was already accumulating new aircraft that were in storage awaiting space in the new building and so were spared from the fire. In addition, the community rallied, raising funds and donating items from private collections. The museum reopened, with a smaller but growing collection, in its current home in the former Ford Building on June 28, 1980. A new reproduction of the Spirit of St. Louis was built for the new museum. Because of its historical significance, a reproduction of the Wee Bee was also built.
In 2005 the museum became affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution. It is one of only ten aerospace museums in the country to have such an affiliation, and one of only two affiliated museums in San Diego.
Read more about this topic: San Diego Air & Space Museum
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