Museum of Alaska Transportation & Industry

Background

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]

Fire and move to Palmer

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]

Move to Wasilla

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]

Aircraft

Rail vehicles