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Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

Coordinates: 38°54′41.2″N 77°26′38.8″W / 38.911444°N 77.444111°W / 38.911444; -77.444111
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Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Aerial view of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in 2004
Map
EstablishedDecember 15, 2003; 20 years ago (2003-12-15)
LocationChantilly, Virginia, United States
TypeAir and Space Museum
Visitors1,186,493 (2009)[1]
Public transit accessShuttle bus between museum and Dulles International Airport
Websitewww.nasm.si.edu/udvarhazy/

The Steven F. 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, United States.

The 760,000 square feet (71,000 m2) facility was made possible by a US$65 million gift in October 1999 to the Smithsonian Institution by Steven F. Udvar-Hazy, an immigrant from Hungary and co-founder of the International Lease Finance Corporation, an aircraft leasing corporation.[2] Construction of the Center, which was designed by Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum, required 15 years of preparation and was built by Hensel Phelps Construction Co.[3] Site Civil Engineering design was performed by Patton Harris Rust and Associates, Inc. of Chantilly, Virginia.

NASM has always had more artifacts than could be displayed at the main museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Most of the collection had been stored, unavailable to visitors, at the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility in Silver Hill, Prince George's County, Maryland. A substantial addition to the center encompasing restoration, conservation and collection storage facilities is expected to be complete in late 2011; once complete, restoration facilities and museum archives will be moved from their current location at the Garber facility to the Udvar-Hazy Center. A taxiway connects Dulles Airport to the museum.[4]

Collection

The center finished construction and opened December 15, 2003, as part of powered flight centennial celebrations. The Udvar-Hazy Center displays historic aviation and space artifacts, including 170 aircraft and 152 large space and missile artifacts, especially items too large for the National Air and Space Museum's building on the National Mall, including:[1]

Enola Gay in 2004
The recently arrived, Space Shuttle Discovery in the space wing of Udvar-Hazy on 21 April 2012.
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
Dassault Falcon 20

The museum is still in the process of installing exhibits, but 163 aircraft and 154 large space artifacts are already on display as of November 2008,[6] and plans call for the eventual installation of over 200 aircraft.[7] The current list is maintained at the Objects On Display page of the Smithsonian Institution NASM Collections site. The museum also contains an IMAX theater.

On December 2, 2008, the center received a gift of $6 million for Phase Two of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center from Airbus Americas Inc. The gift was the largest corporate gift to the Smithsonian Institution in 2008. Phase Two of the Udvar-Hazy Center will be dedicated to the behind-the-scenes care of the Smithsonian’s collection of aircraft, spacecraft, related artifacts and archival materials.

Entrance View

The new wing will include:

  • Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar: spacious enough to accommodate several aircraft at one time with a second-floor viewing area designed to give visitors a behind-the-scenes look at work rarely seen by the public.
  • Archives: the foremost collection of documentary records of the history, science and technology of aeronautics and space flight will be housed in a single location for the first time, providing researchers with ample space and equipment.
  • Emil Buehler Conservation Laboratory: will provide conservators much-needed space to develop and execute specialized preservation strategies for artifacts.
  • Collections Processing Unit: a dedicated loading dock and specially designed secure area for initial inspection and analysis of artifacts.[8]

Transportation

Entrance to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

The Udvar-Hazy Center is located near Dulles Airport. From downtown Washington, D.C., the easiest route runs from I-66 West to VA 267 (Dulles Toll Road) West to VA 28 South, then follow the signs to a specially-marked exit off of VA 28 that leads directly to the museum parking lot.

As in other Smithsonian museums, admission is free, but there is a fee to park (currently $15 per vehicle) at Udvar-Hazy because of its close proximity to Dulles Airport; the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority requested a parking fee higher than the least expensive parking fee at Dulles due to the possibility of travelers taking advantage of lower-cost parking at a non-airport location, as well as the financial and insurance liabilities associated with airport patrons parking on non-airport property.

While it is possible to get to Udvar-Hazy from the National Air and Space Museum using mass transit, direct shuttle service was discontinued in 2006. The National Air and Space Museum has a flier available to patrons with shuttle bus schedules and bus and route information. Visitors wishing to take mass transit to Udvar-Hazy from downtown DC should take Metro Bus #5A to Dulles Airport, then catch the Virginia Regional Transit shuttle bus to the museum. The earliest you can arrive via Virginia Regional Transit is 10:45am. The entire commute takes 1–2 hours, because the schedules are set up in such a way that passengers miss the connecting bus by five or ten minutes, resulting in a wait of up to one hour at the airport. Drop-off by shuttle or bus is allowed free of charge -this includes hotel shuttle vans.

DC Metro service will become available to the Dulles International Airport with the completion of the Silver Line in 2016 with the possibility of transportation being offered to the museum.

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.[9] The SR-71 that is on display in the museum was used as Jetfire, a Decepticon who switches sides to become an Autobot, in the film. In the film, it is misnamed as the National Air & Space Museum.

Panorama from the central catwalk
Panorama looking at the Concorde aircraft
Panorama from tower
180° View of the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar

References

  1. ^ a b "Udvar-Havy Center Press Kit". Smithsonian Institution.
  2. ^ Small, L. M. "A century's roar and buzz: Thanks to an immigrant's generosity, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center opens to the public". In "From the Secretary". Smithsonian. Vol. 34, p. 20.
  3. ^ Triplett, W. "Hold everything!" Smithsonian. Vol. 34, December 2003, p. 59.
  4. ^ Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center History
  5. ^ Dornier Do-335
  6. ^ "Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Fact Sheet"
  7. ^ "Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Looking Ahead" Accessed September 30, 2006
  8. ^ National Air and Space Museum Receives Gift from Airbus for Phase Two of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
  9. ^ Keith Knight (2008-06-07). "More High-Fliers at Air & Space". The Washington Post.
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