Blue Angels, U.S. Air Mail and dummy bombs. Pasco museum soars through airport’s past
The World War II-era traffic control tower in Pasco has come a long way in five years.
Rain-stained floors have been replaced with a bright, clean concrete decorated with runway lines. What had been a damaged wall now bears a vintage billboard for the Blue Angels.
And the tower itself is filled with people looking at displays showing the history of the former Naval Air Station.
The Pasco Aviation Museum opened to the public on Friday with planes, Jeeps and the first part of a renovated tower revealed to the public.
Malin Bergstrom, president of the Pasco business that used to call the air traffic tower home, helped spearhead the efforts to turn the tower into a museum. After seven years of effort, first to save the tower from demolition and then to renovate it, having it finally open to the public is a bit of a relief.
“Mostly (I am) really, really proud of the volunteers and the community. Everybody came together and supported this crazy idea of saving a historic building and turning it into an aviation museum,” she said.
The displays show the tower’s history as part of Naval Air Station, the air shows that came to the Tri-Cities until the early 1990s, the airport’s role in U.S. Air Mail service, and the tower’s work as the original airport terminal.
Donations flowed in and volunteers worked on renovating the building. As Bergstrom talked at the history of the building, various visitors stopped to talk to her about items they might have to donate.
“We got the word out that it was going to be a museum and then the phone started ringing,” she said. “People started coming into Bergstrom here at the airport.”
The donations ranged from dummy bombs to pilots gloves from the Navy.
On one wall is an old Blue Angels billboard turned into mural that used to be part of Bergstrom Aircraft. The billboard came to Pasco with the Naval flight team in 1982, she said.
“We got it installed while they were there,” she said. “They all signed it, and it stayed on the wall for 20 years.”
When the company moved out of the building, it needed to be cut from the wall and put into storage. It was able to make its way back to the building as they finished.
The museum will be open Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. People can enter through Bergstrom Aircraft at 4102 N. Stearman Ave. Admission will be $10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors, and veterans can visit for free.
Now the group is turning its efforts to the tower’s second floor. While the plans are not finalized, people are suggesting some sort of cafe for the space.
For more information, or to volunteer or donate to the efforts, go to www.savetheoldtower.com.