San Diego Air & Space Museum

The San Diego Air & Space Museum is located at 2001 Pan American Plaza in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, in the Ford Building, an Art Deco structure designed by Walter Dorwin Teague and built for the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition as a showcase for the Ford Motor Company. The building later served the Navy during World War II and housed Rohr Industries before the museum moved here in 1980. The museum was founded in 1963 and its roots trace to a fire that destroyed an earlier collection. San Diego has an important place in aviation history. Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis was designed and built in 1927 by Ryan Airlines at a waterfront factory in the city, and the museum features a full-scale replica. Other local firms included Convair, which built the B-24 Liberator and Atlas rockets, and General Atomics. The collection of more than 60 aircraft and spacecraft ranges from early gliders and World War I biplanes to jets and a Gemini space capsule. Highlights include a Blackbird-related exhibit, a replica of the Wright Flyer, and a replica Spirit of St. Louis, along with engines, uniforms, photographs and a large library and archive. The museum also hosts a vintage aircraft display and a flight simulator. The curatorial approach is chronological and thematic, moving from early flight to the space age, and it is supported by an International Aerospace Hall of Fame honoring pilots and engineers. The Ford Building was damaged by fire in 1978, rebuilt with the help of preservation efforts, and has since been restored. The museum is generally open daily from about 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM, with paid admission and discounts for residents. Visitors should expect to spend two to three hours, and the Balboa Park location allows easy pairing with other museums.