The Decay of the Bridgeport Curtiss Hangers - Small Update
Tue Sep 28, 2010 11:18 am
Just a quick little update on the decay of a beautiful part of Aviation History. This is the larger of the Curtiss flying school hangers at Sikorsky Memorial. The hanger is savable, it needs a roof and windows, the structure is sound, just the brick facing is failing. So sad to see it sit there and wait for the wrecking ball.
Abandoned Mooney in the Hanger - Bridgeport CT by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr
Abandoned Hanger - Bridgeport CT by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr
Abandoned Hanger - Bridgeport CT by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr
Abandoned Hanger - Bridgeport CT by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr
Abandoned Mooney in the Hanger - Bridgeport CT by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr
Abandoned Hanger - Bridgeport CT by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr
Abandoned Hanger - Bridgeport CT by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr
Abandoned Hanger - Bridgeport CT by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr
Re: The Decay of the Bridgeport Curtiss Hangers - Small Update
Tue Sep 28, 2010 12:16 pm
Breaks my heart every time i see her.
Re: The Decay of the Bridgeport Curtiss Hangers - Small Update
Tue Sep 28, 2010 12:17 pm
DP Delete please
Re: The Decay of the Bridgeport Curtiss Hangers - Small Update
Tue Sep 28, 2010 12:24 pm
Sad! We lost our beautiful old Goodyear Blimp hangar here in St Petersburg some years back, years of neglect and termites had rendered the old structure "Unsavable" and dangerous. So it was torn down. Now we have lots of ticky tacky little metal sheds...hangars.
Re: The Decay of the Bridgeport Curtiss Hangers - Small Update
Tue Sep 28, 2010 2:37 pm
Every time I see them I'm saddened that something can't be done.
For those of you who might want to know a little more about the hangars, just think about what happened here in the past:
Corsairs were stored in and operated from them, the first helicopter, the V-173 Flying Pancake, the Mollisons flew from them, Charles Lindbergh, Juan Trippe, Igor Sikorsky, and countless other walked in and used this hangar.
It's not just a local treasure. It's a National treasure that should be saved and restored at all costs, even if it had to be moved.
If I could only win that lottery....
Jerry
For those of you who might want to know a little more about the hangars, just think about what happened here in the past:
Corsairs were stored in and operated from them, the first helicopter, the V-173 Flying Pancake, the Mollisons flew from them, Charles Lindbergh, Juan Trippe, Igor Sikorsky, and countless other walked in and used this hangar.
It's not just a local treasure. It's a National treasure that should be saved and restored at all costs, even if it had to be moved.
If I could only win that lottery....
Jerry
Re: The Decay of the Bridgeport Curtiss Hangers - Small Update
Tue Sep 28, 2010 2:51 pm
Also, whose aircraft is that?
Re: The Decay of the Bridgeport Curtiss Hangers - Small Update
Tue Sep 28, 2010 4:24 pm
can that be put in for a national landmark for historical preservation? At least that may stop anybody from destroying it. Is that a ww2 hanger or was that built afterward? Was that used just to store corsairs or maintenance? I have lots of questions about it
Re: The Decay of the Bridgeport Curtiss Hangers - Small Update
Tue Sep 28, 2010 5:07 pm
It was built sometime in the 20's I believe. It was there long before Chance Vought came to town. Originally the airport consisted of four historic structures that were all built around the same time frame of 1915 - 1925:
Hangar 1 Still in use by a flight school and in fairly good shape. (Able to house aircraft)
Hangar 2 The hangar pictured above and the one in far worse condition.
Terminal Building This was a one story structure until after the war. Its been open to the elements for nearly a decade now.
Airport Managers House This became the pilots operations building during the war for Vought and Sikorsky. In the 50's it became a bar known as the "Happy Landings Inn".
Today its the "Windsock" Bar & Grille.
No less than all four of these structures should be put on the registry as one point of historic interest. From there maybe we could restore them back to there original glory. I'd personally like to find out all the info I can about them. Anyone have any ideas how to go about doing that? Date of constructions? Completions? Architects? Companies that built them? Etc...
Hangar 1 Still in use by a flight school and in fairly good shape. (Able to house aircraft)
Hangar 2 The hangar pictured above and the one in far worse condition.
Terminal Building This was a one story structure until after the war. Its been open to the elements for nearly a decade now.
Airport Managers House This became the pilots operations building during the war for Vought and Sikorsky. In the 50's it became a bar known as the "Happy Landings Inn".
Today its the "Windsock" Bar & Grille.
No less than all four of these structures should be put on the registry as one point of historic interest. From there maybe we could restore them back to there original glory. I'd personally like to find out all the info I can about them. Anyone have any ideas how to go about doing that? Date of constructions? Completions? Architects? Companies that built them? Etc...
Re: The Decay of the Bridgeport Curtiss Hangers - Small Update
Tue Sep 28, 2010 10:16 pm
Sad thing to see for sure.
It appears that some A&P finally got even with D. Mooney over lubing that @$@#$^SDV^% stab pitch bellcrank in the tail thru that 1 inch wide double edged razor blade of access.
It appears that some A&P finally got even with D. Mooney over lubing that @$@#$^SDV^% stab pitch bellcrank in the tail thru that 1 inch wide double edged razor blade of access.
Re: The Decay of the Bridgeport Curtiss Hangers - Small Update
Tue Sep 28, 2010 10:21 pm
From what I understand the Hanger has been condemned and is slated for destruction making way for a new hanger for one of the FBO's. That is what I have heard around the tarmac, fact or fiction something is going to happen.
Re: The Decay of the Bridgeport Curtiss Hangers - Small Update
Wed Sep 29, 2010 11:35 am
Why don't you two go ask someone if you buy a few bricks from the facade to preserve at least some part of the history, Chris your outfit could turn a few dozen into a really cool admissions counter.
Re: The Decay of the Bridgeport Curtiss Hangers - Small Update
Wed Sep 29, 2010 11:51 am
If it comes down to the day that this building will in fact be demolished then I hope to save more than a few bricks. I'd like to try and save as much as possible. Regular doors, steel hangar doors, window panes, bricks, Door knobs, track wheels, etc. Everything that isn't nailed down. My list of viable options I'd like to see before that would be:
Option 1. Hangar remains in its current location and is restored.
Option 2. If said hangar is planned for demolition, then money is secured to move the structure elsewhere on the field. Before rebuilding occurs, the necessary components of the structure are refurbished. If enough money is secured I think It would be in the best interest to move all 4 structures and relocate them in the same position.
Option 3. If said hangar cannot be moved and enough money is not secured then all components that can be taken off the structure will in fact be taken off to be preserved.
Option 1. Hangar remains in its current location and is restored.
Option 2. If said hangar is planned for demolition, then money is secured to move the structure elsewhere on the field. Before rebuilding occurs, the necessary components of the structure are refurbished. If enough money is secured I think It would be in the best interest to move all 4 structures and relocate them in the same position.
Option 3. If said hangar cannot be moved and enough money is not secured then all components that can be taken off the structure will in fact be taken off to be preserved.
Re: The Decay of the Bridgeport Curtiss Hangers - Small Update
Wed Sep 29, 2010 2:43 pm
Chris, if you go to your town hall in straford, they will have all documentation of this building along with all the others. Date is was made, zoning, actual dimensions etc. And they will make copies for you. As far as the condition of this hanger i have toured it and it seems in good sound condition,( except the roof.) The roof could easily be fixed with plywood and matted rubber roofing. You gut the roof, rent a dumpster and cherry picker and go to work. Maybe even paint the building blue and put CHANCE-VOUGHT on the side!
You'd have to make a pitch to the city counsel to deem that this building is a national landmark of historic signifigence for the past of aviation. As well as a lasting monument of all the workers who sacrificed to make the corsair.
You'd have to make a pitch to the city counsel to deem that this building is a national landmark of historic signifigence for the past of aviation. As well as a lasting monument of all the workers who sacrificed to make the corsair.
Re: The Decay of the Bridgeport Curtiss Hangers - Small Update
Thu Sep 30, 2010 12:27 pm
Chris,
I certainly wish you good luck! In Tulsa, most of the airport's historic original hangars have been demolished. The last one is scheduled for demolition in the next year or so. Something about the FAA not liking how close it is to the crosswind runway... but I digress.
The first hangar here on our airport, Hangar One, was originally slated to be dismantled and moved across the airport to be reconstructed on a new slab and site for an air and space museum. When they started sending in the engineers to figure out the project, the lead paint abatement alone was going to cost a fairly staggering amount, at least for a new museum. The original doors were salvaged, along with the rolling tracks. A new building was constructed to the exact dimensions of the original hangar, and the sliding tracks for the doors were reused. The original doors had most of their glass panels removed and saved, and small commemorative plaques were made from them.
When Hangar Two was demolished, the original doors were removed by a local craning company and loaded onto flatbeds and shipped to Oklahoma City. A group there is trying to save/rebuild Wiley Post's old hangar, and they were without doors. Ours were the same size and type as the originals that they needed, so voila! Now they have doors.
Most of the hangars of this vintage were not meant to be dismantled and reassembled. If you can save them in place, so much better and cheaper. I really, really hope you are successful! To so many people, these are on par with warehouses and don't get the historic and architectural respect that historic urban structures now typically do.
Good luck!
kevin
I certainly wish you good luck! In Tulsa, most of the airport's historic original hangars have been demolished. The last one is scheduled for demolition in the next year or so. Something about the FAA not liking how close it is to the crosswind runway... but I digress.
The first hangar here on our airport, Hangar One, was originally slated to be dismantled and moved across the airport to be reconstructed on a new slab and site for an air and space museum. When they started sending in the engineers to figure out the project, the lead paint abatement alone was going to cost a fairly staggering amount, at least for a new museum. The original doors were salvaged, along with the rolling tracks. A new building was constructed to the exact dimensions of the original hangar, and the sliding tracks for the doors were reused. The original doors had most of their glass panels removed and saved, and small commemorative plaques were made from them.
When Hangar Two was demolished, the original doors were removed by a local craning company and loaded onto flatbeds and shipped to Oklahoma City. A group there is trying to save/rebuild Wiley Post's old hangar, and they were without doors. Ours were the same size and type as the originals that they needed, so voila! Now they have doors.
Most of the hangars of this vintage were not meant to be dismantled and reassembled. If you can save them in place, so much better and cheaper. I really, really hope you are successful! To so many people, these are on par with warehouses and don't get the historic and architectural respect that historic urban structures now typically do.
Good luck!
kevin