Hangar could become a museum

The Massachusetts Port Authority will soon conduct an engineering assessment of a vacant hangar that preservationists and aviation history buffs want to turn into a museum at Hanscom Field.

Massport, owner-operator of the Bedford airfield, is responding to a request by the Massachusetts Historical Commission.

Brona Simon, the commission's executive director, sent a letter Jan. 12 to Massport senior planner Thomas W. Ennis noting that Massport has targeted the historic hangar for demolition, to make way for the redevelopment of the site "for general aviation use."

However, Simon wrote, the commission asks that Massport "have a conditions assessment and feasibility study conducted for Hangar 24 and associated outbuildings to document and evaluate their current conditions."

Pioneering navigation and radar systems were developed in the hangar from 1948 to 2001. The hangar was called the MIT Instrumentation Flight Facility and, later, the MIT Lincoln Laboratory Flight Facility. The site is on the Concord side of the airport.

In conducting the engineering assessment, Massport will be working closely with "the Concord Historical Commission and other interested parties," said Richard Walsh, chief spokesman for Hanscom Field.

The Concord commission's chairwoman, Barbara Lynn-Davis, said she and the other four members "are every excited about a museum concept" for the hangar. "A museum focusing on the 20th century would complement nicely other local museums featuring earlier periods," she added.

The idea for a Massachusetts Air and Space Museum was proposed last November by the Massachusetts Aviation Historical Society; Save Our Heritage, a Concord-based historic preservation group; and a number of individuals interested in this state's contributions to aviation advancements.

Anna Winter, executive director of Save Our Heritage, asserted this week, "Sadly, Massport has shown little concern for Minute Man National Park. If it destroys the historic MIT hangar, it will show that it doesn't even respect the history of aviation."

Four months ago, Crosspoint Aviation Services LLC of Woburn informed Massport that it was no longer interested in building a facility on the site of the former MIT hangar. That proposal had sparked considerable opposition from local officials and activist groups over issues such as public safety.