Plans to convert original Port Columbus terminal into aviation hall of fame are taking off

It might be difficult to see from the outside, but progress is being made to restore the original Port Columbus Airport Terminal into the Ohio Air and Space Hall of Fame and Learning Center.

The group working to renovate the 93-year-old building at the southeast corner of John Glenn Columbus International Airport plans to include flight simulators for those interested in aviation careers.

Ron Kaplan, executive director of Ohio Air and Space, said the project cost is $4 million.

Ohio Air and Space raising funds

"We're continuing to raise money for programs and exhibits and staffing," Kaplan said.

Thus far, the group has raised $1.2 million, with the goal of raising another $700,000 to begin the first phase of work, which he hopes to start next year.

"The board has been hard at work to hit the $700,000 mark to get the work started on building," Kaplan said. "We want to get it open as soon as possible."

The group received a $550,000 state grant for the project, and NetJets and FlightSafety became corporate sponsors: NetJets with $125,000 and FlightSafety $100,000, he said.

FlightSafety, a company that provides pilot training and airplane maintenance and other programs, is to also provide two flight simulators for aspiring pilots, Kaplan said. The center also would have two more simulators for the public.

Highlighting opportunities in aviation

Nate Speiser, FlightSafety's executive vice president of sales and marketing, said it's about sharing with people some of the opportunities in aviation, particularly in business aviation.

The first floor will reflect the history of flight in Ohio, Kaplan said. The second floor will house the flight simulators, along with a flexible-use classroom and meeting room.

"We're not restoring the terminal back to its 1929 configuration," Kaplan said, although the exterior will look as it did then.

The group also plans to present speakers as well as seminars and festivals, while hosting historic aircraft from time to time.

Andrew Pierce, a Delta Air Lines pilot and a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve, is the director of the Buckeye Tigers, a group connected to the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals that works to bring more Black youths into the aerospace industry.

Buckeye Tigers plans to bring youths ages 13-18 to the terminal to learn about aviation and careers, from flying to airport administration to becoming a plane mechanic, he said.

His group has a one-week summer Aerospace Career Education (A.C.E.) Academy in which 20-30 youths are introduced to various segments of aviation, he said.

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"Columbus has a lot of rich aviation history," Pierce said. "There is a lot of opportunity to capitalize getting our kids interested. What better way to get youth and adults in the community to create a pipeline to ensure we have the personnel to manage and take care of our city through buildings like old Port Columbus?

"Any time you can save or preserve anything of historical significance, it can be used as an inspiration and a catalyst to give hope and inspire future generations."

Tuskegee Airmen as part of hall of fame

John C. Mitchell, past president of the Ohio Memorial Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen Foundation and aviation hall of fame board member, said the story of the Tuskegee Airmen would be part of the center.

"What we need to do is show our younger people, letting them know the stories and struggles that went before them," said Mitchell, a retired commercial pilot whose father was a member of the ground crew for the Tuskegee Airmen, based at what is now Rickenbacker International Airport. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first Black military pilots and crews, who began their service during World War II.

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"He used to bring us over to the airport, watch planes take off and land," Mitchell said.

The restored terminal would provide a place for young people to do just that, he said.

The former terminal at 4920 E. Fifth Ave. was opened July 8, 1929, and served as the airport terminal until the current one was opened in 1958. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 2015, Heartland Bank dropped plans to renovate and lease the original terminal and hangar, withdrawing its application for historic tax credits after saying it was not economically feasible to restore the building.

Crews replaced the roof and removed mold in 2016.

The Columbus Regional Airport Authority owns the property, and Ohio Air and Space has a long-term lease, Kaplan said. An airport spokeswoman said the Columbus Regional Airport Authority had no comment on the project.

The Art Deco-style air terminal has 12,000 square feet and still features the original control tower. When it was opened, it was the easternmost air link in the New York to Los Angeles Transcontinental Air Transport route.

Passengers took a train from New York to Columbus, where they exited the train and walked across East Fifth Avenue to the air terminal to fly to Oklahoma. The Great Depression led to the service's elimination.

Rebecca Kemper, CEO of Columbus Landmarks, which put the building on its most endangered list in 2015, said Kaplan's group has created a sustainable plan to restore the building, one that she said could have easily been lost.

"We're really excited for all the work that they’ve done," Kemper said.

mferench@dispatch.com

@MarkFerenchik

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Original Port Columbus terminal envisioned as aviation hall of fame