New $311M Air & Space Museum Center Debuts First Phase

DULLES, VA-Preparations have gotten under way for next week’s official opening of the first phase of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum’s second location for the housing of its historic aviation and space collections. The sprawling facility is the companion site of the flagship Air & Space Museum on the National Mall in the District, and is scheduled to make its debut Dec. 15, just two days before the 100th anniversary of the Orville and Wilbur Wright’s first powered flights. Private donations–along with funds for infrastructural accommodations from the Commonwealth of Virginia–filled the substantial $311-million coffer for the development, which, upon completion, will consist of 760,000 sf.

Located off Route 50 at the Washington Dulles International Airport, the Udvar-Hazy Center occupies a 177-acre parcel just south of the main terminal. Phase I of the project consists of the 53,000-sf James S. McDonnell Space Hangar, which, at the length of three football fields, encompasses three levels of aircraft. Phase I also includes the 164-ft tall Donald D. Engen Observation Tower, an IMAX theater and a food court.