The Museum's Lockheed Lodestar takes off on Runway 4 in front of the 1940 Air Terminal. Click here to see the Lodestar photos. The 1940 Air Terminal Museum
at William P. Hobby Airport

8325 Travelair Rd, Houston, Texas 77061
(713) 454-1940
info@1940airterminal.org

The Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society

The 1940 Air Terminal is closed for the Holidays Wednesday December 24th- Friday December 26th 2008, then Thursday January 1st, 2009. We will operate a normal schedule, 10AM-5PM on our open days in between these listed.

Phase II contruction in last stages!


The 1940 Air Terminal Museum will soon show off its new interior on the center and south sections of the building. For updates on Phase II, keep a watch on this page.

The 2008-2009 Win-A-Plane Raffle: A Cessna 172!



The 1940 Air Terminal Museum is raffling this vintage 1957 Cessna 172 as a fundraiser. Raffle tickets for the new fundraising contest are available for $50 each, and no more than 2,500 tickets will be sold. The winner will be announced at the Museum's July 2009 Wings & Wheels open-house, or a sooner Wings & Wheels if all tickets have been sold. The raffle airplane will be on display at the Museum’s monthly Wings & Wheels open houses, at fly-ins and airshows and at popular flying destinations throughout the contest.
The Cessna 172 is the most popular light airplane in the world, is easy to fly, and inexpensive to operate and maintain. It carries up to four people at over 100 miles per hour and uses less than nine gallons of aviation gasoline per hour. The raffle plane sports red and black trim over a white aluminum airframe. The raffle plane has approximately 2220 total time, 1175 since factory reman, and 100 hours since a top overhaul. It has an IFR GPS and the Horton STOL kit.
The 1940 Air Terminal Museum is located at 8325 Travelair Road, on the west side of Hobby Airport, and is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and on Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. The 1940 Air Terminal Museum is operated by the Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society, a Texas non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. For more information, to schedule an interview, or for high resolution photos, please call the museum at 713-454-1940 or email at info@1940AirTerminal.org.

Join us for the next Wings and Wheels Saturday,
at the 1940 Air Terminal Museum!

(Held on the 3rd Saturday of every month.
Please call 713-454-1940 for more information about the next
Wings & Wheels theme and special programs.)

Wings & Wheels Ticket prices: $10 Adults, $5 Kids (12 and under).
Enjoy an afternoon of family fun
and help support the 1940 Air Terminal Museum!

Wings & Wheels ticket price includes Lunch, Static Aircraft Tours,
Special programs in the Starliner Theater,
Museum Tours, and admission to the museum.

Click here to see photos of previous Wings & Wheels Saturdays.

Museum Operating Hours

Currently on exhibit at the 1940 Air Terminal Museum...

The Airline Galleries, Hall of Flight, and Starliner Theater
feature original aviation art, stunning period photographs,
outstanding scale aircraft models, artifacts, uniforms,
memorabilia and documents of:
Trans-Texas Airways, Texas International, Continental Airlines,
Pan American, Eastern, Braniff, Chicago & Southern,
Pioneer, Essair, Delta, American Airlines, TWA,
Southwest Airlines, General Aviation,
Howard Hughes, and Houston Cessna dealer King Cruse.
Also, the history of plastic model airplanes and box art.

The Aviation Meteorology and Air Traffic Control Galleries
feature vintage weather and ATC equipment such as teletypes,
radios, and light guns as well as weather charts and navigational maps.
Also, Houston's aviation history and the history of learning to fly.

The Children's Dream of Flight Gallery
features vintage aviation toys, games, and books as well as
an aviation play table and reading library
to inspire young visitors to dream of flight.

Our Airport Viewing Area adjacent to the North Wing
is a welcome, safe place for museum visitors to sit and watch
the constant stream of air traffic at Houston Hobby Airport.

The Houston Municipal Airport Terminal is a beautiful and rare example of classic art deco airport architecture from the golden age of flight. The Terminal served Houston during the years when air travelers dressed in their finest and embarked for exotic destinations aboard roaring propliners like the Douglas DC-3 and the Lockheed Constellation.

Designed by noted architect Joseph Finger (who also designed Houston's City Hall), the Terminal was built to meet Houston's growing role as a major center for air commerce in the 1930s. The Terminal was completed in 1940 and served as the primary commercial air terminal for Houston until 1954.

While most major cities have razed the beautiful art deco airport terminals of the 1930s and 1940s to make way for modern buildings, jet traffic or the closing of airports, the Houston Municipal Airport Terminal stands on William P. Hobby Airport as a quiet monument to the rich and varied history of aviation in the region.

The Terminal and adjacent property is leased to the Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society by the City of Houston. By restoring this unique building, the Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society is preserving an important piece of Houston's history for future generations. The Museum is the only educational institution in Houston dedicated to promoting our city's significant civil aviation history.


The 1940 Air Terminal Museum

Phase 1: North Wing Restoration. The first phase of the 1940 Air Terminal Museum included the initial restoration of the North Wing of the Houston Municipal Air Terminal, nomination of the Terminal building for the National Register of Historic Places as well as state and local historic designation.

Lockheed L-18 Lodestar N31G

The restored North Wing of the Terminal houses the museum's rapidly growing collection and gift shop and serves as the museum's base of operations while completing fundraising and restoration of the rest of the building. The museum's growing aircraft collection includes a beautiful 1943 Lockheed Lodestar executive businessliner.

The first phase of restoration is complete. The North Wing of the 1940 Air Terminal Museum opened to the public on January 9, 2004. Click here to see the timeline, construction photos, and more...

Phase II:We will restore of the balance of the terminal's first floor and undertake important work on the restoration of the Terminal's remaining four floors. We will also save the 1949 Precision Aeromotive Hangar, move it intact to the Museum and restore it as a Museum exhibit hangar. Once restored, the hangar will house not only exhibits, but also the Museum's archives and serve as a special events venue. By completing Phase II:

  • the museum will more than triple its exhibit space, allowing us to significantly increasing the percentage of the museum's collection on exhibit and allowing us to exhibit our larger artifacts, such as the Lockheed Lodestar and the Southwest Airlines 737 Simulator,
  • the museum will have the space to expand educational programs, including new hands-on exhibits which are currently in development,
  • the museum will have the space to facilitate existing demand for larger groups to tour the museum,
  • the museum will have the space to host large-scale events (up to 500 persons), which promote the museum and provide an important sources of funding,
  • the museum will have permanent, purpose built archive space to catalogue and house our growing artifact collection.

    Planning and design work for Phase II is already underway and construction is expected to start in the first quarter of 2007. We need to raise just $300,000 more. You can help! Any donors who give gifts of $20 or more for Phase II will receive an invitation to witness the historic move of the Precision Aeromotive Hangar and an invitation to the Grand Opening of Phase II.

    The Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society

    The Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society is a Texas non-profit corporation founded to research, promote and preserve the rich aeronautical heritage of Houston and Southeast Texas. A diverse group of aviation, architecture and history enthusiasts founded the Society in 1998. The Society includes persons from all walks of life, including students and retirees, architects and attorneys, educators and engineers, community leaders and commercial pilots.

    The Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society is recognized as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization by the Internal Revenue Service. The Society is funded through private and public grants, corporate and personal contributions and net proceeds from revenue generating endeavors such as Museum Memberships and Gift Shop sales. Click here to learn more about the Houston Aeronautical Heritage Society.