Hastings Municipal Airport Hangar-Building No. 1

The Hangar is associated with the development of general aviation in central Nebraska generally and Hastings specifically. Additionally, the Hangar classically embodies the distinctive characteristics of aircraft hangar design from 1930 and has excellent historic integrity. The type of facility exemplified by the Hangar, never common, is increasingly rare due to functional obsolescence or severe deferred maintenance.

The earliest known reference to a "Hastings Airfield" appeared in the July 1, 1919 issue of the Hastings Tribune. It referred to "the use of 40 acres on the Kerr estate as a landing field for the use of the flying circus." Aviation fever was alive and well in the skies above Hastings as "barnstormers" (many of whom had flown in WWI) in their Curtiss Jennies thrilled crowds in Hastings and across the Great Plains.

Anticipating the appearance of Charles Lindbergh in late August 1927, the Hastings City Council moved to establish a permanent airfield in the city, naming a committee to negotiate a lease and handle other necessary matters. According to the August 31, 1927, edition of the Hastings Tribune, "the spirit of Hastings arose from all parts of the city this morning to greet the Spirit of St. Louis." The shriek of the siren at the firehouse alerted everyone, and Lucky Lindy could be seen clearly as he banked his airplane to read the word "Hastings" painted on the top of the Dutton Building. Unfortunately, Lindbergh's message to the people of Hastings, complete with red streamers, was caught in the tail of his aircraft and lost forever. According to Adams County: The Story 1872-1972, the "biggest enthusiasm of 1928 was over aviation." On July 5, 1928, the Hastings Chamber of Commerce received a letter from federal officials indicating interest in Hastings as a possible location for an airmail center. Mayor William M. Nelson reported that city control of the facility was required for an airmail station. Furthermore, it was necessary to install gasoline pumps and other necessary equipment and to construct aircraft hangars. As a result, Hastings Airport, Inc. was organized to promote the city as an airmail center. By mid-July, articles of incorporation had been drawn up and 400 shares at $25/share were offered to the public.

On July 25, 1929, the City Council sub-leased the old landing field near Ingleside (about two miles west of town) to D.F. Payne and Dale Meyers, experienced flyers who wanted to make their headquarters in Hastings. On September 9, Payne and Meyers announced the formation of the Payne Air School. The school enrolled its first student on September 23 and at the close of the year boasted an enrollment of 23 students. Meanwhile, the City Council soon had 12 tracts of land offered to them for the construction of a new municipal field. Land prices varied from $127 to $200 per acre and sizes ranged from 65-200 acres. All were on approved roads and near the city.

On September 9, 1929, the first Nebraska Air Tour, comprising a group of twenty-seven airplanes flying from Omaha, landed at the "old" Hastings airfield. They were formally greeted by Mayor Joe M. Davis and a committee from the Chamber of Commerce. The purpose of the tour was to encourage local communities to build municipal landing fields. Their vision was the use of commercial aviation as a regular mode of transportation for mail and passengers across the continent. The Nebraska Air Tour saw the development of municipal airfields as creating not just a landing field where "chance airmen would drop down to take up passengers" but as an opportunity for economic development.

On September 25, 1929, civic leaders called for a special $50,000 airport bond election to be held on November 19, 1929. Among the campaign messages was that to be considered for federal programs, the airport must be financed, owned, and operated by the city. The bonds would cost $.25 per year per $1000 assessed valuation.

An editorial in September 26, 1929, edition commended the City Council for their progressive spirit in approving the $50,000 bond issue for the municipal airport. It gave "evidence of their awareness of the unmistakable drift of affairs in aviation." Continuing, the editor noted railroad and highway transportation had made Hastings a regional distribution center for a large area, and stated: "Aviation is not a plaything. It will be our next means of practical transportation."

To help pass the bond issue, the American Legion invited the general public to the City Auditorium for an Armistice Day program. Representatives from the American Legion, Jr. and Sr. Chambers of Commerce and city officials stood in mud and water at the "old" airport to greet pilots flying in to speak to the Hastings audience about the importance of passing the bond to build a municipal airport.

Additionally, the Chambers of Commerce and Legionnaires made phone calls to voters and arranged transportation to the polls. Businesses encouraged employees to vote during work, scheduling voters in small groups so the businesses could remain open.
One of the most unique bond-issue campaign strategies was the "talking mailbox." Located on the corner of Second and Hastings, a large speaker horn in a specially constructed mailbox greeted people as they approached. Addressing many by name, a man's voice asked them to lend support to the passage of the airport bonds. Unbeknownst to the passers-by, a man overlooking the "talking mailbox" was at a window in a nearby building. The US Post Office and the Lincoln Telephone & Telegraph Company collaborated in this effort.

On election day, November 19, 1929, the Hastings Tribune reported "Hastings is the first of out-state cities to vote (on) so large a bond issue for a municipal airport....(the) outcome will influence other Nebraska cities." On November 20, the Tribune headline read "Hastings Invites Air Development." The airport bond issue had passed by a margin of 191 votes out of 3,615 votes cast. Ultimately, the Junior Chamber of Commerce was recognized by the national Junior Chamber organization for taking a leading role in this major civic project.

On January 13, 1930, the city sold the $50,000 bonds for the municipal airport at a $400 discount to the U.S. Trust Company in Omaha. They would draw 41/2 percent interest.

Wasting no time, by February 24, 1930, a special committee appointed by the City Council reviewed the dozen sites offered to the City and made their recommendation to the full Council. Hastings Municipal Airport would be north of Twelfth Street and west of Marian Road on 160 acres of the Thomas Shattuck farm near Hastings' western edge. The city paid Shattuck $22,000 for the land, house, barn, windmill, and fences.

By mid-March 1930, the site had become a hub of activity with runways being "laid out and smoothed." The city engineer ordered woven wire for fencing the entire tract and announced plans to remove portions of the old existing farm fence still standing. He also ordered ornamental gates (non-extant) for an airport front entrance and fenced off a space in the southwest corner of the airfield for automobile parking.

The Payne Air School transferred to the new location and installed a fuel pump. The Great Plains Aircraft Corporation announced plans to start using the field as headquarters for their aviation school and airplane sales business. Great Plains owned two airplanes, a Great Lakes and a Gypsy Moth, and were distributors for both lines.

On March 21, 1930, Don Flint, sales manager of the Sidles Aircraft Corporation in Lincoln, and Russell Campbell, representative of the Curtiss-Wright Company, landed in a Travel Air four-place monoplane. They became the first flying visitors to land at the new field.
By June 27, 1930, Hastings Municipal Airport Hanger-Building No. 1 was under construction by the Great Plains Aircraft Corp. Great Plains needed a large hangar for their operations which could accommodate six planes, including a Ford Tri-motor. Additionally, a five-passenger Stinson-Detroiter monoplane with a 300 HP Wright Whirlwind engine had been ordered by Dr. E.C. Foote and would be delivered upon completion of the Hangar. The Stinson would be the first privately owned airplane to be hanged in Hastings.

Earlier, however, representatives of Great Plains Aircraft appeared before the City Council, reporting exhaustion of capital. Great Plains reported to the City Council that they would have to borrow to complete the $18,000 hangar project. On June 24 the Hastings Tribune reported that the "City Will Help Finance Hangar." An $8,000 loan from the city airport fund would help build an 80' x 120' brick hangar.
In a vividly reported demonstration of the popularity of civil aviation in the community, the Second Nebraska Air Tour flew into Hastings on Saturday, June 28, 1930. It was billed as the most comprehensive display of aircraft ever assembled in this vicinity." The newspaper banner read: "Fliers Bring Gospel of Modern Air Travel." It was reported there was a steady stream of cars along Twelfth Street. Thousands of people came early to watch the 35 airplanes land at their new municipal airport. Harry Wimer, operations manager of Great Plains Aircraft Company, directed aircraft parking, and members of the Chambers of Commerce welcomed the pilots and their passengers. By noon, the entire fleet was lined up along both sides of the runway. Pilots commented on the "unusual smoothness of the runway. The paper reported that as soon as the wheat was harvested, the runway length would be tripled. The Tribune also spoke of the almost overnight transformation at the airport since the First Air Tour had visited Hastings less than ten months before.

By September 26, 1930 workmen were pouring the concrete floor of Hangar- Building No. 1 and only the sewer and water connections inside the building remained to be completed. Harry Wimer, the Great Plains Aircraft manager, moved into his new offices in the hangar that day and announced that a concrete apron would be placed directly in front of the hangar to facilitate the handling of planes.
On January 17, 1931, in a New Year Wrap-up, the Hastings Tribune published photos of three significant buildings constructed in Hastings during 1930. One photo was of Hangar-Building No. 1 with a biplane parked in the open door. It had been less than ten months since Great Plains had asked for the right to erect that hangar. In the next month, they would be granted a five-year lease at the Hastings Municipal Airport.

With support from the community and city government and with the visions of aviators and other forward-thinking people during the infancy of aviation, dreams were made a reality in Hastings. Included with those visionaries would be Evelyn Sharp, "Nebraska's Queen of the Air." As a little girl, Sharp watched barnstormers fly their Jennies above Hastings, and was eventually a principal stockholder in the Great Plains Aircraft Corporation. Sharp went on to great fame as Nebraska's most famous "aviatrix" and female World War II pilot. Sharp's interest in Great Plains Aircraft, the builder of the Hangar-Building No. 1, helps exemplify the significance and defining character of that building to the history of aviation in Hastings.

Aircraft hangars are buildings built primarily to protect aircraft from the elements. Some hangars, especially more modern buildings, have space designed for aircraft maintenance and/or office space. Hangars are characterized by open, clear spans and level floors and are sufficiently tall to allow for the entry of the aircraft tail. Hangars may be further identified by relatively large, usually sliding doors to allow for the entry of aircraft. In many cases, older aircraft hangars have limited or no windows.

According to the general aviation NEHBS, several types of historic general aviation hangars may be found in Nebraska. The most ubiquitous is T-hangars, so-called because they resemble the letter T in the plan. T-hangars are generally of frame construction and usually have some type of metal wall covering. Like all hangars, T-hangars have large double doors that slide horizontally on tracks that extend beyond the building envelope above the doors. T-hangars may be built to shelter only one or several aircraft. They generally have no additional space for maintenance or office space. This property type is sometimes difficult to date because the earliest T-hangars were built well before WWII, and the type is still occasionally used today. However, the NEHBS of general aviation facilities found no T-hangars earlier than 1948 or later than 1975. Most were constructed in the 1950s and '60s. Though no T-hangars were considered individually eligible in the general aviation NEHBS, several contributions to the significance of eligible historic districts at municipal airports in Beatrice, David City, Fremont, Stuart-Atkinson, Trenton, and Evelyn Sharp Field in Ord.

Quonset hangars are also fairly common in Nebraska. Quonsets lend themselves fairly well to aircraft storage. As is typical and, indeed, necessary, quonset hangar doors tend to be large, sliding doors that open horizontally on tracks that extend beyond the building envelope. Large quonsets may accommodate work areas. Interestingly, small, modified quonsets have been found (at McCook Municipal Airport) that are converted into T-hangars. Three separate quonsets or sections of quonsets form a T: two sections flanking a perpendicular third section. The NEHBS of general aviation facilities found no quonset hangars dated earlier than 1945 or later than 1965. Though no quonset hangars were considered individually eligible in the NEHBS of general aviation facilities, several are considered to contribute to the significance of eligible historic districts at the Beatrice and Imperial Municipal Airports and at Evelyn Sharp Field in Ord.

As in the agricultural sector, large, metal pole buildings now dominate hangar design at smaller general aviation facilities. Found in various sizes, this type of construction may be found at Nebraska airports dating from the 1950s until the present. Extremely versatile, eminently cost-effective, and perfectly suited to aircraft storage, metal buildings form the bulk of hangars identified in the aviation NEHBS. None are considered individually eligible, though several from the early 1950s are considered to contribute to potential historic districts at municipal airports in David City, Fremont, and Imperial. One frame building clad in galvanized metal constructed in the mid-1940s is found in a potential historic district at the Beatrice Municipal Airport.

The Hastings Municipal Airport Hangar-Building No. 1 (Hangar) is the oldest hangar identified in a 2000-01 NEHBS survey of general aviation facilities, and only one of two known brick hangars in the state (the other is a c. 1940 hangar in Chadron, in the northwest corner of the state). The Hangar typifies the general characteristics of an aircraft storage facility, if on a somewhat more grand scale. The typical open space of the Hangar is somewhat larger than all but military hangars of the era (note the Fairmont Army Airfield, Fillmore County, NR 2002). The sliding doors of the Hangar are segmented pocket doors with windows as opposed to the more commonly found solid, single-element metal doors on tracks. The Hangar has office/storage space and plenty of room for aircraft maintenance and repair. The Hangar also has many windows, increasing the light level inside the building and aiding aircraft repair and maintenance, relative to other hangars of the era and even after.

The current environment of the Hastings Municipal Airport reflects the upgrades and new construction necessary to service the region's aviation community. The level of new construction at the airport precludes its eligibility as a historic district, though the WPA administration building is most likely eligible for the Register individually.

In 1998-99, in cooperation with the Adams County Historical Society, the City of Hastings, and Adams County, the Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office (NESHPO) undertook a Nebraska State Historic Buildings Survey of Adams county. Of 953 properties inventoried county-wide, one-hundred-eight individual properties and six historic districts were determined to be potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The Hastings Municipal Airport HangarBuilding No. 1 was the only aviation-related property determined to be eligible for the Register.

In 2000-2001, in cooperation with the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics, the Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office (NESHPO) undertook a Nebraska State Historic Buildings Survey of general aviation facilities in Nebraska.

Statewide, nineteen airports were field-surveyed; an additional thirteen airports were subjects of telephone surveys. Of 133 properties inventoried state-wide, nine individual properties and five historic districts encompassing twenty-five buildings and structures were determined to meet National Register eligibility requirements. The Hangar was the only 1930s-era hangar inventoried in the aviation NEHBS and is the oldest building in the inventory considered individually eligible for the Register.

The Hastings Municipal Airport Hangar-Building No. 1 is a significant property associated with the development of general aviation in the south-central region of Nebraska. Hastings has long been a regional transportation nexus. At one time Hastings was served by seven different railroads, including the Union Pacific and Burlington railroads. The historic Potash and Detroit-Lincoln-Denver highways intersected at Hastings. The Hastings Municipal Airport has long thrived as a regional airport throughout its history, as evidenced by the construction of the Hangar.

The Hastings Municipal Airport Hangar-Building No. 1 embodies the distinct characteristics of a significant type and period of construction. The Hangar is the oldest known of its type in the state and has excellent physical integrity. The two small additions on the rear of the building date from the 1940s and early 1950s, and do not detract form the overall historic integrity of the building. Additionally, the Hangar is a very rare and perhaps unique example of an aircraft storage facility from the 1930s and is one of only two known historic brick aircraft hangars in the state. Indeed, the Hangar's contextual importance and rarity give it statewide significance.