San Francisco's Museum at the Airport

Spending Time with Aviation History

On December 17th, 1903 the Wright Brothers flew into the history books as the first to pilot a powered aircraft. With a century of modern aviation that can (w)rightly be celebrated marking 100 years of flight, the history of aviation grows even more important as it continues into its second century. There are many museums that celebrate the history of flight, with one of the most unique of them right at the San Francisco International Airport.

What makes the museum at SFO unique is with its geographic position, San Francisco International Airport is well established as one of the gateways to the Pacific. It is one of the busiest airports in the world, and by locating a museum dedicated to the preservation of aviation history within its bustling walls suddenly makes this history more accessible to millions of people traveling to or through it.

The museum is located in the International Terminal, outside of the secure, boarding areas and is thus accessible to passengers and those who may not be traveling but are interested in aviation history. The San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Library and Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum currently houses thousands of photographs, documents and books that trace the history of aviation.

The aviation museum is open from 10am to 4:30pm Sunday through Friday. Visits to the library is by appointment only. And best of all there are no fees or taxes involved, admission to the museum is free.

So if you have a few hours to spend at SFO and are interested in taking in some history...