The Alameda Naval Air Museum, located in historic Building 77 at 2151 Ferry Point, will host a free open house for Alameda residents on Saturday, May 23, from 1 to 3 p.m. The event is a call for new community leadership to help carry the museum’s legacy forward. (General admission hours will be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
Food and beverages will be provided during the open house and attendees are invited to tour the collection, explore the building’s historic spaces—including the Crow’s Nest, a former cafeteria with sweeping views of Seaplane Lagoon and the San Francisco skyline—and learn about the museum’s mission and its currently uncertain future.
“This is more than a visit,” the announcement states. “It is a call to action.”
A legacy worth saving
The Alameda Naval Air Museum was co-founded in 1997 by Marilyn York, a journeyman aircraft engine mechanic who spent 33 years working on the flight line at NAS Alameda. According to a press release issued by the museum, York sold a million dollars in war bonds to the station’s shipyard and aircraft workers during World War II. After she retired, she helped build the museum to preserve what she, and many others, had given their lives to, so others would never forget it.
Naval Air Station (NAS) Alameda was the launch point for the Doolittle Raid in 1942—one of the most daring military operations in American history. At its peak, the station supported 10,000 Navy personnel and 4,000 civilian workers, and was home to Marine Air Group 42, which at one point was the largest Marine contingent in Northern California. The station served the United States from World War II through the Iraq War.
The 21,000-square-foot museum in Building 77, which was the NAS Alameda air terminal, houses artifacts from the station’s operational history, an exhibit on the legendary Pan Am China Clipper, and a research library used by veterans, historians, and families tracing their connections to this place.
“The museum now faces a critical inflection point,” the press release states. “An aging all-volunteer board and the high cost of maintaining a large historic building have brought the organization to a crossroads. Without new community leadership, the museum’s collection—decades of artifacts, records, and irreplaceable objects—faces an uncertain future: cataloged, placed in storage with a small display potentially transferred to the USS Hornet, whose own long-term presence in Alameda is not guaranteed.”
How to help
The museum is seeking new board members and volunteers.
The six new board members should have skills in nonprofit management, marketing, historic preservation, community coalition building, volunteer management, and fundraising or grant writing.
“That new board will help define what the museum becomes next—whether that means a smaller footprint at a new location, a period of virtual presence, or a path not yet imagined,” the press release states.
The museum is also seeking volunteers for artifact cataloging and docent support, and is currently working to raise $15,000 to sustain operations through a six-month transition window, which will give new leadership the time to build a durable future.
An online interest form for those who wish to get involved will be available soon on the Alameda Naval Air Museum website.
