Glenview Navy Base Museum Closing

GLENVIEW, Ill. – In a move that simultaneously secures and shrouds a crucial piece of local history, the extensive collection of the Glenview Navy Museum has found a new steward but remains without a public home. The Glenview Hangar One Foundation and the Glenview History Center finalized an agreement on Wednesday, October 1, formally transferring stewardship of the Naval Air Station Museum Collection to the History Center, marking an important milestone in the preservation of Glenview’s proud military and aviation legacy.
However, it is unclear where the artifacts are going. One insider said they will be going into storage for now. The museum located on Lehigh Avenue may have already closed. The Glenview History museum on Waukegan Road is a fairly small house and is dedicated to a particular time of history. It has rooms that display what life was like during that time period. So the navy items would be out of place there.
The path to this uncertain moment was long and fraught with disappointment. The foundation was in talks with the village for 20 years to come up with a solution to a new location, according to Kristen Bergin, a board member, while speaking on a YouTube video for the Glenview Daily last year. Bergin also said the village then cut off talks and referred them to the Glenview Park District. According to Thomas FitzGibbon, President of the Glenview Hangar One Foundation, in the same YouTube video the park district agreed to take over the museum if a study paid for by the foundation produced certain results - which it did and more! The study was extremely expensive. However by the time the study was complete the park district had a new board of directors and they declined to live up to the agreement at the disappointment of the museum. And nothing became of the five years of discussion.
About two years ago, the museum foundation started talking with the village for a new round of talks. The issue came to a head about four months ago when 200 Glenview residents and veterans rallied at a village board meeting. About 18 members of the public stood before the board and explained why the village should do something. One veteran who served at the base said that every WWII Navy fighter pilot fought in the war and thousands after that were trained at the base in Glenview. "There would be no Navy Pier" if it wasn't for the Glenview base. We need to honor all those pilots that died, he added.
The financial argument was also put forth. One resident pointed out that the base was one third of Glenview and the Navy gave the base back to Glenview for $1 which is the same amount Glenview sold the property to the Navy for.
Another Glenview resident, Paul, pointed out the village gets an enormous amount of tax property tax and retail tax from all of the homes, condos, and business at the Glen and the Town Center. "Where is all that money going?' A person sitting next to Paul said that is all the money they are giving the handful of restaurants to come to Glenview - it was over 14 million - why don't they help the museum?"
There was no vote or commitment by the village after the residents spoke. However the trustees heard the residents loud and clear.
Currently the museum is in a run down warehouse type building attached to the back of a body shop near the Glenn.
Despite the uncertainty, foundation leaders are trying to frame the transfer positively. “We are happy that we have signed an agreement with the history center. It’s great that the collection and the historic preservation effort have the opportunity for a new chapter,” said foundation board member representative Kristen Bergin.
The scale of the collection underscores what is at stake. The Glenview Hangar One collection includes more than 2,000 photographs, posters and prints; 1,200 digital images; 10 linear feet of papers and publications; a Sikorsky helicopter, a WWII TBM Avenger aircraft piston engine raised from Lake Michigan, a 1960s Link trainer/simulator, a carrier plane tail-hook and WWII LSO paddles, service member uniforms and more. It is very unclear where the Sikorsky helicopter will be taken.
“This is a legacy-defining moment for our organization,” said Thomas FitzGibbon, President of the Glenview Hangar One Foundation. “The Glenview Hangar One Foundation was started more than 30 years ago to honor the stories, history and heroes of Naval Air Station Glenview. By passing the collection to the Glenview History Center, we are confident that this history will be shared with generations to come in a way that is accessible, meaningful and enduring.”
As part of the agreement, the Glenview History Center has committed to including Glenview Hangar One Foundation representatives in planning efforts and governance, including a seat on the GHC Board. As part of the transfer of the collection, the Foundation will also transfer all the remaining funds to Glenview History Center for expenses related to the preservation of the collection.
Additionally, the Glenview History Center will work with the Village of Glenview and Glenview Public Library on the development of a plan to evaluate locations for a permanent museum space honoring the Hangar One collection.
“This is a collection of artifacts that tell the story of Glenview’s role in local and national history,” said Susan Johns, President of the Glenview History Center. “We are honored to be entrusted with this responsibility and look forward to collaborating with the Glenview Hangar One Foundation to preserve and share this story.”
The history they seek to preserve is profound. Naval Air Station Glenview was originally built as Curtiss-Reynolds Airfield in 1929. Following the stock market crash and Great Depression, the Navy began leasing space at the property in 1937.
In the years leading up to and during World War II, Naval Air Station Glenview was the largest primary training facility of the U.S. Navy. Nearly 9,000 aviation cadets received primary flight training at this site, and an additional 17,000 pilots were qualified for carrier landings through the Carrier Qualification Training Units. Former U.S. presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush served or trained at NAS Glenview, as did astronaut Neil Armstrong.
The site remained in operation until 1995, when it was redeveloped into The Glen, a mixed-use development that brought 5,500 new residents, thousands of new jobs and nearly 1.9 million.
For many longtime residents, the base is a core memory. Many residents in the suburbs went to the base during the Chicago Air Show because all of the planes took off from there. Mike, who was born in Glenview and still lives here, said it was a sight to see. "My dad took me there every year for the air show."

To watch a video interview of two museum board members including Thomas FitzGibbon, President of the Glenview Hangar One Foundation explain the 20 year history of the museum trying to work with the Village of Glenview and the park district and see the inside of the museum just Google "Navy Museum closing YouTube."