Museum aims for new heights with rebrand
Already known for attracting visitors to McMinnville from around the world, the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum has a new name: the North American Aerospace Museum, or NORAM for short.
The nonprofit museum complex recently announced its name change, which CEO Scot Laney said is part of a rebranding effort to honor the world-class museum’s history and make it more accessible and enlightening for visitors.
“Our new name reflects the next chapter for the museum, where the original vision of Del and Michael Smith has led, through many changes, over the last 25 years,” Laney said.
“We’ll always have our roots in Evergreen,” he said.
Del Smith, founder and owner of Evergreen International Aviation, and his son Michael King Smith conceived a history museum that would honor aviation and aviators and educate and inspire visitors of all ages.
The Smiths started the collection of historic aircraft in a small hangar on the south side of Highway 18, where Evergreen was headquartered. After adding the Hercules HK-1, commonly known as the Spruce Goose, in the 1990s, they made plans to expand into a new set of buildings on the north side of the highway.
Michael Smith died before the glass-fronted aviation building, now called the Hercules Pavilion for its centerpiece exhibit, opened June 6, 2001. His father continued his vision, and what is now called the Aerodrome Giant Screen Theater started showing movies in 2007; the air museum’s twin, the space building, or Titan Pavilion, opened in 2008.
“We’re not walking away from Del and Michael; it’s Michael’s vision, and what they did was spectacular,” Laney said. “We just want to take it to the next level.”
Laney said signs reflecting the name change will go up Wednesday night. The museum’s new website will be www.noram.org.
The North American Aerospace Museum’s collection now numbers more than 100 rare and historically significant planes, rockets and spacecraft, including a large collection of fighters from World War II.
In addition to Howard Hughes’ giant flying boat, its exhibits include a Titan II rocket with a below-ground, interactive launch room; an SR-71 Blackbird spy plane; a F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter; and a C-47 WWII transport displayed next to its civilian counterpart, a DC3 airliner.
The name change is part of the museum’s evolution into an “interactive, practical learning environment,” Laney said.
Exhibits recently were rearranged to group them by purpose, making it easy for visitors to compare aircraft from different eras. For instance, fighter planes from WWII and the Korean and Vietnam war eras now are wing-to-wing with those featuring newer technology. (Please see related story.)
At the same time, he said, “visitors can still expect the same dedication to honoring veterans and educating the next generation of aviators, engineers and scientists.”
Under its new name, the North American Aerospace Museum is expected to attract even more visitors to McMinnville, Laney said — especially once a new Marriott AC Hotel opens in 2027 on the commercial part of the same campus, which is owned by the Stoller Group’s McMinnville Properties.
“The museum has grown to be internationally recognized for the strength of our collection and our unique exhibits,” Laney said, noting it has been listed as a top 10 air museum in the world.
But its location makes it particularly special, he said.
“Where else can a visitor experience such a one-of-a-kind concentration of world-class wine, breweries, distillers and a downtown core of unique retailers, tasting rooms and restaurants coupled with a world-class museum?” he asked rhetorically.
The nonprofit museum navigated through several upheavals after Del Smith died in 2014 and another owner took over the campus. Since McMinnville Properties purchased the site and became the museum’s landlord in 2021-22, operations have stabilized and allowed everyone to focus on the future, both museum and Stoller representatives said.
In addition to the museum, McMinnville Properties facilities include a large event center with catering, a lodge that can be rented for weddings and other gatherings, and a waterpark topped by a 747, from which water slides emerge. The 118-room Marriott AC Retreat is under construction on the west side of the property, an area that also contains a vineyard.
A new way of looking at museum exhibits
After staff and volunteers rearranged aircraft and placed new informational signs, planes are easier to see and compare in the North American Aerospace Museum.
The new layout of exhibits has been underway over the spring and early summer.
Aircraft were moved for display by category and function, such as Early Aviation, Search & Rescue, Attack & Ground Support, and Golden Era of General Aviation. Signage was improved, so it’s easy for visitors to understand the size, speed and era during which each type of plane was used, along with history of the particular model in the museum and information about the people who flew it.
A new background soundtrack that sounds like planes taking off and flying adds to the ambiance.
And “75% of the chains and barricades are gone,” Laney said. Some panels were removed to reveal the structure and mechanics. Visitors can walk fully around each plane, getting close enough to look inside or inspect the ailerons or landing gear.
Before reorganizing the layout, he said, his staff and board studied how numerous other museums displayed their exhibits. Many also categorize planes by era or use, although few allow such close-up access.
Laney said some people were skeptical about allowing visitors such close access. But he pointed out that no one has bothered planes and helicopters on display outside the museum; they’ve even survived Oregon’s rain and wind.
“These are robust pieces of equipment,” he said. The military planes were “maintained by 19-year-olds and flown by 22-year-olds,” proving their sturdiness.
Near the entrance to either building, visitors can step into a large room filled with dozens of aircraft engines — conventional ones in the Hercules (Aviation) Pavilion and jet engines in the Titan (Space) Pavilion.
The Hercules display starts with engines such as the Curtiss OX-5, used from 1915 into the 1930s; the Heath Anderson B-4 from the 1920s and 30s; and the Salmson 9AD, a nine-cylinder radial engine used in the ‘30s.
Farther along, a much larger example is a Packard-built Rolls-Royce V-1650 Merlin engine, one of 55,000 built between 1941 and 1945. The supercharged piston engine created the distinctive sound of a P-51 Mustang coming to the rescue in WWII.
The display also includes a Pratt & Whitney R985 Wasp Junior used from 1929 to 1953. Visitors can look up at the Spruce Goose in the center of the building to view even more powerful Pratt & Whitney engines in place on the giant plane’s wings.
On the other side of the Spruce Goose, sleek military planes are lined up in an area called “Generations of US Fighter Aircraft.” Signs explain the differences in engineering and technology from the 1940s through the present, with a mention of aircraft under development, as well.
Visitors can climb up and investigate the cockpit of a MiG-17A Fresco, an early swept-wing jet that could cruise at 711 mph. Then they can walk past, and around, a North American F-100F Super Sabre, a McDonnell F-101 Voodoo and a Convair F-106A Delta Dart, then continue to more modern jets.
Something that hasn’t changed is the availability of volunteer docents who lead tours and tell stories about the planes on display.
One day last week, docent Jack Fiddler showed a 1940s vintage C-47 and its civilian counterpart, a DC-3, one of the first commercial airliners. The military transport, which is undergoing restoration, and the airliner sit side-by-side on the north side of the museum floor, near the tail of the Spruce Goose.
“Do you know the difference between them?” Fiddler asked visitors. “With the DC-3, passengers wait until it lands to get off.”
The C-47 Skytrain, on the other hand, is known for dropping paratroopers in the skies over France as they entered the fray on D-Day.
CEO hopes to attract more locals
About half the visitors to the the museum are from outside of the U.S.
Laney said most of those are from Europe and South America. In summer — winter in the Southern Hemisphere — many arrive from Australia, as well. Exhibit information is available in 14 languages, he said.
Twenty-five percent visit from other states, and 25% are Oregonians, most from outside Yamhill County. While the museum hosts local school groups on a regular basis, he would like to attract more McMinnville and county families.
Spending time at the museum is a quality, entertaining experience, he said. Visitors can learn about history and compare aircraft, developing an understanding of the growth and opportunities in aviation over the last 120-plus years.
The museum offers a local discount for Yamhill County residents. In addition, free admission tickets can be checked out from the McMinnville Public Library and other area libraries.
For most visitors, the museum is a planned destination, Laney said; they usually buy their tickets online before arriving because they’ve heard about the attraction. Some, however, notice the museum beside Highway 18 and turn in for a spontaneous visit.
Attendance is highest on weekends and during the summer. A recent Tuesday saw 540 visitors; there might be 700 to 800 on a Saturday or Sunday. Some are individuals; many are families.
“I like seeing grandparents and their grandkids come together,” he said.
In addition to its year-round exhibits, the museum hosts numerous special events and activities, such as talks by pilots who flew some of the aircraft, the Carlton Observatory at the museum’s annual family science fest in spring, and a First Responder chili cook-off planned this year on Oct. 17.
The Hercules (Aviation) Pavilion also hosts the McMinnville Area Chamber of Commerce “Glide & Gather” ice skating rink between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The chance to skate on artificial ice brings in many McMinnville and Yamhill County residents, and many of them also attend the museum’s annual light show, during which planes are decorated with Christmas lights.
Recently, the North American Aerospace Museum has added a series of “pop-up museums” with special displays not necessarily related to aviation. A pop-up European car show was a success; another pop-up, on Oct. 24, will feature tractors.
The museum also hosts a “watch party” every year during the Oregon Air Show, which takes place across Highway 18 at the McMinnville Airport. For this year’s show, Aug. 14-16, attendees can purchase a chance to park and watch the flights, as well as visit the museums.
For more information, go to the website, evergreenmuseum.org — or, later this week, noram.org.
Comments
WV.AVAs
The correct new web address is noramaerospace.org