National Trust for Historic Preservation's 11 Most Endangered
The Manhattan Project's Enola Gay Hangar
Year Listed: 2009
Location: Wendover , Utah
Current Status: Endangered
Threat: Deterioration
Significance
It is a name synonymous with a moment in history that was both devastating and defining. The Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress airplane that dropped the world's first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, still evokes strong emotions more than six decades 
after its fateful mission. The operation to deploy the "Little Man" bomb began at Wendover Air Force Base, the remote facility 100 miles west of Salt Lake City, Utah, where the Army Air Force's 509th Composite Group conducted top-secret assembly of prototype atomic weapons and aircraft training as part of the Manhattan Project, the U.S. government's classified program to develop a nuclear bomb. In June of 1945, the still-unnamed B-29, commanded by Colonel Paul Tibbets, left Wendover and flew to California, Hawaii, Kwajalein and then to the Pacific island of Tinian. Here, Tibbets had the name "Enola Gay" painted on the bomber's nose in honor of his mother, Enola Gay Tibbets, and, on August 6, executed the history-making mission. Although the Enola Gay has been restored, the Wendover hangar where the plane was stored prior to its deployment is severely deteriorated, as are many other important sites associated with the Manhattan Project.
After the war, Wendover was used for training exercises and as a research facility. Closed by the Air Force in 1969; the airfield is now owned by the City, and the historic buildings are operated in cooperation with the Historic Wendover Airfiled group. The famed Enola Gay is today fully restored and on permanent display at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, near Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, the Wendover hangar is in a critical state of disrepair requiring between $5 and $6 million to completely restore the structure and turn it into a public museum.
Updates
April 2009: Five years ago, recognizing the significance of the Manhattan Project to American and world history, Congress directed the Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior to study the feasibility of creating a Manhattan Project National Historical Park. Because the Manhattan Project took shape in more than a dozen states, a park would encompass many geographically diverse areas, from the mountains and deserts of the West to the island of Manhattan, the project's namesake and site of its first headquarters.
In 2000, eight sites were designated by the Department of Energy as "Signature Facilities of the Manhattan Project." Only one, the "V Site" at Los Alamos, N.M. - where the atomic bombs were designed - has been restored. The future of five others, including the K-25 uranium enrichment plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn., currently threatened with demolition, may be in jeopardy.
The entire list of the 2009 11 Most Endangered Places
ALSO IN THIS EDITION:
Wendover Airfield; Historic hangar hanging by a thread - Editorial, The Salt Lake Tribune, May 1, 2009
Historic Day Dairy barn gets one-year reprieve - Christopher Smart, The Salt Lake Tribune, May 6, 2009
Odd Fellows Hall is moved 115 feet --very slowly - Jason Bergreen, The Salt Lake Tribune, April 27, 2009
Walsh: McMansion plan sours neighbors and homeowner - Rebecca Walsh, The Salt Lake Tribune, May 6, 2009
ARCHITECTURE AND PRESERVATION AROUND THE GLOBE
SAVE THESE DATES FOR UHF EVENTS
NEW FROM THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION
A New Way to Support Utah Heritage Foundation
We are pleased to announce a new partnership with Trillium Realty Group. For every home bought or sold with Trillium Realty Group by a UHF donor,
member, volunteer, or person otherwise affiliated, Trillium will donate $1,000 to Utah Heritage Foundation.
Please click here to read all about it.
We are grateful for this great idea and offer from Chris L. Browne of The Trillium Realty Group!
LOCAL ARCHITECTURE AND PRESERVATION
Wendover Airfield; Historic hangar hanging by a thread - Editorial, The Salt Lake Tribune, May 1, 2009
Historic Day Dairy barn gets one-year reprieve - Christopher Smart, The Salt Lake Tribune, May 6, 2009
Odd Fellows Hall is moved 115 feet --very slowly - Jason Bergreen, The Salt Lake Tribune, April 27, 2009
Walsh: McMansion plan sours neighbors and homeowner - Rebecca Walsh, The Salt Lake Tribune, May 6, 2009
Utah's National Register is ONLINE!
Utah's National Register of Historic Places nominations have been digitized and are now online.
ARCHITECTURE AND PRESERVATION AROUND THE GLOBE
Facade Collapses in TriBeCa Historic District - A.G. Sulzberger, The New York Times, April 30, 2009
Temple of light; New Modern Wing much more than a container for art - Blair Kamin, Chicago Tribune, May 3, 2009
Babylon Ruins Reopen in Iraq, to Controversy - Steven Lee Myers, The New York Times, May 2, 2009
Clayton targets green market with solar-powered, energy efficient 'i-house' - Duncan Mansfield, Chicago Tribune, May 6, 2009
Turn again, Boris - your bridge plan is all wrong - Jonathan Glancey, guardian.co.ok, May 5, 2009
SAVE THESE DATES FOR UHF EVENTS
May 9, 2009
Live Green Festival
Library Square, Salt Lake City Public Library
9 am - 6pm
Traditional Building Skills Institute Workshops - Ephraim, UT
Visit their website for a full calendar of workshops.
NEW FROM THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Story of the Week
Not in My Front Yard - Providence Fights Gas Meters in Historic Areas
Public Policy Weekly Bulletin
May 1, 2009, Vol. 4, Issue 14 - read about congressional efforts to create a new revenue stream for funding surface transportation programs such as Transportation Enhancements (TE), which benefit historic preservation; the uncertainty surround the siting of National Interstate Electricity Transmission Corridors (NIETCs) for renewable energy and their impact on historic and community character; and, the inclusion of a state rehab tax credit in an omnibus tax bill currently under consideration in the Minnesota state legislature.
April 24, 2009, Vol. 4, Issue 13 - The National Trust is hoping its four-point energy proposal for older and
historic buildings and residences will eventually be included in the draft energy bill along with Rep. Peter Welch's (D-VT) Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance (REEP) bill (HR 1778), which includes a 120 percent boost as an incentive for retrofitting the cost of existing homes and buildings on the National Register.
Seeking funds for planning your preservation project or to hire a consultant to get that project off the ground? Apply for a grant from the Utah Preservation Initiatives Fund (UPIF) by contacting Amy Cole at the National Trust for Historic Preservation at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (303) 623-1504. Grants are available in three rounds per year - February 1, June 1 and October 1 - and awarded on a competitive basis!
