Utah Heritage Foundation

As announced by the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, the Historic Wendover Airfield will receive a $450,000 federal grant from the Save America's Treasures program to begin rehabilitation work on the massive hangar building named for the Enola Gay airplane that was housed there in 1945.  A portion of the grant will be for re-roofing, as well as for siding and windows.  Due to federal funds being provided, all work must meet the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation.  Utah Heritage Foundation began discussions with Tooele County, owner of the Wendover Airport (Wendover historic airfield) in 2000 about the great significance of the building, use and reuse options, as well as potential options for funding rehabilitation.

 

In secret training missions, the 509^th Composite Group used the Wendover site in June 1945 before completing their August 6 assignment to fly their B-29 bomber to Hiroshima, Japan, and drop the first atomic bomb.  The building housed the Enola Gay for a brief period of time in confidence before flying to California and launching on the mission.  In addition, airmen that were training for the mission used the surrounding desert for target practice and other buildings for practice in loading and unloading large, sensitive materials before knowing that they were going to carry the atom bomb.

 

Much of the story of the Enola Gay's history in Utah can be seen at the Historic Wendover Airfield Museum.  The museum and the airfield is definitely a place worth seeing beyond the buffet!  Believe it or not, the Enola Gay Hangar also played a significant role in the movie Con Air (1997).  Look for it.

Visit Save America's Treasures for additional information on this year's grantees as well as the application process.

 

While visiting Wendover, Utah, you may want to also visit the Center for Land Use Interpretation.  The Center produces public exhibits on land use themes and issues for galleries and museums, and for exhibition in CLUI spaces in Los Angeles and elsewhere. Regional exhibits focus on land use within a defined geographic area, such as a state or neighborhood. Thematic exhibits are usually national in scope, and examine a particular land use phenomena or issue.