New Museum Opening in Fairbanks, Alaska
FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Following a soft opening in late July, a new combined museum featuring collections from the Fountainhead Auto Museum and the Pioneer Aviation Museum is enhancing its displays and facilities on Airport Way.
With approximately 120 vehicles and six aircraft on display, the new museum occupies 90,000 square feet—three times the space of the previous auto museum location on College Road.
Tim Cerny, President of Fountainhead Development Incorporated, explained, “The larger space allows us to display airplanes alongside early Alaska cars used for transportation across the state, thus broadening the narrative of Alaska’s transportation history.”
The museum features the last surviving Hamilton metal plane globally, along with a collection of cars over a century old. Additionally, it boasts the largest vintage fashion collection in the Pacific Northwest, comprising thousands of garments and wax mannequins.
Since opening, the museum has attracted local visitors and tourists, with Cerny estimating daily attendance of around 230 people. He expressed aspirations for the museum to become a world-class attraction focused on antique cars, WWII-era airplanes, and Alaska’s transportation history.
Discussions about merging the two museums started in 2020, and the transition involved a four-month effort to relocate the collections. This included disassembly, transportation, and reassembly of the aircraft to minimize damage.
As the museum continues to add new exhibits, renovations are ongoing, including a 6,000 square-foot expansion intended for special events and lectures.
Now operating on winter hours, the museum welcomes visitors every Wednesday and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
