Will the museum take flight?

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — The Niagara Aerospace Museum believes it has found an ideal landing spot as it seeks a new home.

The museum is currently located at the old Niagara Falls airport terminal.

As it stands, the museum is a treasure trove of artifacts emblematic of Western New York's rich history in the development of flight from prior to World War II through the cold war and into the space age.

Unlike many other museums, however, its artifacts — which include entire helicopters and historic aircraft — are rather large, and its current facility is becoming cramped.

Its current location is also several miles from the world famous Falls, and therefore off the beaten track for the millions of visitors who come every year to see the mighty cataracts.

Plan takes flight

The museum now has its eyes on a parcel of state owned land near Second and Niagara Streets, which Empire State Development acquired several years ago from local businessman Smokin' Joe Anderson, who previously operated a winter sports park on the site.

The museum board answered a request for proposals from the state in hopes of creating world class space to house their collection and to better tell the story of the region's history in the development of aeronautics which the museum's executive director, Linsey Lauren Visser, insists is second to none.

"We'd like to try and move as quickly as we can but we also want to make sure we're getting it right and that we are doing this collection justice because the people who came before us changed the world and I think it's only fair that we tell their story and in a way that is worthy of what they did," Visser told WGRZ-TV.

"We really want to create the best visitor space possible because we do have such an impressive collection and also have the opportunity to acquire more," she said.

Location, location, location

The museum would be just a few blocks from Niagara Falls State Park and the Niagara Falls Aquarium.

"The amount of foot traffic that would generate for our organization would make us sustainable in perpetuity," Visser said. "We would also be helping to creating a little bit of a cultural corridor within that area."

According to New York State Assemblyman Angelo Morinello, who supports the project, the cost of the new museum is estimated at up to $30 million.

Visser said that while the organization is hoping to obtain says government and foundational grants, they've also gotten interest from some aeronautics firms about pitching in.