NEW TO THE OAM WEBSITE

The Oakland Aviation Museum always appreciates it many supporters.  To make supporting OAM easier we have added our new Fundraising page to the website.  This new feature is powered by PayPal and allows visitors to the website to make donations to the museum's three funding areas while saving paper, stamps and time. 

Please follow the Fundraising page link to the left and see how easy it is now to support the Oakland Aviation Museum.

Oakland Aviation Museum would like to extend a heart-felt thank you to all our visitors, supporters, Emergency BBQ and Uhuru Foods for helping to make our Open Cockpit Days this year a tremendous success!!

Keep watching our website for next year's Open Cockpit Day schedule and other events still on hand for this year.

SPEAKER SERIES #6 - Saturday, Sep. 4, 1:00pm

Richard Rutter - History of Alameda Naval Air Station

PowerPoint Presentation

Our September presentation will be a rollicking run through the history of the Naval Air Station Alameda, presented by Dick Rutter, local architect, and former Navy flyer.  Starting with the Spanish in 1772, Dick will take us through the “hows” and more importantly the “whys” of NAS Alameda’s development.

A native of Ohio, Mr. Rutter was introduced as a very young man to aviation, spending many hours around classics like the Curtiss Robin, the Waco and the Stearman.  Lucky enough to qualify for a NROTC Scholarship to College, Dick graduated from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, in 1970, his diploma handed to him by none other than Neil Armstrong, who had recently arrived refreshed from a walk on the moon.  Dick was also commissioned that day, charged a day of leave, and relieved of a fine silver dollar by the first enlisted man who saluted him.  Dick served in the Navy until 1974.

Enchanted with Alameda and the Bay Area, Dick Rutter stayed, and became an architect.  He has been a practicing architect in the Bay Area for 35-years, and is perhaps best known for being the Project Manager for the Golden Gate Bridge Tower Lighting Project in 1987.  Today, Dick and his wife Annie run a firm in Alameda which specializes in the restoration and remodeling of buildings built between 1870 and 1930.  Their clients are primarily in the retail, commercial, and hospitality sectors.  Work on restaurants and residences also helps to fill out their portfolio as well.

Mission of the Oakland Aviation Museum

●Educate about the role of historic North Field at Oakland International Airport, Oakland and the Bay Area in the development of aviation on the West Coast and in the US by collecting, preserving and interpreting aircraft and aviation artifacts that reflect this proud heritage.

●Celebrate the history and technological achievements of aviation.

●Inspire individuals by linking aviation’s past to the future.　

Background

The Oakland Aviation Museum was founded in 1981 as a non-profit organization under IRS Code 501 C (3) under the name of Western Aerospace Museum.　 The museum's first home was a small room at Hangar 5 at Oakland International Airport's historic North Field.　 In 1988, the Museum was granted use of the historic Boeing School of Aeronautics hangar built in 1939. 　 The hangar serves as the primary facility of the Museum, providing indoor and outdoor exhibition space, an education room, a History Flicks room, a research library and aircraft restoration work areas.  In 2007, Western Aerospace Museum was renamed Oakland Aviation Museum with the historical mission refocused on the important legacy of flight at North Field and the surrounding area.

We are proud to be a continued partner with the Port of Oakland and Oakland International Airport in preserving and presenting the East Bay's history of flight.

For more information on the Museum as an organization, please click HERE.