A Brief History Of The American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum

The C.R. Smith Museum project began in January of 1991. Groups of various American Airlines employees and retiree groups began a fundraising effort that eventually raised $8.7 million dollars. The result of this fundraising effort was the construction of a 25,000 square foot museum dedicated to the history of commercial airline technology and the recognition of a truly innovative aviation pioneer, Cyrus Rowlett Smith. The non-profit C.R. Smith Museum opened to the public on July 3, 1993.
The museum gives a historical overview of American Airlines and commercial aviation. Interactive exhibits and educational games provide fun for the entire family and visitors are always dazzled by the museum’s original IWERKS film with it’s stunning aerial photography and action.

The "star" and centerpiece of the C.R. Smith Museum is its lovingly restored Douglas DC-3, Flagship Knoxville. In 1991, a group of pilots known as the Grey Eagles purchased the Knoxville. American Airlines employees and retirees spent over 12,000 hours restoring it to flying condition. On May 4, 1993, the Flagship Knoxville made its final flight from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to DFW. It was then pulled by tug from the airport to it’s new home outside the front doors of the museum.

After enduring several years of tough Texas weather, a plan to house the Knoxville in a protective enclosure was proposed. A volunteer group known as the DC-3 Coalition, led by Otto Becker, retired Senior Vice President of Operations, began a fundraising project to help finance the construction. Personalized bricks to be placed in the floor of the DC-3 Hangar and sold at a minimum of $100 each, brought in over $1.25 million dollars. American Airlines generously furnished the remaining funds necessary for completion. Groundbreaking ceremonies took place on December 1, 1997. The Flagship Knoxville was temporarily housed at American’s DFW hangar complex until it’s new home was completed.

On February 22, 1999, grand-opening ceremonies for the new retro-design 10,000 square foot DC-3 Hangar began with Chairman and CEO, Don Carty, cutting the official ribbon. The Flagship Knoxville was finally home!

More than one million visitors have passed through the museum’s doors since its opening in 1993, with thousands more school children and aviation enthusiasts enjoying the sights and sounds of this dynamic museum each month.