MADRAS, OR -- Madras city officials are working to get an airport hangar listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. City councilors signed off on the nomination letter, earlier this week. Michele Quinn with Public Works tells KBND the application was about more than just the historic relevance of the building. "We were trying to get grants to fix it. The roof was leaking and the windows were leaking, and they do keep airplanes in there. Birds were getting in there and causing damage, so we were looking at grants for it. All the grants we looked at, we didn’t qualify for, your building had to be listed on the national Historic Register."
The hangar was built in 1943 to house B-17 bombers during World War II. Quinn says the application will be sent to the National Registry next month. "We didn’t want to have to lose it, because it’s dilapidated more or less, so we want to keep it as a usable building," said Quinn. "And, the fact that it is a World War II hangar, there aren’t that many of those left." She expects to have a decision from the Registry by spring.
