The Airstream Heritage Center features rare vintage Airstream models and an original artifacts collection that honor those who shaped the brand’s storied history.
Airstream, Inc., opened its Airstream Heritage Center, located inside the company’s headquarters in Jackson Center, Ohio.
In 16,000 square foot museum space, Airstream brings its 90-year history to life and celebrates the associates who have helped build Airstreams by hand since 1931.
“For years we’ve been looking for the right way to celebrate our history, and our new Heritage Center is a testament to the products that inspired generations of travelers, and the people who built this brand into an American icon,” said Bob Wheeler, Airstream CEO and president. “The vintage models, mementos, journals, and films on display vividly illustrate how an Airstream is more than simply a recreational vehicle – it’s a vessel that holds the stories accumulated over years of travel and adventure.”
Displays feature Airstream’s 1931foundation story, the caravans that crisscrossed the globe and the company’s partnership with America’s space program. The Heritage Center spotlights Airstream design and travel adventure while paying homage to the Airstream community.
Among the artifacts on display, the Heritage Center’s Wally Byam Collection charts the Airstream founder’s life from his early days to his legacy that continues to drive product development. Byam’s collection includes rare childhood portraits and notebooks where he sketched ideas for his initial Airstream concepts and designs.
Other notable collections in the museum include:
- Over 15 Vintage Airstreams: Assorted unique Airstream models, including a 1938 Clipper (a first, riveted aluminum Airstream model example), the Gold Airstream Wally Byam used to lead the Capetown to Cairo Caravan, and a painted Argosy travel trailer.
Airstream’s original world caravanner film and photograph collection. The collection includes country flags flown during the Around the World Caravan, travel diaries from the Africa Caravan, and more.- Selections from the Airstream archives on display document company history, including product testing films, brochures, engineering drawings, newspaper articles and plans for NASA’s Mobile Quarantine Facilities.
One of Airstream’s most cherished collections in the Heritage Center is on display thanks to Dale “Pee Wee” Schwamborn’s generous donation on behalf of his mother’s estate. Helen Byam Schwamborn was a cousin of Airstream’s founder. She was also a leader of the Wally Byam Caravan Club International. She kept meticulous records on Airstream history and saved family archives.
Airstream is proud to share her collection with the public in Helen’s honor, the company said.
Learn more about the Heritage Center.
